Chapter 8. What Is Emotion? What Do Our Emotions Do For Us? Emotion and Motivation

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1 Chapter 8 Emotion and Motivation This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images Any rental, lease or lending of the program. ISBN: What Is Emotion? Emotion A four-part process consisting of physiological arousal, cognitive interpretation subjective feelings, and behavioral expression What Do Our Emotions Do For Us? Emotions have evolved to help us respond to important situations and to convey our intentions to others 1

2 The Evolution of Emotions Emotions have survival value and have been shaped by natural selection Individuals vary tremendously in emotional responsiveness Emotions are not entirely programmed by genetics Cultural Universals in Emotional Expression People everywhere can recognize at least seven basic emotions: sadness, fear, anger, disgust, contempt, happiness and surprise There are, however, huge cultural differences in the context and intensity of emotional displays Cultural Universals in Emotional Expression Display rules Permissible ways of displaying emotions in a particular society 2

3 The Emotion Wheel Where Do Our Emotions Come From? The discovery of two distinct brain pathways for emotional arousal has clarified the connections among the many biological structures involved in emotion and has offered solutions to many of the longstanding issues in the psychology of emotion The Neuroscience of Emotion The biological mechanisms at work behind our emotions include: The limbic system The reticular formation The cerebral cortex The autonomic nervous system Hormones 3

4 Psychological Theories of Emotion James-Lange theory An emotion-provoking stimulus produces a physical response that, in turn, produces an emotion Cannon-bard theory An emotional feeling and an internal physiological response occur at the same time One is not the cause of the other Both the result of a cognitive appraisal of the situation Psychological Theories of Emotion Two-factor theory of emotion Emotion results from the cognitive appraisal of both (1) physical arousal and (2) emotion provoking stimulus James- Lange theory Stimulus snake Physiological arousal trembling increased heart rate Emotion fear Cannonbard theory Stimulus snake Physiological arousal trembling increased heart rate Emotion fear Twofactor theory Stimulus Physiological arousal trembling increased heart rate Cognitive interpretation I feel afraid! Emotion fear 4

5 Psychological Theories of Emotion Cognitive appraisal theory Theory that individuals decide on an appropriate emotion following the event Opponent-process theory Theory that emotions have pairs; when one is triggered the other is suppressed Arousal, Performance, and the Inverted U Inverted U function Describes the relationship between arousal and performance; both low and high levels of arousal produce lower performance than does a moderate level of arousal Performance High Low Low High Arousal Level Arousal, Performance, and the Inverted U Sensation seekers Individuals who have a biological need for higher levels of stimulation than do other people 5

6 How Much Control Do We Have Over Our Emotions? Although emotional responses are not always consciously regulated, we can learn to control them Developing Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence Ability to understand and control emotional responses Emotional control can be achieved by learning Detecting Deception People can also control their emotions to deceive Do lie detectors really work? Polygraph Device that records the graphs of many measures of physical arousal; often called a lie detector really an arousal detector 6

7 Motivation: What Makes Us Act as We Do? Motivation takes many forms, but all involve inferred mental processes that select and direct our behavior Motivation: What Makes Us Act as We Do? Motivation All processes involved in starting, directing, and maintaining physical and psychological activities How Psychologists Use the Concept of Motivation Motivation Connects observable behavior to internal states Accounts for variability in behavior Explains perseverance despite adversity Relates biology to behavior 7

8 Types of Motivation Drive Biologically instigated motivation Motive Internal mechanism that directs behavior (often used to describe motivations that are learned, rather that biologically based) Types of Motivation Intrinsic motivation Desire to engage in an activity for its own sake Extrinsic motivation Desire to engage in an activity to achieve an external consequence (e.g. a reward) Types of Motivation Conscious motivation Having the desire to engage in an activity and being aware of the desire Unconscious motivation Having a desire to engage in an activity but being consciously unaware of the desire 8

9 Theories of Motivation Instinct theory View that certain behaviors are determined by innate factors Fixed-action patterns Genetically based behaviors, seen across a species, that can be set off by a specific stimulus Theories of Motivation Drive theory View that a biological need (an imbalance that threatens survival) produces drive Homeostasis The body s tendency to maintain a biologically balanced condition Theories of Motivation Locus of control An individual s sense of where his or her life influences originate internally or externally 9

10 Maslow s Humanistic Theory Hierarchy of needs The notion that needs occur in priority order, with the biological needs as the most basic Rewards Can Sometimes Squelch Motivation Overjustification The process by which extrinsic rewards can sometimes displace internal motivation, as when a child receives money for playing video games How Are Achievement, Hunger, and Sex Alike? Different? No single theory accounts for all forms of motivation, because each motive involves its own mix of biological, mental, behavioral, and social/cultural influences 10

11 Measuring the Need for Achievement Projection Process by which people attribute their own unconscious motives to other people or objects Need for achievement (n Ach) Mental state that produces a psychological motive to excel or reach some goal A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Achievement Individualism View that places a high value on individual achievement and distinction Collectivism View that values group loyalty and pride over individual distinction Hunger Motivation The multiple-systems approach to hunger Set point Refers to the tendency of the body to maintain a certain level of body fat and body weight Weight control is a complex issue with no simple answers 11

12 Thirst and Pain Volumetric thirst A drop in extracellular fluid levels Osmotic thirst A drop in intracellular fluid levels The Scientific Study of Sexuality Kinsey interviewed 17,000 Americans concerning their sexual behavior Masters and Johnson Sexual response cycle Four-stage sequence of arousal, plateau, orgasm, and resolution occurring in both men and women Phases of Human Sexual Response 12

13 Sexual Motivation Virtually any stimulus that becomes associated with genital touch and orgasm can become a conditioned stimulus that motivates sexual activity Sexual scripts Socially learned ways of responding in sexual situations Both learning and genetics affect our sexual behaviors Motives in Conflict Approach-approach conflict A conflict in which one must choose between two equally attractive options Approach-avoidance conflict A conflict in which there are both appealing and negative aspects to the decision to be made Motives in Conflict Avoidance-avoidance conflict A conflict in which one must choose between two equally unattractive options Multiple approach-avoidance conflict A conflict in which one must choose between options that have both many attractive and many negative aspects 13

14 The Origins of Sexual Orientation Sexual orientation One s erotic attraction toward members of the same sex, the opposite sex, or both sexes How and Why Do We Experience Stress? The human stress response to perceived threat activates thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and physiological arousal that normally promote adaptation and survival Stress and Stressors Stress A physical and mental response to a challenging or threatening situation Stressor a stressful stimulus, a condition demanding adaptation 14

15 A Model of Stress Traumatic Stressors Traumatic stressor a situation that threatens one s physical safety, arousing feelings of feel, horror, or helplessness Catastrophe Cohen and Ahearn identified five stages that occur in the wake of natural disasters Psychic numbness Automatic action Communal effort Letdown Recovery 15

16 Posttraumatic Stress Posttraumatic stress disorder delayed stress reaction in which an individual involuntarily re-experiences emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of past trauma The Physical Stress Response Acute stress A temporary pattern of arousal caused by a stressor with a clear onset and offset Chronic stress A continuous state of stressful arousal persisting over time The Physical Stress Response Fight-or-flight response A sequence of internal processes that prepares the organism for struggle or escape Tend-and-befriend model stress response model proposing that females are biologically predisposed to respond to stress by nurturing and protecting offspring and seeking social support 16

17 The Physical Stress Response General adaptation syndrome (GAS) A pattern of general physical responses that takes essentially the same form in responding to any serious chronic stressor The General Adaptation Syndrome Alarm reaction the body mobilizes it s resources to cope with a stressor Resistance the body seems to adapt to the presence of the stressor Exhaustion the body depletes it s resources Level of normal resistance Alarm Reaction Successful Resistance Resistance Exhaustion Illness/death Stress and the Immune System Immune system bodily organs and responses that protect the body from foreign substances and threats 17

18 Stress and the Immune System Psychoneuroimmunology Multidisciplinary field that studies the influence of mental states on the immune system Cytokines Hormone-like chemicals facilitating communication between brain and immune system Personality and Stress Type A behavior pattern characterized by intense, angry, competitive, or perfectionistic responses to challenging situations Type B behavior pattern characterized by a relaxed, unstressed approach to life Psychological Responses to Stress Learned helplessness Pattern of not responding to noxious stimuli after an organism learns that its behavior has no effect 18

19 Psychological Responses to Stress Resilience Capacity to adapt, achieve well-being, and cope with stress, in spite of serious threats to development Motivating Yourself Flow An intense focus on an activity, accompanied by increased creativity and near-ecstatic feelings Involves intrinsic motivation End of Chapter 8 19