Chapter 11 PSYC notes
Chapter 11 - Emotions, Stress, and Health
Components of emotion: physiological changes, cognitive processes, subjective feeling
Emotion expression: verbal communication (speech or writing) nonverbal communication, especially the face
Ekman gathered evidence for the universality of the facial expressions of six emotions: happiness, fear, surprise, disgust, sadness
Some researchers add contempt, pride; others found 18 different emotions reliably distinguished from each other.
There is healthy disagreement about the number of core or “basic” emotions.
Babies are born with the ability to display facial express. However, they need to learn how to decode facial expression Innately understand positive and negative (anger and fear) emotions
6 months they are extra sensitive to fear.
Age 3 recognize sadness
Age 5 recognize disgust
Facial expressions not only reflect our internal feelings but also influence them.
Facial feedback: process by which the facial muscles send messages to the brain about the emotion being expressed
When facial feedback is blocked, it is not only harder to show emotion, but also to process emotion.
The amygdala is responsible for: evaluating sensory information, determining its emotional importance, making the initial decision to approach or withdraw instantly assessing potential danger or threat
If the amygdala or critical areas of the cortex are damaged, abnormalities result in the ability to experience fear or recognize it in others.
Regions of the left prefrontal cortex are specialized for the motivation response (Action tendency).
Regions of the right prefrontal region are specialized for the impulse to withdraw or escape (as in disgust or fear).
Mirror neurons throughout the brain are activated when people observe others, especially other people of the same group or others they like.
These neurons seem to be involved in: empathy, imitation, synchrony, mood contagion
mirror neurons only really fire when your with someone you like. mood contagion is when you feel someone else's mood, like it rubs off on you
During experience of any emotion, epinephrine and norepinephrine produce state of physiological arousal.
Pupils dilate, widening to allow in more light. Heart beats faster.Blood pressure increases. Breathing speeds up. Blood sugar rises. These changes provide the body with energy needed to take action.
The polygraph machine, or lie detector, makes use of these responses, but it lacks validity
epinephrine controls your energy and fight or flight
Theories of fear
James theory separates the process, cannon theory says they all happen stimutancily. James is more accurate although for long time people, though cannon was more accurate.
These 2 theories are missing cognitive appraisal. ex; study about injected with adrenal and getting mad, the informed group noticed the feeling but used cognitive appraisal to understand why they felt the way they did.
Schachters theory is the most correct
Appraisals in emotion explain why two people often have different emotional reactions to the same situation.
Cultural differences in values, norms, and appraisals generate: emotion blends and culture-specific emotional feelings. (Culture affects almost every aspect of emotional experience)
All emotions depend on the culture and context that produce them and shape their expression.
Culture strongly influences display rules that regulate when, how, and where a person may express (or suppress) emotions. Ex funeral sad cause loss / celebrating life funeral
Display rules also govern body language: nonverbal signals of body movement, posture, gesture, and gaze
Emotion work: expression of an emotion, often because of a role requirement, that a person does not really feel.
Stress and the body
Environment stressors such as heat, cold, toxins, and danger disrupt the body’s equilibrium.
The body mobilizes its resources to fight off these stressors and restore normal functioning.
When a person is under stress, the hypothalamus sends messages to the endocrine glands along two major pathways:
The sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system is activated, producing the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine from the inner part of the adrenal gland.
The hypothalamus initiates activity along the HPA (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal cortex) resulting in the secretion of cortisol from the adrenal cortex.
Elevated levels of hormones and cortisol can lead to mental and physical health challenges.
Cumulative effects of stressors help explain why people with low incomes are more vulnerable.
The Immune System
Researchers in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) study the interaction among: psychological processes, the nervous and endocrine systems, and the immune system, especially the role of antigens.
Some P N I researchers focus on cell damage to see how stress can lead to illness, aging, and premature death.
In Lewis Terman’s study, the secret to longevity was conscientiousness, which reflects traits like organization, self-discipline, reliability, and persistence.
Another important aspect is locus of control, a general belief that you are` responsible for what happens to you.
Internal and external locus of control
Internal = what happens to you is bc you made it happen, you tried hard to get what you got and thats why you got it. ex internal; studying hard, doing good bc you did that External = things are out of your control, always blaming others or things. ex; doing bad on test bc its out of your control, blames teacher for making test hard.
Divulging (even if only to yourself) private thoughts or feelings that cause shame, worry, fear, or sadness.
Writing about feelings, traumatic experiences can produces insight and understanding, fostering the ability to distance yourself from the bad experience
One way of letting go of negative emotions and grievances is to forgive.
Forgiveness can be harmful if it keeps people in violent and abusive relationships.
Forgiveness does not mean the offended person denies, ignores, or excuses the offense, which might be serious.
Emotion-focused coping concentrates on the emotions the problem has caused.
Problem-focused coping is focused on solving the problem.
Specific steps depend on the nature of the problem.
Becoming informed about the problem increases feelings of control.
It's important to be able to find comfort in others (social supports) this offers concern, affection, attachment, connection, and resources or services.
Welcome, affectionate touch elevates “therapeutic” hormones, especially oxytocin.
Friends and family can also be sources of unhappiness, stress, and anger.
Factors that increase the risk of illness:
Environmental: Poverty, lack of access to health care, exposure to toxins, crime
Experiential: Childhood neglect, traumatic events, chronic job stress, unemployment, discrimination
Biological: Viral or bacterial infections, disease, genetic vulnerability, toxins
Psychological: Hostility, chronic major depression, emotional inhibition, low levels of conscientiousness, external locus of control (fatalism), feeling powerless
Behavioral: Smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, abuse of alcohol and other drugs, lack of sleep
Social: Lack of supportive friends, low involvement in meaningful groups, excessive social comparisons, being in a hostile relationship