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Chapter 11

• Emotion

• Stress

• Health

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Emotion(Branches) (Gardener)

Thoughts and Culture & ex-

explanations perience & ex-

pression of emotion

(Root &Trunk)

Biological

capacity for emotion

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Think about these Issues

• Are emotions and cognitions two separate processes that often conflict with each other, or are they inextricably connected?

• Can we control our emotion?

• Is thinking always rational and emotional irrational?

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Emotion

• Elements of Emotion

• 1-Physiological changes in the face, brain, and body

• 2-Cognitive processes such as interpretations of events

• 3-Cultural influences that shape the experience and expression of emotion

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(1)The Physiology of

Emotion(Face, Hormones, Brain)

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Face & EmotionPaul Ekman

• Neurocultural Theory• 1-Universal neurophysiology in the facial

muscles • 2-Culture-specific variations in the expression

of emotion• Seven Universal Facial Expressions of Emotion• Anger, happiness, fear, surprise, disgust,

sadness, and contempt

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Visual Cliff Studies

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Visual Cliff Studies

• 75% of the babies crossed the cliff when their mothers put on a happy, reassuring expression.

• Not a single one crossed when their mothers showed an expression of fear.

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Facial Feedback

• Facial expressions affect the sympathetic nervous system.

• A smile sends a message to the brain and positive emotions increase

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Hormones and Emotion• You perceive the sensory stimulus.• The adrenal gland sends two hormones:

epinephrine and norepinephrine.• They activate the sympathetic nervous system. • That produces a state of arousal or alertness that

provides the body with the energy to act (the pupils dilate, the heart beats faster, and breathing speeds up).

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The Brain and Emotion

Left Hemisphere

• Important for the expression of positive emotion

• Damage to the L.H. leads to loss of the capacity of joy.

• Activation in the L.H. leads to tendencies to approach other people.

Right Hemisphere

• Important for the expression of negative emotion

• Damage to the R.H. may make people euphoric.

• Activation in the R.H. leads to tendencies to withdraw from people.

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Amygdala• Is a small structure in the limbic system • Is responsible for evaluating sensory

information & determines its importance• Makes initial decision to approach or

withdraw from situation• Its initial response may be overridden by

a more accurate appraisal by the cerebral cortex

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The Brain’s Shortcut for Emotions

• We feel some emotions before we think.• Some neural pathways involved in emotion bypass

the cortical areas involved in thinking.• One such pathway runs from the eye or ear via the

thalamus to the amygdala, the emotional control center.

• This shortcut enables a quick, precognitive emotional response before the intellect intervenes.

• The cortex can override the decision of the amygdala to react.

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Detecting EmotionLie Detectors

• It measures several of the arousal responses that accompany emotion, such as breathing, blood pressure, and perspiration.

• The polygraph cannot distinguish between anxiety, irritation, or guilt; all appear as arousal.

• An innocent person might respond with heightened tension to the accusations.

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(2)Thoughts & Emotion

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Theories of Emotion

1- James-Lang Theory

2- Cannon-Brad Theory

3- Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory

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James-Lang Theory

Stimulus(Sight of Oncoming Car)

Arousal(Pounding Heart)

Emotion(Fear)

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Cannon-Brad Theory

Stimulus(Sight of oncoming Car)

Arousal + Emotion (Pounding Heart) (Fear)

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Schachter’sTwo-Factor Theory

Stimulus(Sight of oncoming Car)

Arousal Cognitive Label (Pounding Heart) (“I’m afraid”)

Emotion(Fear)

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Two-factor Theory of EmotionStanley Schachter & Jerome Singer

• 1962• Emotion depends on 2 factors:• 1- Physiological arousal• 2- The cognitive interpretation of that

arousal• Unless you can interpret, explain, and label

the bodily changes, you will not feel a true emotion.

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The Case of Shame & Guilt

• Shame• Focus is on “bad self”• Failure is regarded as a

personality defect.• He feels worthless and

powerless.• Cognitive appraisals that

lead to blaming the person who was the reason for the shame.

• Guilt• Focus is on the bad

behavior

• The bad act doesn’t affect the the overall worthiness of the self.

• Guilty people have remorse and try to fix their faulty actions.

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The Case of Shame & Guilt

• Shameful people say:“How could I be such a

horrible person?”“I did that horrible

thing because I am a horrible person!”

“It cannot be fixed!”

• Guilty people say:

• “How can I make such a horrible thing?”

• “I make mistakes because I am a human being”

• “I can correct it”

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Mental Development• Infants• Cognition is basic.• Do not feel shame• Cerebral cortex is

not fully developed.• Cognitive appraisals

are basic.• Emotions are not

complex.

• Adults• Cognition is complex.• Cerebral cortex is

developed.• Cognitive appraisals

& emotions are complex.

• Emergence of self-consciousness

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A short madness

Or

Makes any coward brave???

Anger

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• Chronic hostility is linked to heart disease.

• Anger makes you react more assertively.

• Anger leads to talking things over with the offender.

• In societies that value their interdependence consider anger as a threat to group harmony.

Anger

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Venting anger can be temporarily calming if it doesn’t leave us with guilty feelings

Catharsis fails to cleanse one’s rage.

Anger breeds more anger.

Anger may provoke retaliation.

Blowing off steam may amplify the underlying hostility.

Catharsis Hypothesis

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• Don’t suppress it.• Don’t Express it aggressively.• Confess it and do something

about it.• Seek reconciliation rather

than retaliation.

How to Handle Anger

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• Feel-good, do-good phenomenon• We overestimate the long-term emotional impact

very bad news and underestimate our capacity to adapt.

• Wealth is like health: Its utter absence breeds misery, yet having it is no guarantee of happiness. Those who value love more than money report much higher satisfaction with life than their money-hungry peers.

Happiness

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Happiness Is Relative

• The Adaptive-Level Principle

• Our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a “neutral” level defined by our prior experience.

• The Relative Deprivation Level

• The perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself (others’ attainment)

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• Having high self-esteem

• Being optimistic and agreeable.

• Having a satisfying social life.

• Having work and leisure that engage one’s skills.

• Having a meaningful religious faith.

• Sleeping well and exercise.

Happiness is

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• Age

• Parenthood

• Gender

• Education levels

• Physical attractiveness

Happiness Is Not Related to

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Stress

• The process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging.

• It is not just stimulus-response

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Positive Effects of Stressors

• It motivates us to conquer the problem.

• People emerge with stronger self-esteem.

• People emerge with deepened spirituality and sense of purpose.

• Stress in earlier life is conducive to later emotional resilience.

Adversity begets growth.

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Hans Selye (1936,1976)General Adaptation Syndrome

1- Phase 1 – Alarm Reaction

2- Phase 2 – Resistance

3- Phase 3 - exhaustion

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What Causes Stress?

• Perceived Control– Poverty and inequality, pessimism

• Stressful Life Events– Catastrophes, significant life changes, daily

hassles– Perceived Control

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What Are the Effects of Stress?

• Stress and Heart Disease

• Stress and the Immune System

• Stress and AIDS

• Stress and Cancer

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The Immune SystemLymphocytes (White Cells)

B Lymphocytes

Form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections.

T Lymphocytes

Form in the thymus and, among other duties, attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances.

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How Does Stress Make Us Vulnerable to Disease?

• Stress Diverts energy from the immune system.

• It inhibits activities of its B and T lymphocytes and macrophages.

• Stress does not cause diseases such as cancer.

• It may influence the cancer’s progression.

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The Immune System Can Err in Two Ways

(1)

Responding too strongly

It may attack the body’s own tissues, causing arthritis or allergic reactions

(2)

It may under react, allowing a dormant herpes virus to erupt or cancer cells to multiply.

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Conditioning the Immune System’s Suppression

Sweetened Water (Unconditioned Stimulus) + Drug Repressing Immune System

Immune Suppression (Unconditioned Response)

Sweetened Water Alone (Conditioned Stimulus)

Immune Suppression (Conditioned Response)

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Conditioning the Immune System’s Enhancement

• Placebos

• They have no biochemical effect.

• They can promote healing.

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Coping with Stress

• Aerobic Exercise

• Biofeedback and Relaxation

• Social Support

• Spirituality