Week 5 - Emotion Flashcards
(27 cards)
Emotions
Brief, specific psychological and physiological responses that help humans meet goals, many of which are social
They are different from MOODS and EMOTIONAL DISORDERS
Components of emotions
Emotions help us meet SOCIAL GOALS!
Emotions motivate us to act in ways that affect important relationships and help us navigate the social environment
Not all emotions are good, though
How Do You Know What Emotion You Are Feeling?
We construe situations and label emotions appropriately through a process known as appraisal
Emotional appraisal
Primary Appraisal:
- Unconscious, fast, automatic
- Initial flash of positive or negative feelings
Secondary Appraisal:
- Conscious, slower, more deliberate
- Initial positive or negative feelings become labeled.
Universality vs Cultural Specificity
Universality of Emotions: To some extent, emotional responses are innate and universal
- People across cultures can recognize and understand certain emotions
Cultural Specificity of Emotions: Different cultures have emotional accents and “display rules”
Evolutionary approach to emotions
Principle of Serviceable Habits: Human emotional expressions come from patterns of behavior that were beneficial for our evolutionary predecessors
They promote survival and reproduction.
Emotional expression: Darwin’s 3 hypothesis
(1) Universality: All humans have the same facial muscles and express emotions similarly across cultures
- There are six universal emotions (Happiness | Surprise | Sadness | Anger | Disgust | Fear)
(2) Our expressions are similar to other primates or mammals
(3) Emotions are encoded, and not learned
Cultural Specificity of Emotions
While emotions are largely universal, there can be cultural differences in how these emotions are displayed
Focal Emotions
Ideal Emotions
Display rules
Focal Emotions
Emotions that are especially common within a particular culture
Collectivists tend to express more shame and embarrassment
Individualists express more pride
Honor cultures express more anger at insults
Ideal Emotions
Emotions that are particularly valued.
Affect valuation theory: Emotions that promote important cultural ideals are valued and will be more prominent in individuals’ social lives
In the US, excitement is an ideal emotion because it promotes independent action and self-expression.
In East Asia, calmness and contentment are ideal emotions because it helps with fitting into harmonious relationships.
Display rules
Cultural rules that govern how, when, and to whom particular emotions should be expressed
Collectivists tend to temper positive emotions with negative emotions.
Emotions and Social Relationships
Oxytocin and Commitment
Touch and Communication
Emotion and Social Status
How do emotions play a role in our decision-making?
Emotions & processing styles
Emotions & moral reasoning
Emotion Processing Style
Top-Down (Schemas)
- Greater use of Stereotypes
- Lesser attention to situational details
Bottom-Up:
- Lesser use of Stereotypes
- Greater attention to situational details
Anger
Stereotypes, Heuristics, Quick Judgments
Top-Down
Sadness
Analytical, Attention to Detail, Careful Attention
Bottom-Up
Happinness
Creative, Flexible Thinking; Novel Ideas
Can be either top-down or bottom up
Benefits of positive emotions
Broaden-and-Build Hypothesis: Positive emotions broaden thought and action repertoires, helping people build social resources
Positive emotions broaden our thoughts and actions by
- Enabling more creative thought patterns
- Helping us build emotional and intellectual resources
Increases in intellectual resources build social resources
- Friendships & social networks
Positive Emotions are linked to more creative and flexible thinking
Social consequences: Negotiators in positive emotions/moods more likely to reach optimal agreement
- Think flexibly about the interests of the other side
Emotions and Moral Reasoning
Morality is about regulating behavior to fit into society
Moral dumbfounding
Having a specific (emotional) reaction toward a moral situation, but not really knowing exactly why
Social intuitionist model of moral judgment
People have automatic emotional reactions to moral situations which guide moral reasoning (judgement of right or wrong).
First, people experience automatic emotional reactions
Second, people can use deliberative processes (cost/benefit assessment, causal attributions, norms)
5 moral domains
- Care vs. Harm
- Fairness vs. Cheating
- Loyalty vs. Betrayal
- Authority vs. Subversion
- Purity vs. Degradation
3 determinants of pleasure
(1) Peak: The moment of maximum intensity
E.g., The funniest moment of a movie, the highlight of your trip to the beach
(2) End: The last moment of an experience
E.g., The ending of a movie, the last few moments of your trip to the beach
(3) Duration Neglect: Length of emotional experience has very little influence on our overall evaluation of the experience
E.g., The length of the movie, time spent at the beach
PEAK-END PHENOMENON
THE “PEAK” AND THE “END” OF AN EXPERIENCE MATTER.
HOW LONG IT LASTS DOES NOT.
