Chapter 2 Emotions

Understanding Emotional
Experiences
Lecture 5
Key content
 What are emotions, and how do we
experience them?
 What are the functions of emotions?
 What are the explanations for emotions
 How does non verbal behavior relates
to the expression of emotions
Emotions
Introduction
 The word ‘emotion’ is derived from the
Latin word “Emovere”, which means to be
‘stirred up,’ or ‘to stimulate’. Emotions literally
jerk a person.
 Due to closeness of emotion with feeling, the
quantity of emotion increases with the
increase in feeling and the body gets evoked
or stimulated. This stimulated condition is
known as ‘emotion.’
What is an emotion?
“An emotion is a complex psychological
state that involves 3 distinct
components:
 A subjective experience
 A physiological response
 A behavioral or expressive response.”
- Hockenbury &
Hockenbury, 2007
DEFINITIONS
 Each emotion is a feeling, and each is at the
same time, a motor set. – Woodworth.
 Emotion is an acute disturbance of the individual
as a whole, psychological in origin, involving
behavior, conscious experience and visceral
functioning. - P.T. Young (1961)
 The term emotion denotes a state of being
moved, stirred up or aroused in some way.-
Jersild (1960)
 Human emotion involves…. “physiological
arousal, expressive behavior & conscious
experience. - David G. Meyers
The Functions of Emotions
 Preparing us for action.
 Shaping our future behavior.
 Helping us interact more
effectively with others.
Characteristics of emotions
 Accompanied by aroused state in the

organism.
 Usually accompanied by physiological
changes.
 A lot of energy is released in every
emotion, except grief.
Components of emotion
Subjective Physiological
feeling response
Behavioral
response
Subjective feeling
 Researchers believe that the
experience of emotions can be highly
subjective. Our unique experience of
the emotions is probably much more
multi-dimensional. Consider anger. Is
all anger the same? Your own
experience might range from mild
annoyance to blind rage. Plus, we don’t
always experience ‘pure’ forms of
emotion. Mixed emotions over different
events in our lives are common.
Physiological response
 Many physical reactions we experience during an
emotion, which are controlled by sympathetic
nervous system, a branch of autonomic nervous
system. It controls involuntary body responses
such as blood flow and digestion.
 The Amygdala is a tiny, almond shaped structure
that has been linked to motivational states, as
well as memory & emotion.
 Researches proved that when people are shown
threatening images, the amygdala becomes
activated. Damage to amygdala impairs the fear
response.
Behavioral response
 This is the actual expression of
emotion. We spend a significant
amount of time interpreting the
emotional expressions of people
around. And our ability to accurately
understand these is tied to our
emotional intelligence.
 Many expressions are universal, such
as smile indicates happiness or
pleasure.
Why we experience
emotions?
Theories of
emotion
James-lange theory
 This was independently proposed by
psychologist William James and
physiologist Carl Lange, which suggests
that emotions occur as a result of
physiological reactions to events.
 According to this theory, you see an
external stimulus that leads to a
physiological reaction. Suppose you see a
grizzly bear. You begin to tremble & your
heart begins to race. You will interpret
your reactions & conclude that you are
frightened.
Cannon-Bard theory
 The theory was given by Walter
Cannon & Phillip Bard…
 This theory states that we feel
emotions and experience physiological
reactions such as sweating, trembling
and muscle tension simultaneously.
More specifically, it is suggested that
emotions result when the thalamus
sends a message to the brain in
response to a stimulus, resulting in a
physiological reaction.
Schachter-Singer theory
 The Schachter-Singer Theory, given by
Stanley Schachter & Jerome E. Singer.,
is an example of a cognitive theory of
emotion. This theory suggests that the
physiological arousal occurs first, and
then the individual must identify the
reason behind this arousal in order to
experience and label it as an emotion.
ROBERT LAZARUS (1922-2002)
 His theory states that a thought must
come before any emotion or
physiological arousal. In other words,
you must first think about your situation
before you can experience an emotion.
 Example: You are walking down in dark
late at night. You hear footsteps behind
you & u think it may be a stranger so
you begin to tremble, your heart beats
faster & your breathing deepens and at
the same time u experience fear.
According to this
theory, emotion is the
experience of changes
in our facial muscles.
In other words, when
we smile, we then
experience pleasure,
or happiness. It is the
changes in our facial
muscles that cue our
brains & provide basis
of our emotions.
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
 The hypothesis that facial expressions not
only reflect emotional experiences but
also help determine how people
experience and label emotions
BODILY CHANGES IN EMOTIONS
EXTERNAL
INTERNAL
External Internal
changes changes
Facial expressions Heartbeat
Vocal expression Blood pressure
Blood chemistry
Postural expression
Galvanic skin response
(Body Language)
Metabolic changes
Brain waves
How does non verbal behavior
relates to the expression of emotions
 A persons facial expression can reveal

emotions. Members of different cultures can
understand each others emotional
expression.
 Innate Facial affect program. A program that
activates a set of muscle movement
representing the emotion being
experienced.
 Facial feedback hypothesis also suggest that
facial expressions not only reflect but also
produce emotional experiences.
Questions
1. Emotions are always accompanied by a cognitive response.
True or false?
2. The --------- theory of emotions states that emotions are a
response to instinctive bodily events.
3. According to the -------- theory of emotion, both an emotional
response and physiological arousal are produced
simultaneously by the same nerve stimulus.
4. Your friend—--a psychology major—tells you, “I was at a
party last night. During the course of the evening, my
general level of arousal increased. Since I was at a party
where people were enjoying themselves, I assume I must
have felt happy.” What theory of emotion does your friend
subscribe to?
5. What are the six primary emotions that can be identified
from facial expressions?
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Understanding Emotional

 Accompanied by aroused state in the

Facial expressions Heartbeat

Vocal expression Blood pressure

 A persons facial expression can reveal

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