05 Emotions, Stress, and Health

To experience emotions, must we consciously interpret and label them?

Not always. According to Zajonc, emotions can occur without conscious interpretation (fast pathway).

However:

Schachter-Singer and Lazarus say cognition is involved (labeling or appraisal).

→ So: Sometimes yes, sometimes no — depends on the theory

many theories argue that cognitive labeling helps shape and identify the emotion.

According to Schachter and Singer, two factors lead to our experience of an emotion: physiological arousal and ______ (cognitive)

Physiological arousal + cognitive label (interpretation)

Emotion researchers have disagreed about whether emotional responses occur in the absence of cognitive processing. How would you characterize the approach of each of the following researchers: Zajonc, Lazarus, and Schachter/Singer.

• Robert Zajonc: Emotions can occur without prior cognitive processing (we can feel before we think).

• Richard Lazarus: Some cognitive appraisal is always involved, even if it’s very fast and unconscious.

• Stanley Schachter / Jerome Singer: Emotion requires both arousal and conscious cognitive labeling.

How do the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system affect our emotional response?

• Sympathetic nervous system: Activates the body (fight-or-flight) → increases heart rate, breathing, alertness.

• Parasympathetic nervous system: Calms the body → returns it to resting state after arousal.

How do our facial expressions influence our feelings?

According to the facial feedback hypothesis, your facial expressions can influence your emotions. For example, smiling can actually make you feel happier. This Relationship is bidirectional:

• Emotion → expression

• Expression → emotion

How does our appraisal of an event affect our stress reaction, and what are the three main types of stressors?

Your appraisal (interpretation) of an event determines whether you see it as stressful and how intense the stress feels.

• Threat → anxiety, negative effects

• Challenge → motivation, better performance

Three main types of stressors:

• Catastrophes (large-scale events, e.g., natural disasters)

• Major life changes (e.g., moving, divorce)

• Daily hassles and Social Stress (small, everyday annoyances)

Note: Daily hassles may seem trivial individually, but their cumulative, persistent nature makes them particularly relevant to long-term health. Chronic low-level stress can be as damaging as acute major stressors

In what two ways do people try to alleviate stress?

• Problem-focused coping: Addressing the cause of stress (e.g., making a plan, solving the problem)

• Emotion-focused coping: Managing emotional reactions (e.g., relaxation, distraction)