Unit XI Emotions and Stress

Emotions  Emotion: A response of an organism that involves physiological, psychological and behavioral aspects.  This involves the autonomic nervous system  We also become consciously aware of the changes our body is experiencing.  There are also behavioral expressions of this conscious awareness.  Emotion theory involves a debate between these forces – what is the first step in the process?  There are 3 primary theories that attempt to explain emotion: James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and two- factor theory.

James-Lange Theory  William James, in Principles of Psychology writes: “My theory, on the contrary, is that the bodily changes follow directly the perception of the exciting fact, and that our feeling of the same changes as they occur IS the emotion. Common-sense says, we lose our fortune, are sorry and weep; we meet a bear, are frightened and run; we are insulted by a rival, are angry and strike. The hypothesis here to be defended says that this order of sequence is incorrect, that the one mental state is not immediately induced by the other, that the bodily manifestations must first be interposed between, and that the more rational statement is that we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble, and not that we cry, strike, or tremble, because we are sorry, angry, or fearful, as the case may be. Without the bodily states following on the perception, the latter would be purely cognitive in form, pale, colorless, destitute of emotional warmth. We might then see the bear, and judge it best to run, receive the insult and deem it right to strike, but we should not actually feel afraid or angry. “  Carl Lange: Publishes “The Mechanisms of the Emotions” in 1885, with a very similar idea. Lange, however, directly states that the physiological response IS the emotion. Physiological responses to events in the environment prompt conscious awareness of the events, and thus generate psychological experiences of emotion. Thus, emotion is experienced as we become aware of physiological reactions to stimuli. Stimuli Physio Aware Emo

Cannon-Bard Theory  Walter Cannon  American physiologist  Fight or flight  Homeostasis  Primary criticism of J-L  Philip Bard  American physiologist  Brain stem and emotions  Vestibular senses  Doctoral thesis was supervised by Cannon. Emotion-causing environmental stimuli simultaneously generate both physiological and subjective emotional responses. Our physiological responses to events are quite similar (all involve the ANS), thus stimuli are perceived concurrently at both physical and psychological levels. Stimuli Physio + Emo

Two-Factor Theory*  Stanley Schachter  American psychologist  Cognitive dissonance  Misattribution  Obesity  Addiction  Jerome Singer  American psychologist  Imagination  Dreams  Interior monologues Physiological responses combined with our cognitive experiences create emotion. A combination of the J-L idea that awareness prompts emotions and the C-B theory that physiological similarities exist between varied emotions. Emotion requires a conscious interpretation of the arousal. *aka Schachter-Singer theory Physio + Psycho = Emo

Emotion in the Body  ANS  Review of SNS and PNS  Physiological similarities between emotions (C-B criticism of J-L)  Physiological differences between emotions  Fingers and faces  Brain differences  Impacts on J-L and C-B

Cognition and Emotion  Emotional “spillover effect”  Schachter-Singer 1962 study  Cognitive emotional priming  “Low” and “high” roads  Whalen’s 2004 fMRI experiment  Deliberate and reflexive responses  Think conscious and unconscious SUBLIMINAL CONTROL

Emotional Expression  Detecting emotion  Verbal vs. Non-verbal communication  Survival and threat detection  Thin slicing and emotional detection  Gender and emotional expression  Thin slicing and gender differences  Key gender differences in emotions  Culture and emotional expression  Emotional expression varies between cultures  Universal expressions and display rules  Facial expressions  Facial feedback effect  Behavior feedback effect

Experiencing Emotion (FAH)  Basics of emotional experience  Fear  Both positive and negative  Little Albert and monkey business  Amygdala and biological influences  Anger  Effects of anger  Cultural differences – catharsis  Avoiding anger  Happiness  Effects of happiness  Feel-good, do-good  Subjective well-being  Duration of emotions  Wealth and happiness  Adaptation level-phenomenon  Relative deprivation  Predictors of happiness “Velocireceptor” senses your fear

Stress  Emotion and stress share many common threads:  Biological responses  Cognitive and perceptual aspects  Environmental triggers  Psychological after-effects  Primary theories of stress include:  Cognitive Appraisal theory  General adaptation response  Life Events theory Stress: The process by which we respond to certain environmental triggers we perceive as threatening or challenging Stressor: An environmental trigger that is seen as threatening Stress reaction: The physical, psychological and emotional responses to a stressor Health Psychology: A sub-field that focuses on how biology, cognition, behavior and social factors influence health

Cognitive Appraisal Theory  Richard Lazarus  American psychologist interested in emotion  Stress involves making an appraisal of the situation:  Does this threaten me?  Can I meet the challenge?  Thus, our stress reactions in response to environmental stressors are part of a cognitive process. We are continually making appraisals of situations. If our primary appraisal deems a situation as potentially causing harm, we then make a secondary appraisal about what to do in response.

Stress Response and GAS  The Cannon returns  SNS discoveries  Stress hormones  Glucocorticoids: Cortisol, Corticosterone  General Adaptation Syndrome  Hans Selye  Endocrinologist  Stress definition  Distressors, Eustressors, “Neustress”  Three phases: Alarm reaction, resistance, exhaustion

Life Events Theory  Catastrophe data  Significant life change data  Daily hassle data  Holmes and Rahe  SRRS and LCUs We divide potential stressors into three types: catastrophes, significant life changes and daily hassles.

Stress and Health  Stress and the heart  Risk of heart disease  Type A and Type B personalities  Relationship to stress perception and health  Anger, pessimism, and depression (oh my!)  Psychophysiological illness and PNI  Immune system  B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, macrophages and natural killer cells  General effects of stress on the immune system  Applications to AIDS and Cancer

Promoting Health  Coping with Stress  Coping: Problem and emotion foci  Perception of control (and learned helplessness)  Optimism and social support  Stress Management  Aerobic exercise  Biofeedback  Meditation and relaxation  Spirituality and religion