Unit 7: Motivation, Emotion, & Personality Summary

Emotion vs Feelings vs Moods

  • Emotions: Physical, biological responses to external stimuli.
  • Feelings: Mental associations and reactions to emotions; conscious experience.
  • Moods: Persistent feelings over extended periods (e.g., irritable, elated).

Theories of Emotion

  • James-Lange Theory:

    • Emotions result from awareness of physiological responses.
    • Example: Encountering a bear causes trembling, leading to the feeling of fear.

  • Cannon-Bard Theory:

    • Physiological responses and emotional experience occur simultaneously.
    • Example: Seeing a bear leads to both trembling and fear at the same time.

  • Schachter's Two-Factor Theory:

    • Emotions require physiological arousal and cognitive label to be identified.
    • Example: Understanding whether racing heart is due to fear or love depends on context.

Muscle-Feedback Effect

  • Facial muscle states can trigger emotional responses.
  • Example: Smiling can induce feelings of happiness, even in a bad mood.

Emotion and Culture

  • Emotions are universally recognized (e.g., smiling, frowning).
  • Cultural influence affects the expression of emotions:
    • Peace sign in the U.S. vs. offensive gesture in the U.K.
    • OK symbol in Brazil seen as offensive in the U.S.
  • Emotional expression varies between cultures:
    • Individualistic (West) vs. collectivist (East) approaches to emotional expression.