EMOTION
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
DEFINITION
• The word emotion is derived from the Latin
word ‘emovere’ which means ‘to stir up’, ‘to
agitate’ or ‘to excite’.
• Emotion is a ‘moved’ or ‘stirred-up’ state of an
organism.
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
DEFINITION CONTINUED
• Morris (1979 in Magal 1998 p74) defines emotion
as a complex affective experience that involves
diffuse physiological changes and can be
expressed overtly in characteristics behaviour
patterns.
• Emotion is a Psychological state involving three
components: subjective experience, physical
arousal and a behavioural or expressive response
( Hockenburry & Hockenbury 1998, p.298).
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
CHARACTERISTICS OF EMOTIONS
Emotions are intense and short –lived.
Emotions have a specific cause, directed
toward some particular object and motivate a
person to take action.
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
COMPONENTS OF EMOTION
• They are three namely:
1. Subjective experience of emotion
2. Physiological arousal
3. Expressive or behavioural component
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
CLASSIFICATION OF EMOTION
• Emotion are classified as:
1. Intensity of emotion: high, medium, or low
2. Nature of Emotion: pleasant or unpleasant
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
TYPES OF EMOTION
• Ekman identified six basic emotions:
happiness, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust
and fear
• These are expressed universally
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
BASIC EMOTIONS
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
BASIC EMOTIONS
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
COMPONENTS OF EMOTION
• They are three namely:
1. Subjective experience of emotion
2. Physiological arousal
3. Expressive or behavioural component
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE OF EMOTION
• Subjective experience refers to the subjective
experience that accompanies an emotion that
is the individual and realization state of
emotion
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL
• Physiological Arousal-refers to physiological
changes primarily in the autonomic nervous
system that takes place when an individual
has an emotion
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
EXPRESSIVE OR BEHAVIOURAL
COMPONENT
• Expressive or behavioural component-refers
to the behavioural acts elicited by the
emotion such as biting of teeth in moments of
an argument
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
THEORIES OF EMOTION
The major theories of motivation can be grouped into three main
categories: physiological, neurological, and cognitive.
• Physiological theories suggest that responses within the body are
responsible for emotions.
• Neurological theories propose that activity within the brain leads to
emotional responses.
• Finally, cognitive theories argue that thoughts and other mental
activity play an essential role in the formation of emotions.
Theories of Emotion include:
1. James-Lange theory
2. Cannon-Bard theory
3. Two-Factor theory
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
JAMES-LANGE THEORY
• The physiological theory of emotion. Proposed by William
James and Carl Lange
• The James-Lange theory of emotion suggests that emotions
occur as a result of physiological reactions to events.
• The perception of stimulus causes our body to undergo
certain physiological changes and we experience emotion.
The reserve of common sense notion that we see a lion, we
feel afraid, we run.
• The order is we see a lion, we run, we feel afraid.
• James predicated that people who have suffered spinal
cord injury would experience dampened emotions but
research does not this predication
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
CANNON-BARD THEORY
• This theory holds that subjective experience of
emotion and physiological changes take place
simultaneously or at the same time.
• The thalamus and hypothalamus are responsible for
emotional reactions. After perceiving a stimulus, the
sensory impulses reach the thalamic-hypothalamic
regions. From there they are carried simultaneously to
the internal organs of the body and the cerebral cortex.
The cerebral cortex, therefore, receives and
experiences emotion at the same time that physical
changes are occurring in the body,
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL
Physiological Arousal-refers to physiological
changes primarily in the autonomic nervous
system that takes place when an individual
has an emotion
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
TWO-FACTOR THEORY
• A cognitive theory of emotion suggesting that the physiological
arousal occurs first, and then the individual must identify the
reason behind this arousal in order to experience and label it as an
emotion.
• Proposed by Schachter and Singer that emotional experience
requires the interaction of two separate factors: (1) Physiological
arousal and (2) A cognitive label for that arousal. Both factors are
necessary for the subjective experience of emotion.
• Emotion results from applying a cognitive label to physiological
arousal. Physical arousal together with our perception and
judgment of situation jointly determine which emotions we feel.
One cannot work alone.
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY
• Emotions serve many different functions in human
behaviour and relationships.
• Three basic components are subjective experience,
physiological arousal and a behavioural or expressive
component.
• Emotions are classified in terms of degree of
pleasantness and level of arousal.
• People differ in the intensity of their emotional
experience and with which they express their emotions
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
ANGER
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
FEAR
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)
HAPPINESS
(NJOBO LILLIAN - MSc PH, PG Dip.Cous.,
BA)