Emotions, Stress, and Health

1. AHHHHH!!! Emotions, Stress, and Health

2. Emotions!

3. Its Just Emotions… • Emotions: a response of the whole organism involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience

4. The All Important Question • Which came first: chicken or egg?

5. But really… the important question • How do we fit the three areas of emotions together? • Physiological arousal precede or follow emotional experience? • So which came first, physical arousal or emotional experience?

6. Theories on Emotions • James-Lange Theory (William James and Carl Lange) • Theory that states: first there is a distinct physiological response, then comes our emotional experience FEAR

7. Theories on Emotions • Cannon-Bard Theory • Theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological response and (2) the subjective experience of emotions • Emotion and physical experience happen at the same time FEAR

8. Theories on Emotions • Two-Factor Theory (Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer) • Theory that to experience emotion one must be (1) physically aroused and (2) cognitively level the arousal • Emotions grow from our awareness of our body’s arousal I’M AFRAID FEAR

9. Physiology of Emotions • Emotions involve the body • Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous system • ANS- mobilizes your body for action and calms it when crisis has passed

10. Physiology of Emotions

11. Physiology of Emotions • Sympathetic division directs adrenal glands to release the stress hormones ephinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) • Parasympathetic division takes over after crisis has passed calming your body • Inhibits further release of stress hormones

12. Physiology of Emotions • Physiological similarities among specific emotions: • Some emotions appear to be the same based on physiological expression internally • Fear, anger, sexual arousal

13. Physiology of Emotions • Physiological differences among specific emotions • Body Temp (finger temps) and hormone secretions differ • Facial expressions differ

14. Physiology of Emotions • Emotions activate different areas of the brain’s cortex • Negative emotions linked to right hemisphere and positive to the left hemisphere • Disgust triggered activity in right prefrontal cortex • Positive people show more activity in the left hemisphere and left prefrontal cortex • Brain damage to right hemisphere can also affect emotional mood • May be due to left hemisphere’s high level of dopamine receptors

15. Physiology of Emotions • With knowledge of physiological response and emotions, does this information support James-Lange Theory? • Psychologist George Homann (1966) • Studied observations of 25 soldiers with severed spinal cords • Found that those with lower spine injuries reported little change in emotions • Those with high spinal cord injuries experience emotions above the neck • Some researchers feel that our feelings are shadows of bodily response FEAR

16. Physiology of Emotions • Does this mean that Cannon and Bard were wrong? FEAR

17. Physiology of Emotions • Cognition and Emotion • Spill over effect • Schachter and Singer aroused college men with injections of epinephrine (adrenaline) • Found that a stirred up state can be experienced as one emotion or another very different emotion depending on how we interpret and label it • Ex. Insult someone who has just been aroused by pedaling an exercise bike or watching rock videos. Their anger will exceed that of people who are similarly provoked but not previously aroused.

18. Physiology of Emotions • Cognition does not always precede emotions • Robert Zajonchas stated that we actually have many emotional reactions apart from our interpretations of a situation • We are acutely sensitive to emotionally significant responses • Subliminally flashed stimulus can prime a mood or specific emotion and lead us to feel better or worse about a follow-up stimulus

19. Physiology of Emotions • Low road pathway (bypass the cortex) • Shortcut enables emotional response before our intellect intervenes

20. High road pathway (goes through the cortex) • Amygdala sends more neural projections up the cortex than it receives back • Makes it easier for emotions to hijack our thinking

21. Simple likes, dislikes, and fears involve no conscious thinking • Other, more complex, emotions are influenced by our memories

24. Expressing Emotions • How do we know how someone is feeling? What do we look for when someone is angry or sad or even happy? • Does nonverbal language vary from culture to culture or is it a set thing?

25. Expressing Emotions • We can pick up on facial expressions • Abused children can more quickly pick up on the look of anger • Shown a face that is 60% fear and 40% anger, they will likely see anger

26. Expressing Emotions • Emotions also give off involuntary movement which are difficult to conceal • Lifting inner part of your eyebrows reveals distress or worry • Eyebrows raised and pulled together show fear • What is the difference between a fake and real smile?

27. Expressing Emotions • Genuine smiles last, typically, less than 5 seconds and are activated by the muscles under the eyes

28. Expressing Emotions • Spotting deceiving expressions? • Research shows that people are only 54% accurate in discerning truth from lies which is slightly better than a coin toss • Introverts are better at reading others, whereas extroverts are more readable

29. Expressing Emotions • One study found when given a choice between possibilities of emotions (thin slices) people tend to excel in deciphering emotions

30. Physiology of Emotions • May be due to left hemisphere’s high level of dopamine receptors • Nucleus accumbens: cluster of neurons that light up when people experience natural or drug induced pleasure

32. Gender, emotions, and nonverbal behavior • Do females have “women’s intuition”? • Judith Hal said that when women are given “thin slices” they generally surpass men at reading people’s emotional cues • Women also have in edge in spotting lies • Women tend to express more complex emotions than men

33. Gender, emotions, and nonverbal behavior • Women tend to have extremely strong perception of emotionality • With the exception of anger • Anger is seen as a masculine emotion • If a gender neutral face is smiling it is seen as female, but if it is an angry face it is seen as a male

34. Gender, emotions, and nonverbal behavior • Women are more likely to experience empathy • You identify with others and imagine what is must be like to walk in their footsteps • Physiological measures shows a much smaller gap than surveys show

35. Culture and Emotional Expressions • The meaning of gestures varies from culture to culture • Otto Klineberg observed Chinese literature and noticed: • Clapped their hands when worried • Laughed a great “Ho-Ho” to express anger • Stuck out their tongue when they were surprised

36. Culture and Emotional Expressions • President Richard Nixon faced issues with different meanings of expressions • Nixon did the A-OK sign in Brazil, which there means “Let’s have sex”

37. Culture and Emotional Expressions • However, regardless of cultural background, Paul Ekman found simple facial expressions are the same around the world • Happy=smile • Etc.

38. Culture and Emotional Expressions • Even blind children show facial expressions • Children who are blind from both still exhibit the same facial expressions as their seeing counterpart • Charles Darwin theorized that prior to spoken language, ancestors would display emotions and communicate through facial expressions

39. Culture and Emotional Expressions • While facial expressions are typically constant world wide, they differ in how much emotion they show • In many Western Cultures people show more emotion because these cultures encourage individuality • In many Eastern Cultures the same is not true

40. The Effects of Facial Expressions • James-Lange Theory is supported • In studies, people have been asked to smile and then scowl. After the scowl they were asked how they felt and the typical answer is angry • The face feeds our feelings

41. The Effects of Facial Expressions • Students induced to smile have happier moods and recalled happier memories • Studies also show that just by activating one of the smiling muscles by holding a pen in the teeth is enough to make cartoons seem more amusing

42. The Effects of Facial Expressions • Two recent studies • Tiffany Ito (2006) used the pencil-in-lip procedure to induce happieness while showing pictures of peoples’ faces • If viewed black rather than white faces, the later exhibited lessened racial bias against blacks • A second study used botox injections to paralyze frowning muscles on ten depressed patients • Two months after treatment, 9 out of 10 were no longer depressed

43. Homework • Paul Ekman article…already posted online

45. Experienced Emotion

46. Its Just Emotions… • Emotions: a response of the whole organism involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience

47. Experienced Emotion • Carroll Izard isolated 10 basic emotions • Joy, interest-excitement, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, and guilt • Jessica Tracey and Richard Robins believe that pride is also a distinct emotion • Phillip Shaver believed that love was a basic emotion • Izard argued that love is a combination of joy and excitement

48. Experienced Emotion • Two-Dimensions of Emotions

49. Experienced Emotion • Emotion of Fear • Fear can be poisonous and contagious • Fear is designed to help our bodies flee from danger • Fearful expressions improve peripheral vision and speed eye movement

50. Experienced Emotion • Learning Fear • We learn fear through conditioning • Little Albert • These fears can be conditioned and morph into several fears • Learn fear socially • Susan Mineka and monkeys • Humans learn fear by watching other as well