Psych - emotion vocab

Emotion

A complex experience with arousal, behavior, and cognition

Arousal

Physical activation of the body

Cognition

Thinking, interpreting, and labeling experiences

James-Lange Theory

Emotion comes after body reactions

Cannon-Bard Theory

Emotion and body reactions happen at the same time

Schachter-Singer Theory

Emotion = arousal + cognitive label

Two-Factor Theory

Another name for Schachter-Singer theory

Amygdala

Brain structure that processes fear and emotion

Low Road

Fast emotional pathway without thinking

High Road

Slower pathway with conscious thinking

Basic Emotions

Universal emotions like happiness, fear, anger

Valence

Positive or negative emotion

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Controls automatic body responses

Sympathetic Nervous System

Activates body during stress

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Calms body after stress

Epinephrine

Hormone that increases arousal (adrenaline)

Insula

Brain area involved in disgust and emotions

Reappraisal

Changing how you think about a situation to change emotion

Nonverbal communication

Communicating without words (facial expressions, tone, gestures)

Facial expressions

Movements of the face that show emotion

Thin slices

Brief moments used to judge emotions or personality

Empathy

Understanding and sharing others’ feelings

Emotional contagion

When emotions spread from one person to another

Display rules

Cultural rules about expressing emotions

Facial feedback effect

Facial expressions influence emotions

Behavior feedback effect

Actions influence emotions

Genuine smile

Real smile using eyes and mouth

Feign (fake) smile

Forced smile using only mouth

Arousal

Physical state of alertness or activation