psy 301-Whos in the experts chair (emotions)

Computational Social Science and Behavioral Data Science

• Definition: A field that combines technology and big data to study psychological questions.

• Educational Background: Requires knowledge of psychology, big data methods, and computer science.

• Research Focus: Explores emotional expression and universal facial expressions across cultures.

Importance of Context in Emotional Expression

• Initial Example: A class activity using an image to gauge emotional response.

  • First Reaction: Many students identified the emotion as sadness (45%) and happiness (30%).

  • Contextual Change: Zooming out to provide context revealed that the individual in the image just won a gold medal.

  • Revised Reaction: 81% of students shifted their answer to happiness.

• Study of Facial Expressions:

  • Early studies (e.g., Paul Ekman) showed universal recognition of certain facial expressions across cultures.

  • Despite general consistency, there are significant variations in emotional expression influenced by culture and context.

• Complexity of Emotions:

  • An emotional expression can signify different emotions (e.g., happiness or sadness).

  • Contextual factors play a critical role in interpreting emotional expressions accurately.

Challenges in Emotional Research

• Simplification for Study: Emotions were simplified for study purposes, which can omit real-world complexities.

• Modern Approach: Psychologists now seek to study emotions in the real world using technology and big data to account for variability and contextual influences.

Emotion Regulation Strategies

• Definition: The ability to manage and respond to emotional experiences effectively.

• Three Key Strategies:

  • Distraction: Shifting focus away from negative emotions (e.g., playing video games after a breakup).

  • Suppression: Bottling up emotions, often to avoid conflict or negative outbursts during arguments.

  • Reappraisal: Changing the interpretation of a situation to alter emotional response (e.g., reframing a breakup as a mismatch rather than personal failure).

• Flexibility in Strategy Use:

  • Cognitive flexibility to use various strategies based on the emotional context is crucial.

  • Earlier views favored reappraisal, but newer research emphasizes that all strategies can have their place depending on the situation.

  • For intense negative emotions, distraction or suppression may be more appropriate initially, followed by reappraisal once emotions are stabilized.

Educational Opportunities

• Courses Offered:

  • Text Analysis: Extracting psychological insights using text data.

  • Behavioral Data Science Ethics: Understanding ethical implications in the study of behavior and data science.

Conclusion**

• The field of computational social science and emotion regulation is dynamic and complex, focusing on both the psychological understanding of emotions and practical applications in technology and data analysis.