Ch. 6 Emotion and Affect

The Duplex Mind and Emotional Experience

• Duplex Mind: Distinction between conscious and automatic processing.
  • Conscious Emotions: Deliberate feelings (e.g., joy, anger); clear recognition of the cause.
  • Automatic Affect: Instant emotional responses, often unconscious.

Theories of Emotion

• James-Lange Theory: Emotions arise from physiological arousal:
  • Emotional stimulus leads to physiological arousal, which is interpreted as an emotion.
  • Example: Seeing a bear causes heart racing, leading to fear.
• Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory:
  • Emotion involves both bodily arousal and a cognitive label to identify the emotion.
  • Misattribution of arousal can occur (e.g., feelings from exercise mistaken for attraction).
• Cannon-Bard Theory: Emotions and physiological reactions occur simultaneously but independently.

Functions of Specific Emotions

• Happiness:
  • Influenced by affect balance and life satisfaction.
  • Hedonic Treadmill: Returns to baseline happiness levels despite changes.
  • Associated with longevity and relationships, yet extremes can lead to rigidity and risk neglect.
• Anger:
  • Response to threats; can either motivate confrontation or cause avoidance.
  • Management strategies: venting, mental distraction, behavior modification.
• Guilt:
  • Moral emotion linked to specific bad actions; encourages reparative behavior.
• Shame:
  • Affects self-perception; more global than guilt, relating to identity.
• Disgust:
  • Strong negative response; serves important health and social functions.
  • Motivates avoidance and promotes healthy choices.

Role of Emotions in Relationships and Decision-Making

• Belongingness: Emotions facilitate social connection and communicate needs.
• Decision-Making:
  • Positive emotions can enhance flexibility and creativity but may lead to distractibility.
  • The Risk-as-Feelings Hypothesis indicates emotional states can bias risk assessment.

Emotional Intelligence and Regulation

• Emotional Intelligence (EI):

  • Comprises four components:
  1. Perceiving Emotions: Recognizing emotions in oneself and others.
  2. Facilitating Thought: Using emotions to aid cognitive processes.
  3. Understanding Emotion: Comprehending emotional cues and reactions.
  4. Managing Emotions: Regulating emotional responses in oneself and others.

• Affect Regulation:

  • Strategies to manage emotions include seeking social support, proactive problem-solving, and modifying arousal levels.
  • Similar strategies apply to both enhancing positive moods and mitigating negative moods.

Gender and Cultural Differences in Emotion

• Cross-Cultural Emotion Recognition:
  • Basic emotional expressions identified across cultures: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust.
• Gender Differences:
  • Studies indicate men may exhibit more emotional variability while women may report emotions more readily (more expressive).

Summary of Emotions and Their Functions

• Emotions influence behaviors, decision-making, and interpersonal relationships.
• They function as feedback systems to guide actions and motivations.
• Although emotions can complicate judgment, they are essential for human experience and interaction.