EMOTIONS
Emotions
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Emotions are our affective responses
to changing relationships between
ourselves and our environment.
Emotion involves:
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The physiological component:
bodily arousal
The cognitive component:
a subjective conscious
experience/feeling
The behavioral component:
characteristic overt expressions
Physiological Changes
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Bodily changes occur
 Increased heartbeat
 Rise in blood pressure
 Increase in adrenaline
 Elevated blood sugar level
 Slowing of digestion
Cognitive Interpretations
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The mind impacts how we feel
Bodily components of most emotions are
similar
Verbal expression
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In our low-context culture, we can’t rely on
perceptiveness to ensure understanding.
We use specific emotion words to represent intensity.
The chicken/egg question
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The emotion we feel causes such bodily
symptoms as racing heart or sweaty
palms.
OR
The nervous system reacting to an
external stimulus produces physical
symptoms, and our perception of them
is what we call an emotion.
James-Lange theory claims
that
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the emotion we feel is not what causes
such bodily symptoms as racing heart
or sweaty palms.
It is the nervous system reacting
to an external stimulus produces
physical symptoms, and our
perception of them is what we call
an emotion.
Theories compared
1. I feel afraid of a dog because I tremble
(James-Lange)
2. I label my trembling as fear because I
appraise the situation as dangerous
3. I tremble because I feel afraid of a dog
(common sense)
4. The dog makes me tremble and feel
afraid
Identifying emotions
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Dutton and Aron experiment
Primary emotions
ANGER
DISGUST
FEAR/FRIGHT
SADNESS
JOY/HAPPINESS ACCEPTANCE
SURPRISE
ANTICIPATION
Mixed emotions
AWE
SUBMISSION
REMORSE
LOVE
DISAPPOINTMENT
CONTEMPT
AGGRESSIVENESS
Influences on experiencing
and showing emotions.
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CULTURE
GENDER
SOCIAL CONVENTIONS
MORAL CONVENTIONS
SOCIAL ROLES
FEAR OF SELF-DISCLOSURE
FEAR OF SHOWING WEAKNESS
Culture
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Same events generate different feelings in
different culture.
People from Southern part of countries are
more emotionally expressive than northerners.
Ethnicity impacts how others’ emotional states
and appropriate rules for expressing emotions.
Individualistic-collective dynamics impact
behavior within in-groups and out-groups.
Social conventions / Roles
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U.S.: Unwritten rules of communication
discourage direct expressions of most emotions.
Social rules even discourage too much
expression of positive feelings.
Reluctance that threaten the “face” of others.
Limited to the requirements of social roles, that
is, line of work.
Capacity to recognize and act on certain
emotions decreases without practice.
Fear of Self-Disclosure
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Emotional self-disclosure feels risky.
Others might misunderstand.
Emotional honesty might make others
uncomfortable.
Emotional honesty can be used against us.
IRRATIONAL THINKING AND
DEBILITATIVE EMOTIONS
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All fallacies are based on the principle of our
expectations and the reality or the ability to fulfill
these expectations.
Fallacies
1…of Perfection
Expecting to handle all situations
with complete confidence and skill
Fallacies
2…of Approval
Expecting acceptance from all
Fallacies
3…of “Should”
Wishing for things to be different
(according to our preferences)
Fallacies
4…of Causation
(or Consequences)
Being afraid of the consequences
of our actions
Fallacies
5…of Overgeneralization
Hasty Generalizations
“Jumping to conclusions”
Fallacies
6…of Helplessness
Lack of confidence in one’s ability to
control events
Believing in unknown/superstition/etc.
Fallacies
7…of catastrophic
expectations
If something bad can happen, it probably will
(similar to Murphy’s Law).