Emotion & Wellbeing

Modules 36-40

Parts of Emotion

expressive behavior

physiological arousal 

conscious experience

Basic Emotion Theory

a discrete number of basic emotions

universal

biological and evolutionary basis

clear boundaries 

Ex: fear evolved to protect us,

disgust evolved to protect from ingesting harmful foods

anger help us confront others

Constructivist Theory 

different dimensions of emotional experience 

no discrete emotions 

arise from learned concepts 

influenced by socialization and culture — lower degree of universality 

valence, arousal, appraisal, bodily responses

James Lange 

emotions arise from our awareness of our specific bodily responses to emotion arousing stimuli 

Ex: we observe our heart racing after a threat and then feel afraid

Cannon bard

emotion-arousing stimuli trigger our bodily responses and simultaneous subjective experience

Facial Expressions

many facial expressions are cross cultural/universal

people blind from birth exhibit the same common facial expressions

How to perceive emotions in others

facial expressions

gestures and body postures

language

vocal tones

similar emotion expression can be perceived as different emotions in different contexts

Expressive behavior

facial expressions, body language, actions impulses

part of emotion

physiological arousal

ANS physiology “heart pounding”

part of emotion

conscious experience

thoughts, feelings, appraisals 

part of emotion

two factor theory

the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal.

facial feedback effect

the tendency of facial muscle activation, alone, to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness.

behavior feedback effect 

the tendency of behavior to influence our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions.

feel good do good phenomenon

people are more likely to perform good deeds when they are in a positive mood

positive psychology

study of what makes life most worth living, focusing on human strengths and how to flourish rather than just treating mental illness

subjective well being

self-perceived satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to judge our quality of life

adaption level phenomenon

our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.

relative deprivation

the perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves.

resilience 

the personal strength that helps people cope with stress and recover from adversity and even trauma.

Wellbeing

perceived enjoyment and fulfillment with one’s life as a whole 

Liking theories

pleasant affective and positive of one’s life

Wanting theories

the fulfillment of one’s desires

Needing Theories

possession of a set of intrinsically valuable psychological goods and characteristics

Subjective/Hedonic Wellbeing 

individual’s emotional and cognitive state of happiness, often measured through:

positive affect — frequent pos emotions

low negative affect — infrequent neg emotions

high life satisfaction 

Psychological/Eudaimonic Wellbeing

concept of human flourishing measured through: sense of purpose, personal growth, self acceptance, autonomy, environmental mastery

positive relationships

Benefits of Wellbeing

predicts major life events and outcomes like marriage, divorce, and finance earnings

promotes positive health behavior and is associated with better physical and cognitive health 

happier people are more likely to engage in prosocial behavior 

Set Point Theory

what extent do we bounce back to our well-being “set-point” after major life events?

Strategies to Increase Wellbeing

physical activity, sleep, nutritious diet

social relationships 

helping others 

engaging in meaningful and pleasurable activities

mindfulness meditation

humor/laughter

Stress Appraisal 

Challenge

Threat

having the resources to cope with the stresser

Challenge Appraisal 

type of appraisal

beneficial to physiological response — motivates you to do well

threat appraisal

type of stress appraisal

harming performance and damaging for health

Stress Response

cognitive and affective experiences

somatic experiences

understanding that stress response happens after stressor

Ex: flight, flight, freeze, tend and befriend

Problem focused Coping

coming up with a solution to solve the problem, directly attacking the stressor

Ex: exams

Harmful effects of stress

trigger risky decisions and unhealthy behaviors

increasing inflammations and altering immune function

Automatic Nervous System Response

headaches

high blood pressure and inflammation

increased heart disease risk and other negative health outcomes

Benefits of Stress

motivate us to address problems

improve immune systems

short lived stressors that are appraised as challenges

Stress

consists of stressor, stress appraisal, stress response

Types of Stressors

catastrophe — natural disasters

major life changes — moving

daily hassles — traffic

Distress

negative stress

causes anxiety/concern

short or long term

decrease performance

can lead to mental/physical problems

Eustress

positive stress response

short term

motivating and improves performance

Emotion Focused Coping

not directly addressing the stressor, instead trying to change your emotion towards the stressor

ex: distraction, reappraisal

General Adaptation Syndrome

a three-stage physiological response to stress, first described by Hans Selye. The stages are alarm reaction, where the body experiences the fight-or-flight response; resistance, where the body adapts and attempts to return to normal; and exhaustion, which occurs when stress is prolonged and the body's resources are depleted