PSYC1030 Week 7 Emotions & Non-verbal Communication

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the theories of emotion, types of gestures, non-verbal communication frameworks, and detection of deception based on psychology lecture notes.

Emotion

A complex reaction pattern, involving experiential, behavioural, and physiological elements, by which an individual attempts to deal with a personally significant matter or event.

Mood

A disposition to respond emotionally in a particular way that may last for hours, days, or even weeks, which differs from emotions by lacking an object and being promote-unknown.

Affect

The underlying experience of feelings, often used interchangeably with emotion in research.

Common Sense View

A theory suggesting that an event triggers an experienced emotion, which then leads to physiological arousal and associated behaviour.

James – Lange Theory

A theory proposed in $1885$ stating that physiological responses come first, and the emotion itself is the perception of those bodily changes.

Appraisal Theory

A theory suggesting emotions depend on how we interpret a situation based on past experiences, goals, and the appraisal of a situation setting physiological responses in motion.

Dimensional Theory

A theory proposing that emotions are made up of continuous underlying dimensions, valence (pleasant/unpleasant) and arousal (activation), rather than distinct categories.

Socio-Cultural Theory

A theory by Batja Mesquita suggesting that emotions are socially constructed, depend on cultural social interactions, and are learned through language.

Basic Emotions theory

A theory by Paul Ekman stating there are $7$ basic emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, contempt), each with a distinct, innate facial expression reflex.

FACS

The Facial Action Coding System created by Paul Ekman to categorize facial expressions.

Tears - Interpersonal effects

A universal social signal to indicate need for support, which increases empathy and compassion in the observer and perceptions of genuineness in the emotion.

Proxemics

The study of how people use and perceive physical space as a form of nonverbal communication, involving four interpersonal distance zones.

SOLER framework

Gerard Egan's framework for engagement through posture: Sit squarely, Open posture, Lean forward, Eye contact, and Relaxed demeanour.

Emblems

Gestures that have a clear and standardized meaning within a context, possessing a direct verbal translation and capable of being used independently of speech.

Illustrators

Gestures that accompany speech to emphasize or visualize the internal content, such as hand movements showing the size of an object.

Regulators

Nonverbal cues that maintain conversational turn-taking and smooth out social interactions, such as a head nod or raising a hand.

Adaptors

Unintentional, unconscious gestures like fidgeting or hair-twisting that serve personal needs or help manage internal states like nervousness.

Emojis

Digital tools that clarify ambiguous messages, function as paralinguistic regulators, and act like real facial expressions to trigger emotional contagion.

Emotional Approach (Deception)

The theory that deception triggers genuine emotional arousal that can leak nonverbally through micro-expressions and vocal changes.

Cognitive Approach (Deception)

The theory that fabricating a lie demands significant mental effort, producing slower speech, longer pauses, and reduced gesturing.

Self-Presentation Approach (Deception)

The theory that liars consciously over-manage their behaviour, resulting in unnaturally rigid or over-controlled body language.

Othello error

A term by Ekman describing when a genuinely innocent person under pressure displays cues (like stress or anxiety) that are misinterpreted as signs of lying.