Chapter 5 Emotion and Well-being Flashcards
How do you define emotions?
Emotions are brief responses to challenges or opportunities that we appraise as important to our goals; they manifest in patterns of experience, expression, and physiology.
Define construals/Appraisals
Interpretations of events in terms of things like how pleasant, novel, fair, or threatening the event is and whether you, other people, or situational factors caused the event in the first place
What are the differences between emotion, mood, and emotional disorders?
Emotions are brief, lasting only seconds or a few minutes; whereas moods are longer-lasting, such as feeling blue, which could last for days. Emotional disorders, like depression and generalized anxiety, last for weeks, months, and years.
Emotions are specific to certain events, such as a coworker’s help, a racist’s words, or a relative’s illness. Moods and disorders, on the other hand, are more general and unfocused.
What are two purposes of emotions?
- Emotions help us interpret our surrounding circumstances: prioritize which events you attend to in the environment, influence how much weight you assign them, determine how you reason about them, and even affect whether you deem them right or wrong.
- Emotions help guide our actions, e.g., help a friend who is suffering because you feel empathy, sign a petition, or protest because you feel angry against unjust behaviours.
What do evolutionary approach say about emotions in comparison to constructivist approach’s view on emotions?
Evolutionary approach (universal emotions) portrays emotions as adaptive reactions to survival-related threats and opportunities that involve specific patterns of expression and physiology. Constructivist approach suggests that emotion expressions differ across cultures; culture affects how we feel about events, what we might do about our feelings, and how we express and describe our feelings to others and to ourselves.
What are Darwin’s three hypotheses about the universality of emotional expression?
- Humans in all cultures will likely communicate and perceive emotion in a similar fashion (30-40 facial muscles).
- Humans’ emotions resemble those of other species.
- Blind individuals still show expressions similar to those of sighted people because the tendency to express emotions in specific ways has been encoded by evolutionary processes.
What does the study done by Ekman and Friesen suggest about the universality of emotional expressions?
Even individuals who had no exposure to Western media could fairly accurately tell the emotional expressions depicted by photos showing happiness, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, and fear.
What does embarrassment do to serve people better?
Gestures like head movements, downward gazes, and nervous face touching can cause others to trust the individual more. Even other mammals, like chimpanzees, show similar signs of embarrassment expressions.
What is a focal emotion?
An emotion that is especially common in a particular culture. e.g., Chinese people have more words to describe shame and embarrassment than English people do
What does the affect valuation theory suggest? ( related to ideal emotions)
Emotions that promote important cultural ideals are valued and will tend to play a more prominent role in the social lives of individuals. e.g., excitement in American culture, vs. calmness in East Asian culture
What is emotion regulation, and what are the three ways to do it?
Emotion regulation is the way in which people modify their emotions to make themselves feel better or to fit the present context.
1. Rethink/reappraise (reinterpreting the cause of an emotion and its meaning to the individual)
2. Accept (to understand our emotions are fleeting and their causes typically change)
3. Suppression (people minimize outward signs of their emotion)
Definition: the broad idea that emotions coordinate social interactions in ways that enable people to meet social opportunities and challenges.
Social functional theory
What caused Eadweard Muybridge’s social difficulties?
The accident damaged his orbitofrontal cortex, which led him to lose the ability to rely on his emotions and act accordingly across situations.
How do emotions help foster commitment in romantic relationships and friendships?
- The expression of certain emotions signals our commitment to others’ well-being. e.g., expressing gratitude to new acquaintances in university
- Emotions can motivate us to act in ways that prioritize the well-being of others. e.g., guilt leads to amendments.
What is the chemical that fosters emotions and commitment?
Oxytocin (but may increase out-group biases)
What is emotional mimicry and what does it help with?
Copying other’s emotional expressions, whether laughing or crying, can lead us to collaborate more effectively and enhance our collective performance
Can people convey emotions through touch?
Yes, people could communicate love, sympathy, and gratitude with brief tactile contact.
Which emotion increases people’s sense of belonging to others?
Feelings of awe
What are some forms of emotion that can help us determine our place in social groups?
Pride, anger, and envy.
What are some examples of emotions guiding perceptions?
The loss of loved ones can lead us to perceive many neutral events in our lives as sad.
Fear leads us to exaggerate the dangers around us.
Anger primes us to perceive threats and aggression, as well as to perceive situations as less risky.
What is the idea that positive emotions broaden thoughts and actions and help build social resources?
Broaden-and-build hypothesis
What are the pathways to happiness for Americans, East Asians, or Latinos?
- Personal achievement for Americans
- Harmonious relationships, fulfilling duties and societal expectations for East Asians
- Warm and affectionate interactions for Latinos
How is happiness defined, and what are the two components?
- Life satisfaction
- Emotional well-being
When are people happiest?
When they are taking part in meaningful social interactions with others, particularly friends and intimate partners.
