Emotion and Emotional Intelligence Lecture

Defining Emotion

Working definition: an internal response comprising
- Arousal (physiological activation)
- Cognition (thoughts/interpretations about the situation & the arousal itself)
- Behavioural expression (facial cues, gestures, actions)
Equation-style summary: Emotion = f(Arousal, Cognition, Behaviour)

Environmental interpretation is the most common trigger (e.g.
- Meeting a friend → joy
- Witnessing an accident → shock/fear)
Occasionally arousal precedes thought ("Too much caffeine → jittery → must be nervous")
Sometimes thought precedes arousal ("Did I leave the stove on?" → anxiety)

Motivation can evoke emotion (e.g. striving for success → anticipated pride)
Emotion can fuel motivation
- Fear → avoidance motivation
- Positive affect → approach motivation
Diagrammatically: Motivation \leftrightarrow Emotion

Lightning strike: thrill, fear, awe, wonder
Snarling dog: fear > if past negative experience; alternate reading "dog is yawning" → lower arousal
Antelope drinking: peace, calm; low arousal
Duck–alligator hybrid sculpture: confusion, curiosity
Shows how identical stimulus + individual learning histories → different emotions

Binary model: 2 types (Positive vs Negative affect)
Primary/Basic model: 6\text{–}10 biologically rooted emotions
- Common list: happiness, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, surprise (often add shame, guilt)
- Criteria: cross-cultural facial expressions; distinct neural signatures
Constructivist/Blended model: "Nearly infinite" emotions created via
- Blends of primaries
- Diverse cognitive interpretations
- Varied arousal levels
- Idiosyncratic learning & culture

Sadness: down-turned mouth, drooping eyes
Happiness: raised cheeks, “Duchenne” eye wrinkles
Anger: bared teeth, furrowed brow, tense eyes
Even infants display unlearned, recognisable expressions → evidence of biological grounding

Adored, amused, bonded, cheerful, dynamic, ecstatic, eager, lucky, passionate, radiant, revitalised, satisfied, valiant…
Differences stem from
- Arousal intensity (e.g. "ecstatic" > "cheerful")
- Cognitive appraisal (why? context?)
- Cultural/learning influences

Social communication & regulation
- Facial & bodily cues guide conversations (friend’s eagerness vs sadness; angry stranger at the pub → move away)
Formation & maintenance of social bonds
- Love/affection → parental care, team cohesion, patriotism, environmental stewardship
Motivation enhancement
- Positive emotion → stronger approach; negative emotion → avoidance when adaptive
Learning & reinforcement
- Pleasure or pain tags events as \text{Reinforcer} or \text{Punisher}
- Primary reinforcers (e.g. chocolate) vs secondary/learned reinforcers (e.g. flowers associated with affection)
Decision making & effort allocation
- Anticipated pride in graduation → sustained study effort
Caveat: Emotions can be maladaptive (e.g. clinical depression, unjustified fear)

Definition: individual-difference capacity to adaptively perceive, understand, regulate & harness emotions in self/others
Four core skills
1. Perceiving (detect facial, vocal, bodily cues)
2. Understanding (causes, trajectories, blends)
3. Regulating (up- or down-modulating own & others’ emotions)
4. Harnessing (using emotion for motivation, creativity, decision-making)

Information + deliberate practice (skill training programmes)
Emotional "priming"—contexts or cues that promote adaptive processing
Personal strategies to explore (self-reflection journals, mindfulness, empathy training, emotion-regulation techniques)

Identify three personal situations where emotion boosted or hindered motivation; analyse components
Observe a day’s interactions: note at least five facial expressions and guess the emotions; verify when possible
Choose one EI-building strategy to practice this week (e.g., daily emotional check-in) and track effects