Emotion and Emotional Intelligence Lecture

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing essential terms from the lecture on emotion, its components, adaptive functions, and emotional intelligence.

Emotion

A multifaceted response involving physiological arousal, cognitive interpretation, and behavioral expression.

Arousal

The physiological activation or energy increase that accompanies an emotional state.

Cognitive Interpretation

The meaning we assign to a situation or our arousal, shaping which emotion we feel.

Behavioral Expression

The outward actions or facial/body cues that display an emotional state.

Affect

A broad term covering both moods and discrete emotions; feeling tone that can be pleasant (positive) or unpleasant (negative).

Motivation

Internal processes that initiate, direct, and sustain behavior, often influenced by or influencing emotion.

Approach Motivation

Drive to move toward desirable outcomes, usually fueled by positive emotions.

Avoidance Motivation

Drive to move away from threats or undesirable outcomes, often fueled by negative emotions like fear.

Basic (Primary) Emotions

Universal, biologically rooted emotions such as happiness, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, and surprise.

Positive Affect

Pleasant, desirable feeling states such as happiness, joy, or pride.

Negative Affect

Unpleasant feeling states such as fear, sadness, or anger.

Facial Expressions

Innate, recognizable patterns of muscle movement that communicate basic emotions across cultures.

Blending of Emotions

Combining two or more primary emotions plus personal interpretation to create nuanced feelings.

Adaptive Functions of Emotion

Ways emotions aid survival by motivating action, guiding decisions, and regulating social interaction.

Social Communication

Using emotional expressions to convey internal states and coordinate interactions with others.

Social Bonding (Group Cohesion)

The role of positive emotions like love, affection, and patriotism in forming and maintaining relationships and groups.

Reinforcement

Any event that increases the likelihood of a behavior; often works through the emotions it elicits.

Primary Reinforcer

Naturally rewarding stimulus (e.g., food, warmth) that elicits positive emotion without prior learning.

Secondary (Learned) Reinforcer

Stimulus that gains rewarding value through association with primary reinforcers and the emotions they produce (e.g., money, flowers).

Emotional Intelligence

The ability to perceive, understand, regulate, and use emotions adaptively in oneself and others.

Perceiving Emotion

Noticing and correctly identifying feelings in oneself or other people.

Understanding Emotion

Knowing the causes and consequences of emotions and how they can change over time.

Regulating Emotion

Managing and adjusting emotional states, either up or down, in oneself or others.

Harnessing Emotion

Using feelings as energy to motivate thinking, decision-making, or goal pursuit.

Telomeres

Protective caps at chromosome ends whose length is linked to health; longer telomeres have been associated with higher emotional intelligence.

Connectedness to Nature

Feeling emotionally part of the natural world; shown to correlate with higher emotional intelligence.