Motivation

Emotions

What are Emotions and Moods?

Affect is a generic term that covers a broad range of feelings people experience. This includes both emotions and moods. Emotions are intense feelings that are directed at someone or something. Moods are the feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus.

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EmotionsEmotion is a complex psychological event that involves mixture of eventsPhysiological response ( arousal)An expressive reaction ( distinctive facial expression, body posture, or vocalization)Some kind of subjective experience ( internal thought and feelings)

Emotion:More Than a Feeling

A feeling state involving a pattern of facial and bodily changes, cognitive appraisals, and beliefs.

Emotion

Physiological Changes (in body and facial muscles)

Cognitive Processes (interpreting the emotional situation)

Cultural Influences (shape experience and expression of emotion)

Difference Between Emotions and MoodsEmotions (affect) refers to feelings that involve subjective evaluation, physiological processes, and cognitive beliefsEmotions are immediate response to environmental events, such as being cut off in traffic or getting a nice gift Moods are diffuse and long lasting emotional states that influence rather interrupt thought and behaviorMany times people who are in good moods have no idea why they feel the way they do According to some psychologists, moods reflects peoples perceptions of whether they have personal resources necessary to meet environmental demands

How are Emotions AdaptiveEmotions are adaptive because they prepare and guide behaviors such as; Running away when you encounter dangerous animalsBecause humans are social animals many emotions involve interpersonal dynamicsPeople feel hurt when teased, angry when insulted, happy when loved, proud when complimentedPeople interpret emotions facial expressions of emotions to predict the behavior of other people Facial expressions provide many cues about whether our behavior is pleasing to others or whether it is likely to cause them to reject, attack

I dont think its a good idea to talk now. She looks like she is feeling

Angry

What a face. I think he needs to find something to do. He looks .Bored

Maybe I should explain things more clearly because she looks

Confused

That group of boys are being horrible and they are making the boy sat down feel Embarrassed

I think all her Christmass have come at once. She looks ..Excited

Something isnt going right for someone. She is getting Frustrated

I wonder what his mum will say? I wonder if hes feeling ?Guilty

Wow this looks fun. Both the boys look Happy

I think he wants to be picked. He is looking ..Hopeful

I think that the boy on the left wishes he had that top. He looks like he is feeling .. Jealous

The other girls wont let her join in. She is feeling . Left out

Look at this bundle of loveliness. This baby is feeling .. Loved

The teacher is showing everyone his work. I bet he feels ..Proud

Oh dear I wonder what has happened. They both look ..Sad

I think theyve been watching horror films. They both look .Scared

Did something just happen that he wasnt expecting. He looks .Surprised

I think he has the weight on his shoulders. He looks Worried

Not a care in the world, curled up with a good book. She looks .Relaxed

How Do People Experience Emotions The Emotional Experience (Arousal) virtually all emotions leads to psychological arousalMuscle tense, heart rate speeds up, blood pressure and respiration rates skyrocketThese emotional symptoms arise from activity of the autonomic nervous system as it prepares the bodys muscle and organs to fight-or-flight responseOne usually experience emotions in situations that are significant for one reason or anotherIt is adaptive to the body to react quickly in such cases, and the rapid onset of psychological arousal serves that function wellPsychologist have developed instruments for objective measurement of arousal ( polygraph or lie detector test)

How Do People Experience Emotions The emotional experience: Subjective normsExperiencing emotions is much more than just facial experienceYour thoughts, your perceptions, the things you notice in the environment all change when you experience an emotion, but it is difficult to measure internal experience internallyAnger The causes of anger are manyGenerally people tend to get angry when their expectations are frustratedIs it better to express your anger or hold it in?Psychologist remain undecided about the benefits of venting anger or blowing off steamOn the one hand, expressing your feeling may have cathartic effect : the expression of anger can lead to an emotional release that is ultimately calming. On the other hand, getting physically angry could well increase the chances you will get angry againWhen you express anger and get the calming effect that follows, you reinforce or reward the responseEncouraging people to express their feelings of anger leads to more expression of anger in future

How Do People Experience Emotions DisgustDisgust is a marked aversion towards something distastefulIt is easy to appreciate why this emotion is an important tool for adaptive mind, especially as a mechanism to ensure that we select and reject the appropriate foodsThe experience of disgust seems to be universal but the emotion takes a while to develop in all of its various forms

How Do People Experience Emotions HappinessLittle relationship exists between observable characteristics such as age, sex. race, or income , and experience of happiness instead people tend to gain or loose happiness as a result of comparison they make either with others (social comparison) or things or experiences from the pastPeople set standards for satisfaction and they are happy to the extent that these standards are maintained or surpassed

Common Sense Theory of Emotion

In the common sense theory of emotion, a stimulus (snarling dog) leads to an emotion of fear, which then leads to bodily arousal (in this case, indicated by shaking) through the autonomic nervous system (ANS)

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Theories of Emotion

Facial Feedback HypothesisFacial muscles send messages to the brain that both identify the emotion we are feeling and intensify it.

Lazarus Cognitive TheoryBased on a cognitive appraisal, we decide if the situation is positive, negative, or neutral. A positive or negative appraisal triggers both physiological arousal and the feeling of an emotion.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis: Even the forced alteration of a persons facial experience can change the persons experience of emotion. The women on the left ( smiling because of the pen in the mouth) will more likely to report happy than woman on the right.

Facial Feedback Theory of Emotion

In the facial feedback theory of emotion, a stimulus such as this snarling dog causes arousal and a facial expression. The facial expression then provides feedback to the brain about the emotion. The brain then interprets the emotion and may also intensify it.

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Comparison of Theories of Emotion

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Comparison of Theories of Emotion

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