Intro to Psych pt. 3

emotion

a state of arousal

has three components: physiological changes, cognitive processes, and action tendencies

can be distinguished from mood

spontaneous, in a moment

the three components of an emotion

physiological changes

cognitive processes

action tendencies

mood

a diffuse, long-lasting feeling state

basic emotions may be innate

the basic emotions: surprise, disgust, sadness, anger, fear, and happiness

paul ekman’s studies

visit different cultues and see if they can all perceive the same 6 basic emotions on unfamiliar (culturally different) faces

found that all cultures were able to recognize emotions pretty well → shows that the 6 emotions are innate

T or F: people recognize basic emotions through facial cues

T

facial cues of fear

upper eyelids raised

facial cue of disgust

nose wrinkled

facial cue of anger

jaw thrust lowered

facial cue of determination/anger

lips pressed

facial cue of sadness

eyebrows drawn up

facial cue of sadness

lip corners down

T or F: genuine emotional expression is often spontaneous and unique

T → can be inappropriate sometimes since it cannot be controlled

What emotion can people recognize the best?

happiness

T or F: Accuracy of recognizing emotion increases when looking at people you know compared to strangers

T

T or F: People tend to recognize emotion with a lower accuracy when looking at people similar to them

F

emotional expression is universal

emotions are universally recognized

neural signals of emotional experience → evidence of universality

The universality hypothesis of emotions is challenged by:

contextual effects on emotion recognition

socially-constructed norms of emotional experience and expression

T or F: Emotion recognition accuracy is 100%

F

contextual effects of emotion

emotions written on the face could contradict the body

example: man displays fear in one but sadness in the other → faces are the same, but body language is different

T or F: Facial expression does not always match the emotion we are feeling

T → think happy tears

sociocultural effects of displaying emotions

social roles are constructed → not inherent, but learned

ex → display rules → americans smile frequently, but Germans see this as inappropriate

ex → gender stereotypes

display rules

rules of when it is appropriate to express certain emotions

two factor theory of emotion

physiological changes + cognition/environment

example of the two factor theory of emotion

heart race increase, perspiration, stomach clenching + concert vs.

heart race increase, perspiration, stomach clenching + scary movie

two factor theory of emotion, definition

studied by shcacter and singer in 1962 →

study of the effect of “Nuproxin” on vision

participants injected with epinephrine (drug that leads to adrenaline rush)

some participants were told that there could be side effects, others weren’t

→ understanding difference of cognitive label what you’re abt to feel

then, participants filled out questionnaires that had mildly personal/offensive questions in the room w someone else, an actor paid to behave in a specific way → in half, he would act happy, in the other half, he would act angry

does the actor affect how the participant feels? → actor serves as environment

finally, ask participants how they feel

results of two factor theory of emotion study

in the no warning condition, people reported more closely w the actor

in the warning condition, it was kind of the opposite → they “distanced” themselves from the actor (these results don’t really apply to hypothesis)

implications of the two-factor theory

misattribution of arousal → we may not always know the true source of our physiological arousal

facial feedback hypothesis

hold pencil between teeth → causes a smile due to the emotions being used

hold pencil between lips → no smile

participants holding the pencil between the teeth reported being happier

why do we need emotions?

emotions bind people together, motivate us to achieve our goals, help us make decisions and plans

survival and adaptation functions, cognitive functions (decision making), communication and interpersonal functions (estbalish and strengthen interpersonal relations)

survival and adaptive functions

negative and positive experiences guide behaviors that increase survival/reproduction

ex → fear motivates running from a dangerous animal

ex → joy motivates caregiving for offspring

ex → disgust protects from poisonous foods

cognitive functions

decision making → we anticipate future emotional states (affective forecasting) → current emotions guide decisions (affect-as-information-therory)

affective forecasting

predicting how one will feel in the future

tendency to oversestimate the intensity and duration of future emotional reactions = impact bias

four components of affective forecasting

valence, specific emotions, intensity, duration

people are pretty good at predicting valence and speciifc emotions, and overestimate the intensity and duration

the impact bias and decision making → economic decisions

losses in a gambling task were predicted to have a greater impact than gains, but when people actually gambled, this was not the case

the impact bias and decision making → healthcare decisions

non-patients overestimate how negative they will feel if they develop chronic health conditions

more likely to refuse life-saving treatment

why does the impact bias occur?

focalism and immune neglect

focalism

tendency to think about an emotional event as occurring in a vacuum, with no other events influencing your thoughts and feelings

immune neglect

not accounting for the unconscious psychological immune system that facilitates recovery from negative events

affect-as-information theory

people use currenet emotions as information to make judgments and decisions

ex → fear = my safety has been threatened, RUN

communication and interpersonal functions of emotions

bond us together

FILL IN BEGINNING SLIDES FROM MOTIVATION LECTURE

where does motivatio come from?

drive → motivation → behavior that leads to need satisfaction

maslow’s hierachy of needs

aesthetic needs and cognitive needs

physiological → safety/security → social/belonging → ego/esteem → self-actualization

needs to be met first → can be met last (in other words, basic physiological needs need to be met before we can worry about our next set of needs)

maslow’s hierachy - physiological needs

basic bodily needs, such as the need for food, water, sex, and sleep

maslow’s hierachy - safety/security needs

freedom from physical and economic threats to safety and security

maslow’s hierachy - social/belonging needs

being accepted by members of a group and identifying with groups that succeed

maslow’s hierachy - ego/esteem needs

tackling important projects that bring prestige, status, and recognition from others

maslow’s hierachy - self-actualization

fulfillment through engagement in challenging, innovative, creative projecta

limitations of maslow’s hierachy

people have simultaneous needs (rather than moving from one to the next)

higher needs may supersede basic ones (think hunger strike)

motives to eat

genetic influnces → set point: genetically influenced weight range

sociocultural influences → the US “thin ideal”, stereotypes, body shaming/weight stigma (weight perceived as controllable)

motives for sex

biological motivations → reproduction and propagation of the species, physiological arousal

sociocultural motivations → psychological pleasure and reward, social bonding and closeness, power and dominance

social needs - the need to belong

motivates people to spend time with other individuals and to become part of social groups

psychologically, people need to live among others

how similar are social and physical pain

we compaare rejection to physical pain (ex → broken hearts, emotional scars)

social and physical pain connection study

look at brain activity of people putting ice on their wrist until they can’t stand it and people shown a ton of images and then randomly shown a picture of their ex

similar brain regions were activated, signifying the connection between physical and social pain

the need for esteem

the need to enhance the self by engaging in meaningful activities that contribute to psychological growth → volunteering, giving to charity, helping others reach their potential (volunteering, giving to charity, helping others reach their potential)

self-serving cognitions

thought processes that preserve positive self-perceptions → unrealistic optimism, self-handicapping, self-serving bias

better-than-average effect

due to unrealistic optimism

most people think they’re better than average

why? → it is easier to go through life thinking it will be all well and good

self-handicapping study

people were given the choice to either take actavil (enhancing drug) or pandocrin (impairing drug) (fake drugs) when presented with another test after an easy or difficult test

people who just took the easy test took the enhancing drug for the next test

and people who just took the hard test took the impairing drug for the next test

why? they needed something to blame their bad performance on to perserve their self-esteem

FILL IN THE REST OF THE SLIDES FROM THE MOTIVATION LECTURE

folk wisdom

knowledge that is passed down from generation to generation

for example, “two heads are better than one”

but, can often be conflicting → “too many cooks spoil the broth”

creates competing information

T of F: social psych is superior to folk wisdom

T → relies on scientific study

scientific study

systematic observation, description, and measurement

science > intuition

social facilitation

a process whereby the presence of others enhances performance

ex → triplett’s cyclists

triplett’s cyclists

look at cyclists biking and training and record their times

recorded the pattern of social facilitation

when the cyclists were training with other people, they performed better than when they were on their own → created competition

zajonc’s model of increased arousal

presence of other people → increased arousal → strengthens our dominant response

the missing piece to triplett’s cyclists

people don’t make us better or worse, the presence of people just causes arousal → you’re not in your normal resting state

what determines our dominant response (zajonc)

if an action is easy = performance enhancement

if an action is difficult = performance impairment

to perform well, make good performance your dominant response → practice!

social loafing

a group-produced reduction in individual output on tasks where contributions are pooled

think tug of war → kids pulling on individual ropes vs kids pulling on ropes together → all succeed together or all fail together

people get into a group and they realize no one is looking at what they’re doing → they become a little less individual

conformity

the tendency to change our perceptions, opinions, or behaviors in ways that are consistent with group normsT

T or F: individualism is highly valued in North America

T

autokinetic effect

the illusion that a point of light is moving in a dark room

autokinetic effect study

participants guess how far the point of light moved (no right answer since it moved)

then, they do it again, but with a group of people, and the individual is allowed to change their answer to conform to others

findings → when people were in a group, they tended to converge to an answer and diverge from their own → they tended to agree

demonstrates conformity

line judgment study (Asch)

participants are asked in a group to say which line is the same length as another given line

four of them are actors and all give the same, wrong answer

most times, the participant conformed to their answer

participants confromed to the incorrect majority 37% of the time

why did asch’s particpants conform?

informational influence

normative influence

informational influence

influence that produces conformity when a person believes that others are correct in their judments

normative influence

influence that produces conformity when a person fears the negative social consequences of appearing deviant (they don’t want to rock the boat)

obedience

behavior change produced by the commands of authority

T or F: We are socialized to respect legitimate forms of leadership

T

one of the most well known psych studies

milgram’s studies

nazi studies

nazis claimed that they were “just following orders”

Milgram’s experients

Mr. Wallace talks to you

participants responded to an ad about a study on learning and memory

rigged so the participant is always the teacher

the learner gets attached to a machine with electric shocks

mr. wallace is the learner

if mr. wallace presses the wrong button, you have to administer a shock of 0 to 450 volts

you can no longer see mr. wallace in the room

mr. wallace keeps getting things wrong, so you keep shocking him. eventually, at 150 volts, mr. wallace cries out and demands for the experiment to be stopped

the participant/teacher would look at the experimenter, and the experimenter would tell them to continue. if you continue, mr. wallace’s screams get worse, and then stop all together

when did psychiatrists, college students, and middle-class adults say particiapnts would stop administering shocks in milgram’s study?

they predicted most participants would stop at 135 volts and only 1/1000 people will exhibit extreme obedience

milgram’s results

65% of people went to the extreme level → the far majority displayed obedience to the extreme, even though they knew they were hurting someone else

the lessons of milgram’s studies

obedience is a powerful form of social regulation

when high-pressure situations, many people will obey bad orders

this does not mean that people are not responsible for their behvaior → shapes our understanding of obedience as something that can and does happen

T or F: Psychological disorders are prevalent

T → 1 in 4 americans over 18 years old has diagnosable psychological disorder in any given year

half of americans will have a psychological disorder at some point in life

defining psychological disorders

a disturbance in thinking, emotion, or behavior that:

causes perrson to suffer

or is self-destructive

or seriously impairs ability to work/get along with others

or makes person unable to control the impulse to endager others

maladaptive behaviors

behaviors that interfer with the ability to respond appropriately in different situations

NOT adaptive

interferes with at least one aspect of a person’s life → work, social relations, self-care

situational context

social situation, behavioral setting, or general circumstances in which behavior takes place

is this behavior appropriate given the situational context?

criteria for defining mental disorders

does the person act in a way that deviates from cultural norms for acceptable behavior?

is the behavior maladaptive?

is the behvaior self-destructive or threatening?

does the behavior cause discomfort/concern to others and impair social relationships?

T or F: to be defined as a mental disorder, symptoms must interfere with at least one aspect of the person’s life (work, social relations, self-care)

T

what causes pscyhological disorders?

many causes

both nature and nurture → biological factors (genetics) and environmental factors (childhood trauma, lifestyle)

biological factors of psychological disorders

genes → neurotransmitters and receptor sites, brain anatomy and function

ex → individuals with PTSD have overactive amygdala, over-attention to threat detection, interpretation of innocuous stimuli as threatening, less activity in frontal cortex (cant control fear response/tell body that it is safe)

environmental factors of psychological disorders

social context (family) → risk factor = being seperated from primary care giver in childhood

violence and abuse

socioeconomic status

nalnutrition, environmental toxins, maternal illness

air pollution exposure and associations with depression and anxiety

exposure to matter in air pollution lead to central nervous system inflammation, inflammantion in the brain, which could then lead to depression and anxiety

overall causes changes in the brain

Biological and environmental factors contribute to…

vulnerability

vulnerability-stress model

individuals have underlying vulnerability based on biological and environmental factors

addition of stressful circumstances leads to disorders if stress level exceeeds individual’s ability to cope

overall, higher stress can be associated with an inability to cope with excessive stressful circumstances adn a higher probability of mental disorder

low vulnerability + low/moderate stress =

no psychopathology

high vulnerability + low stress =

no psychopathology

high vulnerability + moderate/high stress =

psychopathology

how are disorders diagnosed?

assessment → process of examining cognitive, behavioral, emotional functioning

enables possible diagnosis