Emotion
Chapter 11
Emotion
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Defining Emotion
Elements of Emotion 1: The Body
Elements of Emotion 2: The Mind
Elements of Emotion 3: The Culture
Putting the Elements together: Emotion and
Gender
Emotion
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A state of arousal involving facial and body
changes, brain activation, cognitive
appraisals, subjective feelings, and
tendencies toward action, all shaped by
cultural rules.
Elements of Emotion 1: The Body
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Primary and secondary emotions
The face of emotion
The brain and emotion
Hormones and emotion
Detecting emotions: Does the body lie?
Elements of Emotion 1: The Body
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Primary emotions
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Secondary emotion
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Emotions considered to be universal and biologically
based. They generally include fear, anger, sadness,
joy, surprise, disgust, and contempt.
Emotions that develop with cognitive maturity and
vary across individuals and cultures.
Three biological areas of emotion are
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facial expressions,
brain regions and circuits, and
autonomic nervous system.
Universal Expressions of Emotion
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Facial expressions for primary emotions are
universal.
Even members of remote cultures can recognize
facial expressions in people who are foreign to
them.
Facial feedback
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Process by which the facial muscles send messages to
the brain about the basic emotion being expressed.
Infants are able to read parental expressions.
Facial expression can generate same expressions in
others, creating mood contagion.
The Face of Anger
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Anger is universally
recognized by
geometric patterns on
the face.
In each pair, the left
form seems angrier
than the right form.
Facial Expressions in Social Context
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Across and within cultures, agreement often
varies on which emotion a particular facial
expression is revealing.
People don’t usually express their emotion in
facial expressions unless others are around.
Facial expressions convey different meanings
depending on their circumstances.
People often use facial expressions to lie about
their feelings as well as to express them.
The Brain and Emotion
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The amygdala
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Left prefrontal cortex
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Responsible for assessing threat.
Damage to the amygdala results in abnormality to
process fear.
Involved in motivation to approach others.
Damage to this area results in loss of joy.
Right prefrontal cortex
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Involved in withdrawal and escape.
Damage to the area results in excessive mania and
euphoria.
Hormones and Emotion
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When experiencing an intense emotion, 2
hormones are released.
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Epinephrine
Norepinephrine
Results in increased alertness and arousal.
At high levels, it can create the sensation of
being out of control emotionally.
The Autonomic Nervous System
Detecting Emotions: Does the Body Lie?
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Polygraph testing
relies on autonomic
nervous system arousal.
Typical measures:
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Galvanic Skin Response
Pulse, blood pressure
Breathing
Fidgeting
Polygraph Tests
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Empirical support is weak
and conflicting.
Test is inadmissible in most
courts.
It is illegal to use for most
job screening.
Many government agencies
continue to use for
screening.
Elements of Emotion 2: The Mind
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How thoughts create emotions
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The two factor theory of emotion.
Attributions and emotions.
Cognitions and emotional complexity
Two-factor Theory of Emotion
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Physiological arousal
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Cognitive Label
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Sweaty palms
Increased heart rate
rapid breathing
Attribute source of
arousal to a cause
To have an emotion,
both factors are
required
Attributions and Emotions
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Perceptions and attributions are involved in
emotions.
How one reacts to an event depends on
how he or she explains it.
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For example, how one reacts to being ignored
or winning the silver instead of the gold
medal.
Philosophy of life is also influential.
Cognitions and Emotional
Complexity
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Cognitions, and therefore, emotions,
become more complex as a child’s cerebral
cortex matures.
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Self-conscious emotions, such as shame and
guilt, do not occur until after infancy, due to
the emergence of a sense of self and others.
People can learn how their thinking affects
their emotions and can change their
thinking accordingly.
Elements of Emotion 3: The
Culture
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Culture and emotional variation
The rules of emotional regulation
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Display rules
Body language
Emotion work
Culture and Emotional Variation
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Culture determines what people feel angry, sad,
lonely, happy, ashamed or disgusted about.
Some cultures have words for specific emotions
unknown to other cultures.
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Some cultures don’t have words for emotions that
seem universal to others.
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Ex. Schadenfreude
Tahitian and sadness
Differences in secondary emotions appear to be
reflected in differences in languages.
The Rules of Emotional Regulation
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Display Rules
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Body Language
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When, where, and how emotions are to be expressed
or when they should be squelched.
The nonverbal signals of body movement, posture
and gaze that people constantly express.
Emotion Work
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Acting out an emotion we do not feel or trying to
create the right emotion for the occasion.
Putting it all together: Emotion
and Gender
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Physiology and intensity
Sensitivity to other people’s emotions
Cognitions
Expressiveness
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Factors which affect expressiveness
Emotion work
Putting the Elements Together:
Emotion and Gender
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Physiology and intensity
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Women recall emotional events more
intensely and vividly than do men.
Men experience emotional events more
intensely than do women.
Conflict is physiologically more upsetting for
men than women.
Possible reasons for differences
in physiology and intensity.
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Males autonomic nervous system is more reactive
than females.
Men are more likely to rehearse angry thoughts
which maintains anger.
Women are more likely to ruminate which
maintains depression.
Sensitivity to Other People’s Emotions
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Factors which influence one’s ability to
“read” emotional signals:
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The sex of the sender and receiver.
How well the sender and receiver know each
other.
How expressive the sender is.
Who has the power.
Stereotypes and expectations.
Cognitions
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Men and women appear to differ in the
types of every day events that provoke their
anger.
Women become angry over issues related
to their partners disregard.
Men become angry over damage to
property or problems with strangers.
Expressiveness
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In North America women:
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Smile more than men.
Gaze at listeners more.
Have more emotionally expressive faces.
Use more expressive body movements.
Touch others more.
Acknowledge weakness and emotions more.
Compared to women, men only express
anger to strangers more.
Factors Influencing Emotional
Expressiveness
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Gender roles
Cultural norms
The specific situation
Emotion Work and Gender
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Women work hard at appearing warm,
happy and making sure others are happy.
Men work hard at persuading others they
are stern, aggressive and unemotional.
Why?
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Gender roles and status.