lecture 2/21

Introduction to Mood and Emotion

• Affect: General term for mood or emotional states.

Moods

• Diffuse Nature: Moods often lack a specific source or target.

  • Example: Waking up on the wrong side of the bed may lead to a bad mood without an identifiable cause.

• Nonspecific Feeling: Typically categorized as good or bad, with an underlying feeling that is persistent throughout the day.

  • Example: A person can swing from a bad to good mood gradually as their circumstances change.

• Persistent Background State: Moods generally maintain a background presence, changing gradually over time.

Emotions

• Specific and Targeted: Emotions arise from identifiable stimuli in the environment.

  • Example: Happiness due to good news, or anger directed at a friend.

• Distinctive Nature: Unlike moods, emotions can be classified into specific types, such as sadness, anger, and fear.

• Temporal Nature: Emotions are typically brief, intensifying quickly and then dissipating faster than moods.

Theories of Emotion

James-Lange Theory

• Overview: Emotions are interpreted bodily reactions to external stimuli.

• Mechanism: A stimulus leads to physiological reactions, which are interpreted as emotions.

  • Example: Increased heart rate due to fear leads to the feeling of fear.

Critiques by Cannon-Bard

• Cannon's Argument: James-Lange theory is limited as physiological responses can be similar across different emotions.

  • Example: Increased heart rate could signify both fear and excitement.

• Research Findings: Individuals can report emotions even when cut off from physiological sensations, suggesting a more complex process.

Cannon-Bard Theory

• Co-occurrence of Brain and Body: Emotions arise from simultaneous processing of stimuli both cognitively and physiologically.

• Holistic Experience: Emotions are interpreted based on both cognitive appraisal and physical sensation; the brain and autonomic nervous system work together.

Affective Information Theory

• Purpose of Affect: Feeling states serve as survival tools, quickly assessing environmental safety.

  • Positive affect indicates safety; negative affect indicates problems that need addressing.

• Cognition Impact: Affect influences memory retrieval and how we interpret surrounding stimuli.

Mood and Memory Recall

• Mood-congruent Recall: Individuals are more likely to remember information that matches their current mood.

  • Good mood = easier recall of positive memories; bad mood = easier recall of negative memories.

• Judgment Influences: Current mood can shape judgments about situations or outcomes, often leading to cognitive biases.

Mood and Perception

• Interpretation of Ambiguous Information: Current mood influences how ambiguous stimuli are understood.

• Example: Someone in a bad mood might interpret a neutral statement negatively, while a person in a good mood may see it positively.

Schwartz and Clore's Weather Study

• Research Overview: Examined the impact of weather on participants' self-reported happiness.

• Findings: Individuals contacted on sunny days reported higher happiness and life satisfaction compared to those contacted on rainy days.

  • Participants in rainy conditions showed lower happiness and a desire for change in their lives.

• Attention to Weather Impact: Participants who were asked about the weather before the questionnaire exhibited less of a weather effect on their responses; this suggests awareness can adjust mood-influenced judgments.

Conclusion

• Moods and Emotions Interaction: Understanding the distinctions between mood and emotion enhances comprehension of how emotional states affect cognition and behavior.

• Integrated Information Processing: Emotional experiences often result from the amalgamation of various stimuli, fostering unique emotional states.