Emotional States and Health
Mind and Body
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Can the body affect the
mind?
Example?
How about the mind
affecting the body?
Example?
Two-way communication
between mind and body
Psychosomatic Medicine
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Psyche (mind)
Soma (body)
Butterflies in the
stomach
Anxious before giving
speech
Indigestion, nausea
Stress may contribute
to getting an ulcer.
Reducing the effects of stress
Stress is less harmful if
 Have some control (even if just belief).
 Predictable (“going to feel a little pinch”).
 Know the duration.
 Coping mechanism.
 Some way to relieve stress.
 Positive attitude.
 Active participant in process.
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Relieve stress
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Meditation
Listening to soothing
music
Taking a quiet walk
Reduce stress
Eliminate butterflies
Affects on long-term health
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Attitude towards illness
can affect healing.
 Thought, beliefs and
emotions have major
impact on physical
health.
 Link between mind and
body is the immune
system.
The Immune System
Cells that protect the body against
intruders such as viruses and bacteria.
 Like a police force
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Too weak and criminals (viruses etc.) run wild
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Ex: Opportunistic diseases seen with HIV-AIDS
Too strong and it attacks law-abiding citizens:
 The body’s own cells (Autoimmune disease)
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Ex. Rheumatoid arthritis
What is Emotion?
Internal conscious states that we infer
in ourselves and others.
 Emotions are private experiences.
 We use operational definitions
because we cannot actually see
feelings.
 We infer observable behavior
associated with emotion.
Emotions are
Multidimensional
Four components of Emotion
Feelings
SocialExpressive
Significant life event
Emotion
Sense of
Purpose
Bodily
Arousal
Feeling component
Emotions are subjective feelings
 Make us feel in a particular way.
 Anger or joy.
 Meaning and personal significance.
 Vary in intensity and quality.
 Rooted in mental processes
(labeling).
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Bodily Arousal
Biological activation.
 Autonomic and hormonal systems.
 Prepare and activate adaptive
coping behavior during emotion.
 Body prepared for action.
 Alert posture, clenched fists.
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Purposive component
Give emotion its goal-directed force.
 Motivation to take action.
 Cope with emotion-causing
circumstances.
 Why people benefit from emotions.
 Social and evolutionary advantage.
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Social-Expressive component
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Emotion’s communicative aspect.
Postures, gestures, vocalizations,
facial expressions make our
emotions public.
Verbal and nonverbal
communication.
Helps us interpret the situation.
How person reacts to event.
Emotions read in the face
The Japanese Female Facial Expression (JAFFE) Database
Aspect of Emotional Intelligence
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Peter Salovey (Yale)
John Mayer (U of NH)
Four branch ability model of
emotional intelligence
Mayer-Salovey-Caruso
Emotional Intelligence Test
MSCEIT
Identifying Emotions (Branch 1)
Skills needed to perceive and express
feelings.
 Recognizing facial expressions.
 Non-verbal communication.
 Tell when someone is being authentic.
 Express accurate emotions for situation.
 Foundation for other branches.
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Identifying Emotions (MSCEIT)
Facilitating Emotions (Branch 2)
Using emotions to facilitate thinking.
 Improve problem solving and boost
creativity.
 Emotional component to motivation.
 “Care enough to send the very best.”
 Using emotion to help make decisions.
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Facilitation (MSCEIT)
What mood(s) might be helpful to feel when
meeting in-laws for the very first time?
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Not Useful
Useful
a) Tension
1
2
3
4
5
 b) Surprise
1
2
3
4
5
 c) Joy
1
2
3
4
5
Understanding emotions (Branch 3)
Understanding complex and conflicting
emotions.
 Emotions and behavioral consequences.
 Read a situation and respond correctly.
 Some emotional responses are
maladaptive.
 Jealousy and envy are destructive.
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Understanding Emotions (MSCEIT)
Tom felt anxious, and became a bit
stressed when he thought about all the
work he needed to do. When his supervisor
brought him an additional project, he felt
____. (Select the best choice.)
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a) Overwhelmed
b) Depressed
c) Ashamed
d) Self Conscious
e) Jittery
Managing emotions (Branch 4)
Developing mood regulation skills.
 Productive ways to change mood.
 Avoid over and under regulation.
 Seek natural means rather than alcohol,
tobacco or other drugs.
 Stress coping strategies.
 Use optimistic explanatory style.
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Managing Emotions (Branch 4)
1.
Debbie just came back from vacation. She was feeling
peaceful and content. How well would each action
preserve her mood?
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Action 1: She started to make a list of things at home that
she needed to do.
Very Ineffective..1.....2.....3.....4.....5..Very Effective
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Action 2: She began thinking about where and when she
would go on her next vacation.
Very Ineffective..1.....2.....3.....4.....5..Very Effective
Action 3: She decided it was best to ignore the feeling
since it wouldn't last anyway.
Very Ineffective..1.....2.....3.....4.....5..Very Effective
Emotional States and
Physical Health
Salovey et at
American Psychologist (1/2000)
Healing through laughter
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Norman Cousins
 Anatomy of an Illness (1979)
 Life-threatening inflammatory
disease
 Cartoons and Marx Brothers
 10 mins of laughing gave him 2
hrs of pain-free sleep
 Laughter reduced inflammation
 Healing power of positive mood
Emotional states and immunity
Negative emotional states associated
with unhealthy physical states.
 Positive emotional states associated with
healthier states.
 Cardiovascular and immune systems.
 S-IgA = secretory immunoglobulin A
 First line of defense in the immune
system
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S-IgA levels and emotion
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Increased occurrence of
desirable events predicts
higher S-IgA.
Positive moods boost the
immune system.
Negative moods lower SIgA levels.
Undesirable events
suppress immune system.
Negative moods increase
susceptibility to illness.
Manipulating Emotion
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Healthy college students
watching videos.
Humorous video
enhanced immune
function ( S-IgA)
Sad video suppressed
immune function ( S-IgA)
Not clear how long these
changes persist.
Contribute to illness.
Coping styles and illness
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People dealing with severe stressors more
susceptible to illness.
Negative emotional states reduce immune
function.
Coping styles could aid healing.
Pennebaker: helping people process and
confront traumatic life events improves health.
Talk about illness, release pent-up negative
emotions.
Emotion and environment
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Positive emotional states
signal a safe environment.
Negative states signal an alert.
Something is wrong and must
be corrected.
Function of pain.
It hurts; get help.
Role in seeking help
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Some believe that:
 Happy people less likely
to recognize signs of
distress and less likely to
get help.
 Unhappy people more
vigilant and seek help.
 Better to be pessimistic?
Processing health information
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Other evidence that:
Positive outlook may make it
easier to process threatening
information (diagnosis).
Seek help.
Negative outlook may cause a
person not recognize new
symptoms as threatening.
Not seek help.
Optimistic outlook
Positive emotional states provide
resilience.
 Strength to confront illness.
 Personal resources to seek solutions.
 Creativity in thought and action.
 Focus on and plan for future outcomes.
 Belief that you will get well.
 Do what you can to support recovery.
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Healthy heart surgery
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Men undergoing cardiac
bypass surgery.
Optimistic men better able to
focus on postoperative goals.
5 years post surgery, optimists
had healthier habits.
Diet and exercise programs
Scheier et al. (1989)
Role of health care worker
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One who inspires hope in others.
 Freud: patient’s expectations
“colored by hope and faith and
an effective force in all our
attempts at treatment and cure.”
 Positive mood comes from a
renewal of hope.
Social Support
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With social support, observe:
Lower mortality
More resistant to disease.
Lower incidence of heart
disease.
Faster recovery from surgery.
Decreased levels of stress.
Improved coping with illness.
Affect on Health
1. Buffering hypothesis:
 Social support buffers individual from
stressful life event. Only when needed.
 2. Direct effect:
 Social support promotes well-being at all
times. Not just under stress.
 Both are possible, depending on the
nature of the stressor.
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Role of Social Support
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Mediated by emotional experience.
Know that help will be provided if
needed.
Less likely to feel lonely and
depressed.
Positive outlook on life more likely
to get social support.
Develop and maintain social
network.
Spirituality
Also plays a role in
wellness and
recovery from illness.
 A topic for later
discussion.
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