Model of Emotions, Biosocial Model,

and Behavior Change

Lesson 2

As you come in,

tell someone
sitting near you
something that
made you smile
so far today!
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Questions
Model of Emotions, Biosocial Model,
and Behavior Change
Lesson 2
 POSITIVE
EMOTIONS

ACHIEVEMENT ENGAGEMENT

PERMA

MEANING RELATIONSHIPS
 Review from Last Week
• Stress remains an unavoidable part of life and we need to
use our EDUC 200/215 resilience skills as a starting base.
• In order to thrive and increase our happiness, we need
learn more skills (EDUC 216) to increase our chance to
experience more happiness and "positively, upward spiral."
• We learned two distinct continua (dual factor model) in
which we focused on the subjective well-being continuum.
• We provided an overview model for the class called PERMA
that will be used throughout EDUC 216.
 Review from Last Week
• Learned that happiness levels naturally wax and
wane, according to Hedonic Adaptation, and that our
individual set points vary.
• We learned the Broaden and Build Theory and the
Undoing Hypothesis, indicating that positive emotions serve a
necessary mechanisms to improve our physical and mental
health.
 Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
• Define the key components of biosocial theory and how this
relates to the model of emotions and the skills taught in 215 to
help us respond more effectively to life events.
• Describe what is the "positive upward spiral" as it relates to
Fredrickson's Broaden and Build Theory.
• Remember and define what is a dialectic.
• Define the principal of and three keys to Behavioral Activation.
• Understand what positive reinforce is and how that can be
leveraged to help us engage in goal-directed behavior and
improve our mood.
 Glossary
Lesson 2 Biosocial Model, Model of Emotions, and Behavior Change
Biosocial Theory Personality or human behavior is explained by biological predisposition as
influenced by social or environmental factors.

Positive Upward According to Broaden and Build Theory, when we focus on what’s working well,
Spiral we widen our attention and cognition. We are capable of initiating upward
spirals or momentum that increases the likelihood that we keep experiencing
positive emotions.
Dialectic When two seemingly opposite things are true at the same time.

Behavioral A therapeutic strategy to increase your experiences with positively rewarding

Activation activities by setting goals and engaging in behaviors that are consistent with
your values and the life you want to live.
Positive Introducing a pleasant stimulus following a behavior that makes it more likely
Reinforcement that the behavior will occur again in the future.
How Would You React?
Review of Emotional Thermometer

EMOTION
MIND!!
 Why Do We React Like We Do?

Time →
 Validation vs. Invalidation
Validation
Communicates that the thoughts,
feelings, and actions a person
has/does make sense and are
understandable in a particular
situation.
Validation is not: agreement, approval,
giving compliments, or letting go of
expectations or limits.
Invalidation
Communicates (intentionally or
unintentionally) that the feelings,
thoughts, and actions a person
has/does in particular situation make
no sense, are “manipulative,”
”stupid,” an “overreaction,” or not
worthy of your time, interest, or
respect.
over time
 Skill Reflection

What skills from EDUC 200/215 can you draw on to...

1. Reduce emotional vulnerability?

2. Notice heightened emotional arousal and emotion
action urges?
3. Increase your odds of reacting effectively when
emotionally dysregulated?
 Acceptance vs. Change

Acceptance Change
Validation Problem-Solving

Mindfulness Emotion Regulation

Interpersonal Effectiveness
Distress Tolerance

Dialectic or
Balance of Life
 Review: Dialectics
• There is always more than one way to see a situation and
more than one way to solve a problem.

• All people have unique qualities and different points of view.

Change is the only constant.

• Two things that seem like (or are) opposites can both be true.

• HONOR the truth on both sides of a conflict. This does not

mean giving up your values or selling out. Avoid seeing the
world in “us vs them” or “all or nothing” ways. Try to HONOR
the truth on both sides does not mean compromise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K5SycZjGhI
 Dialectical Thinking

Acceptance Change
• People who may be
• Reducing emotional
invalidating
vulnerability
• Life circumstances • Lowering emotional
• Genetic arousal
predisposition to • Decreasing
emotional intensity unhelpful behavioral
and speed at which responses
you return to • Increasing
baseline interpersonal
• Your past behavior effectiveness skills
 Dialectics Example

Turn and talk

What are examples of times you got stuck in

all or nothing thinking? How can you
reframe it to a dialectic?

Example – instead of “I’m so stupid” when

you make a mistake, a dialectic is “I make
mistakes sometimes and I’m still smart”
 Myths of Emotions

1. There is a "right" way to feel in every situation

2. Letting others know that I am feeling bad is a weakness

3. Negative emotions are bad and destructive

4. Being emotional means being out of control

5. Some emotions are stupid

Linehan (2015)
 Myths of Emotions
6. All painful emotions are a result of a bad attitude

7. If others do not approve of my emotions, then I obviously

shouldn't feel the way that I do

8. Other people are the best judges of how I am feeling

9. Painful emotions are not important and should be ignored

10. Extreme emotions get you a lot further than trying to

regulate your emotions

Linehan (2015)
 Look of awe:
Startled look: mouth open,
Heart mouth open,
racing, wide-eyed
wide-eyed
Tired, hungry, sick, butterflies,
Heart racing,
emotional hangover nauseous
butterflies

Fear Joy
See a spider

RUN! Heart Lean in, Run away, Approach,

racing heart scream, scream,
freeze attend to
racing
It’s going
to kill me!
Interesting!
Do not reproduce or distribute without written permission from James J. Mazza © Mazza Consulting, 2017
Observe +
Describe
Practice
 Anchoring Interpretations

• Anchoring: People make

estimates by starting from an
initial value which impacts
their final answer.

• Therefore, how we initially

perceive an event anchors our
perception of it

• Ex. Surgical procedure - 70%

success rate or a 30% failure
rate
36 Tversky & Kahneman (1974); Sparks & Ledgerwood (2018)
How does anchoring contribute to positive emotions?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JnSktK3dVE&feature=youtu.be
 How Do We Spiral?
Life Feel bad How do we act?
Circumstances (e.g. sad, lonely, (e.g. avoid friends,
(e.g. fight with overwhelmed, skip class, listen to
friend, bad grades) angry) sad music)

Negative
Consequences
 Positive Upward Spiral

• Transactional, positive
upward spiral

• According to Broaden-and-
build theory, happiness
makes it possible to
experience life more
positively, by
broadening thought–
action repertoires.
Positive upwards spirals can
be effective in many areas
of our lives! Fredrickson, (2001)
 Toxic Positivity
Negates and ignores all
unwanted and/or difficult
emotions/situations
Says it will all work out without Recognizes the challenges and
honoring the challenges
“It’s fine. Just be positive!”
Positive Upward Spiral
Sees and honors the dialectics
in emotions and situations
believes we can still shift our
perspective to help us mentally
be where we want to be
“That sucks! And there are
things I can do to help myself
feel better.”
How Do We Make Ourselves Spiral Up Then?

Feel bad How do we act?

(e.g. avoid friends, skip
(e.g. sad, lonely,
class, listen to sad
overwhelmed, angry)
music)

Negative
Consequences
How do you get back on the “positive upward spiral"?
 What is our Urge?

What do we actually want to do when we feel

less preferred emotions?

Sadness Retreat

Anger Attack

Fear Hide
 Which Mind Do You Want to Decide?

Emotions and Mood Values and Goals

 Mood- Goal-Directed
Directed Behavior Behavior
• Chosen entirely based on • Guided by your heartfelt values
whatever your current mood and goals.
happens to be.
• Intentional, deliberate, and
• At the whim of your internal strategic.
emotional state.
• Careful, thoughtful consideration
• Not mindfully chosen… reactive given to future consequences
and impulsive. and the effects on other people.

• Little to no consideration for • Responsive, not reactive… using

consequences. “wise mind.”

McCauley (2016), Dimidjiand et al. (2011)

 Behavioral Activation
• Behavioral activation is based on the theory that, as individuals
become depressed, they tend to engage in increasing avoidance
and isolation and this maintains or worsens their symptoms.

• As a treatment for depression and other mood disorders.

• The goal of behavioral activation is to gradually decrease avoidance

and isolation and increase engagement in activities that have been
shown to improve mood.

Sturmey (2009)
 Keys to Behavioral Activation

1. Intentionally scheduling activities

that will improve your mood.

2. Connect your values with

activities to engage in values-
directed behavior and improve
mood.

3. Act according to your plan or goal,

not the unhelpful feeling at that
time.

Sturmey (2009)
 So What Do We Have to Do?

If your emotion is below a 65, what skill helps you

change how you feel?

Get
Sadness Retreat
Active!

Anger Attack Be Kind!

Fear Hide Approach!

 Behavioral Activation

We have the human tendency to engage in behaviors that

are directed by our mood, thus an inside-out approach.

Feel First Then behavior

I feel sad and

Then I stay in bed
ashamed

McCauley (2016), Dimidjiand et al. (2011)

 Behavioral Activation

Behavioral activation is an "outside in" approach. You change

the outside to modify how you are feeling inside.

Behavior first Then feel

Happy &
Gratitude visit
accomplished

McCauley (2016), Dimidjiand et al. (2011)

 Behavioral Activation
Behavioral activation is an "outside in" approach. You change
Don't just
the outside to modify how you are feeling inside.
talk...
Behavior first Then feel
Do!

Happy &
Gratitude visit
accomplished

McCauley (2016), Dimidjiand et al. (2011)

 Positive Reinforcement

The addition of
a reinforcing stimulus following a
behavior that makes it more likely
that the behavior will occur again
in the future.

When a favorable outcome,

event, or reward occurs after an
action, that particular response
or behavior will be strengthened.

Dimidjiand et al. (2011), Rathus & Miller (2015)

 Reinforcement vs Punishment

Reinforcement Punishment
Add rewarding stimulus to Add aversive stimulus to
increase or maintain decrease behavior
Positive behavior
Remove aversive stimulus Remove rewarding
to increase or maintain stimulus to decrease
Negative behavior behavior
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA96Fba-WHk
 Menu of Positive Reinforcement
Natural + Internal + External +
Reinforcement Reinforcement Reinforcement
You get the You reward yourself You reward yourself
reward just by with praise & positive with incentives you
doing the activity self-talk for doing the earn by doing the
activity. activity.
For example, how For example, pumping For example,
you might feel yourself up with rewarding myself
after exercising positive self-talk with one Netflix
due to the release when you are trying a episode of my
of endorphins. new work out class favorite show after I
and don’t know the study for a
lingo or moves. challenging course
for 50 minutes.
It’s OK to Reinforce Yourself!
 Using Positive Reinforcement to Launch
Our Upward Spirals
How can we use
positive self-talk
as reinforcement
to spiral upward?

Positive reinforcement (n.) an incentive following a

behavior that makes it more likely that the behavior
will occur again in the future

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx6UgfQreYY&feature=youtu.be
 Leveraging Positive Reinforcement to Change

• To aid us in behavior change

• Timing is important
• Notice and relish in it!
• Give the reward immediately

• Choose motivating reinforcers

• Behavior shaping – small steps

that lead us toward the ultimate
goal (e.g. baby steps!)

Linehan (2015); Rathus & Miller (2015)

 Summary of this Lesson
• According to Biosocial Theory, we have a biological
predisposition (e.g. emotional sensitivity, reactivity, how long
it takes for us to return to baseline) that transacts with
a validating or invalidating environment.
• The "positive upward spiral" is the process of Broadening and
Building, and "contagious" nature of positive emotions on our
wellbeing.

• We encourage dialectical thinking, the use of “and” (instead

of but) and define a dialectic as when two seemingly opposite
things are true at the same time.
 Summary of this Lesson
• Identified three keys to Behavioral Activation: schedule
activities to improve your mood, align these activities with
your values, and follow through (goal-directed) even if you
don't feel like it in the moment.
• Defined positive reinforcement as the addition
of a reinforcing stimulus following a behavior that makes it
more likely that the behavior will occur again in the future and
how this concept relates to our behavior.