theories on emotion

emotions:

a response of the whole organism

involves physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience

william james:

william james and charles lange created the james-lange theory of emotion

charles lange:

created the james-lange theory of emotion along with william james

james-lange theory of emotion:

physiological response to a stimulus leads to conscious experience of the emotion

physiological response comes first, then comes the actual emotion

because of the facial-feedback hypothesis

walter cannon:

created the cannon-bard theory of emotion along with phillip bard

phillip bard:

created the cannon-bard theory of emotion along with walter cannon

cannon-bard theory of emotion:

conscious experience of an emotion and physiological response happen at the same time

because the thalamus relays sensory information and information to the frontal lobe at the same time

spillover effect:

an aroused state can be experienced as one emotion or another based on our interpretation of it

stanley schachter:

created the two-factor theory of emotion along with jerome singer

jerome singer:

created the two-factor theory of emotion along with stanley schachter

two-factor theory of emotion:

our emotion is determined by our cognition of an event

first is physiological response, then is cognitive processing of the event, then is the emotion

automatic nervous system:

automatic nervous system activates the fight or flight response when you’re in crisis (feeling fear)

fight or flight:

activation of the automatic nervous system

sympathetic nervous system:

produces adrenaline when in a highly stressful/crisis situation

parasympathetic nervous system:

reverses the effects of the sympathetic nervous system after crisis is averted

amygdala:

area of the brain that processes fear

fear:

fear does not need cognitive processing in order to happen

zajunc and ledoux theory

evolutionarily this is a survival mechanism

polygraph testing:

doesn’t work because the physiological response is the same for multiple emotions such as anger fear and happiness

opponent-process theory:

similar to the opponent-process theory for color (richard solomon)

fear and negative emotions = lack of pleasure

after negative emotions calm down (habituation), there is more space for pleasure

cognitive appraisal theory:

emotions depend on our cognitive processing of the situation we are in in two parts:

primary appraisal:

our assessment of the potential consequences of the situation

secondary appraisal:

our decision for what to do

expressed and experienced emotion

paul ekman:

he said that facial expressions are universal and biological, and not a result of culture

gender and emotion:

women can read emotional cues better than men

fear:

fear does not need cognition in order to work

amygdala:

area of the brain where fear is processed

display rules:

cultural norms for when and where display of emotion is appropriate

emotion and culture:

culture defines emotional gestures

sympathetic nervous system:

when body is alarmed, sympathetic nervous system is activated and releases adrenaline

adrenaline:

neurotransmitter released by body when it is alarmed

facial feedback effect:

making facial expressions that correspond with a certain emotion can influence the way you feel (make you feel that emotion)

smiling when you’re sad might help you cheer up

behavior feedback effect:

acting according to a certain emotion will cause you to feel that emotion

insula:

part of the brain located in the lateral sulcus that deals with emotion

stress and health

behavioral medicine:

behavioral and medical knowledge applied to health and disease

stress:

the process by which we respond to certain stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging

stressors:

situations that cause us stress

hans selye:

established the idea of general adaptation syndrome

our bodies go through 3 stages when we’re stressed - alarm, resistance, exhaustion

coronary heart disease:

more stress leads to higher likelihood of coronary heart disease

general adaptation syndrome:

established by hans selye

bodies go through 3 stages when stressed:
alarm: when our SNS fires adrenaline
resistance: cortisol begins to flow through our body after prolonged stress
exhaustion: if stress continues, our immune system weakens making us more susceptible to disease

alarm:

when our SNS fires adrenaline

resistance:

cortisol begins to flow through our body after prolonged stress

exhaustion:

continued stress weakens immune system making us more susceptible to disease

catharsis:

relief, often alleged to be from taking out aggression

doesn’t really works, makes us angrier

type a:

competitive, more aggressive and anger prone

more likely to die of heart disease

type b:

more easygoing and relaxed

less likely to die of heart disease bc less stress

psychophysiological illness:

mind/body illness

stress-related physical illness such as headaches, hypertension

lymphocytes:

white blood cells that fight infection

energy is directed away from white blood cells when you’re stressed, making them weaker and making the person more susceptible to disease

cortisol:

stress hormone that is released after prolonged stress

health and happiness

coping:

dealing with stress

problem focused coping:

alleviating stress by going to the source and changing the interaction, or relationship with the person/stressor

emotional focused coping:

alleviating stress by avoiding source and instead seeking emotional support from others such as friends/family

positive psychology:

psychology about positive emotions

relative deprivation theory:

perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

you feel like youre doing worse off than other people that you compare yourself to

perceived control:

stress is worse if you think you have no control over the situation

also called locus of control

optimist:

optimists can alleviate stress better and are therefore healthier

pessimist:

someone who has a more negative attitude about life, cannot alleviate stress as well as an optimist and is therefore not healthier

feel good, do good phenomenon:

the better you feel, the more willing you are to help others

mindfulness:

living in the moment, being at peace, etc

social support:

family, friends, pets

very important for dealing with stress

aerobic exercise:

helps boost lung and heart capacity, releases pent-up emotions and decreases depression

spirituality:

provides a support system and community, things that are helpful in dealing with/alleviating stress

adaptation-level phenomenon:

our tendency to form judgements relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

we get excited about a pay raise, but then adapt to that pay and then need another raise to be happy