Emotions

Emotion

An emotion is defined in terms of four

components.
First, you interpret or appraise some stimulus
(event, object, or thought) in terms of your well-
being.
Second, you experience a subjective feeling, such
as fear or happiness.
Third, you have physiological responses, such as
changes in heart rate or breathing.
Fourth, you may show observable behaviors, such
as smiling or crying.
 Emotion Vs. Mood

Typical behavioral patterns in response to emotion have evolved in

order to neutralize any perceived threat, through either fight or
appeasement. In contrast, moods last longer, are less intense, and
involve conscious behaviors.
EMOTIVE BEHAVIORS AND
RESPONSES
POSSIBLE STIMULUS BEHAVIOR
ANGER Challenging behavior from another person Provokes unconscious response and rapid
emotion; “fight” reaction prompts dominant and
threatening stance or action
FEAR Threat from stronger or more dominant person Provokes unconscious response and rapid
emotion; “flight” response avoids threat, or a
show of appeasement indicates lack of challenge
to dominant person
SADNESS Loss of loved one Conscious response dominates; longer-term
mood; backward-looking state of mind and
passivity avoid additional challenge
DISGUST Unwholesome object such as rotting food Provokes unconscious rapid response; aversion
prompts swift removal of self from unhealthy
environment
SURPRISE Novel or unexpected event Provokes unconscious rapid response; attention
focuses on object of surprise to glean maximum
information that guides further conscious actions
Universality of Emotions

Universal emotional expressions are specific inherited facial patterns or

expressions that signal specific feelings or emotional states, such as a smile
signaling a happy state.
Number of Universal Expressions:

Researchers generally agree that seven facial expressionsfor emotions are universal,which
means they are recognized across cultures: anger, happiness, fear, surprise, disgust, sadness,
and contempt (Ekman, 2003; Ekman & Rosenberg, 2005).

Other emotions, such as pride, jealousy, and compassion, do not have particular facial
expressions.

The existence of universal emotions was scientifically formulated by Charles Darwin

(1872/1965), and his ideas have inspired modern-day researchers to study universal emotional
expressions (Ekman, 2003).
Four qualities of Emotion

1. Expressed in stereotypical facial expressions

2. Emotions are less controllable than we might like and may not respond to
reason.
3. Emotions have an enormous influence on many cognitive processes, such as
making decisions, developing personal relationships, and selecting goals.
4. Some emotions are hard-wired in the brain.
Functions of Emotions

• Social Signals

one function of emotions is to send social signals about one’s feelings or needs. Because the baby’s
facial expression signals distress, she is likely to elicit help, sympathy, or compassion from her parents
or caregiver. #is is one example of how we send signals through facial expressions (Keltner et al.,
2003).

Facial expressions that accompany emotions may send social signals about how we feel as well as
provide social signals about what we are going to do. For example, if you smiled at a classmate you
didn’t know, it may signal you’re feeling friendly and perhaps that you wish to meet this person.
• Survival, Attention and Memory

If you’re walking through a strange neighborhood at

night, you may feel fear. Fear is a signal that all is not
well, so you should be careful. Emotions help us
evaluate situations (Rothbart & Sheese, 2007).
The evolutionary theory of emotions says that one
function of emotions is to help us evaluate objects,
people, and situations in terms of how good or bad
they are for our well-being and survival (Rozin, 2003).
There are many examples of emotions having
survival value: showing anger to escape or survive a
dangerous or threatening situation, showing disgust
to signal the presence of poisonous or rotten food, or
feeling fear and becoming watchful when walking
home at night
Attention:

Focus one’s attention and thus better detect and respond to

emotional situations (Rothbart & Sheese, 2007).

For example: Feeling angry when you are threatened means

you’re totally focused on getting out of this situation.
• Memory.

Strong emotions trigger hormone secretion that causes

memories to be “written in stone”.

Thus, emotions help increase memory of emotionally charged

events (Dobbs, 2006a). This results in better remembering
events that are beneficial or dangerous to our well-being.
• Arousal and Motivation

One major function of emotions is to produce

general arousal, which prepares the body for
some action (Hamm et al., 2003).

The Yerkes-Dodson law says that performance on

a task is an interaction between the level of
physiological arousal and the difficulty of the
task. For difficult tasks, low arousal results in
better performance; for most tasks, moderate
arousal helps performance; and for easy tasks,
high arousal may facilitate performance.
Theories of Emotion
Biological Basis of
Emotion
Brain and Emotion

• Amygdala and Hippocampus:

• A little almond-shaped structure, deep inside the temporal
lobe, connects with the hippocampus, and other critical
structures of the brain. These connections make it possible for
the amygdala to play its important role on the mediation and
control of major affective activities like friendship, love and
affection, on the expression of mood and, mainly, on fear, rage
and aggression The amygdala, being the center for identification
of danger, is fundamental for self preservation. When triggered,
it gives rise to fear and anxiety which lead the animal into a
stage of alertness, getting ready to flight or flee. Experimental
destruction of both amygdalas (there are two of them, one in
each hemisphere) tames the animal, which becomes sexually
non-discriminative, deprived of affection and indifferent to
danger. The electrical stimulus of these structures elicits crises of
violent aggressiveness. Humans with marked lesions of the
amygdala, loose the affective meaning of the perception of
outside information, like the sight of a well known person. The
subject knows, exactly, who the person is, but is not capable to
decide whether he likes or dislikes him (or her).
• Hippocampus: This structure is particularly involved with memory
phenomena, especially with the formation of long-term memory (the one
that, sometimes, lasts forever). When both sides of the hippocampus are
destroyed, nothing can be retained in the memory. The subject quickly forgets
any recently received message. The intact hippocampus allows the animal to
compare the conditions of a present threat with similar past experiences, thus
enabling it to choose the best option, in order to guarantee its own survival.
• Thalamus:

Lesion or stimulation of the thalamus is associated with changes in emotional

reactivity. However, the importance of the thalamus on the regulation of
emotional behavior is not due to the thalamus itself, but to the connections of
with other limbic system structures. The thalamus makes connections with the
cerebral cortex and with the hypothalamus.
• Hypothalamus :

This structure has ample connections with the other structures. Lesions of the hypothalamic nuclei
interfere with several vegetative functions and some of the so- called motivated behaviors, like
thermal regulation, sexuality, combativeness, hunger and thirst. The hypothalamus is also believed to
play a role in emotion. Specifically, its lateral parts seem to be involved with pleasure and rage, while
the central part is involved with aversion, displeasure and a tendency to uncontrollable and loud
laughing. However, in general terms, the hypothalamus has more to do with the expression
(symptomatic manifestations) of emotions than with the origin of the affective states. When the
physical symptoms of emotion appear, the threat they pose returns, via hypothalamus, to the limbic
centers and, thence to the pre-frontal nuclei, increasing anxiety.
• Brainstem:

The brainstem is the region responsible for the "emotional reactions", (indeed,
they are just reflex answers) of inferior vertebrates, like reptiles and amphibians.
The involved structures are the reticular formation, and a concentrated mass of
nor-epinephrine secreting neurons. It is important to stress that, even in
humans, these primitive structures remain active, not only as alerting
mechanisms, vital for survival, but in the maintenance of the sleep-awake cycle.
Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI or EQ for "emotional quotient") is the

ability to perceive, interpret, demonstrate, control, evaluate, and
use emotions to communicate with and relate to others effectively
and constructively. This ability to express and control emotions is
essential, but so is the ability to understand, interpret, and
respond to the emotions of others. Some experts suggest that
emotional intelligence is more important than IQ for success in
life.
What Are the Signs of Emotional Intelligence?

• Some key signs and examples of emotional intelligence include:

• An ability to identify and describe what people are feeling
• An awareness of personal strengths and limitations
• Self-confidence and self-acceptance
• The ability to let go of mistakes
• An ability to accept and embrace change
• A strong sense of curiosity, particularly about other people
• Feelings of empathy and concern for others
• Showing sensitivity to the feelings of other people
• Accepting responsibility for mistakes
• The ability to manage emotions in difficult situations
 How Emotional Intelligence Is Measured

• A number of different assessments have emerged to measure levels of emotional intelligence.

Such tests generally fall into one of two types: self-report tests and ability tests.
• Self-report tests are the most common because they are the easiest to administer and score. On
such tests, respondents respond to questions or statements by rating their own behaviors. For
example, on a statement such as "I often feel that I understand how others are feeling," a test-
taker might describe the statement as disagree, somewhat disagree, agree, or strongly agree.
• Ability tests, on the other hand, involve having people respond to situations and then
assessing their skills. Such tests often require people to demonstrate their abilities, which are
then rated by a third party.
Components of Emotional Intelligence

Researchers suggest that there are four different levels

of emotional intelligence including emotional perception, the
ability to reason using emotions, the ability to understand
emotions, and the ability to manage emotions.
1.Perceiving emotions: The first step in understanding emotions
is to perceive them accurately. In many cases, this might involve
understanding nonverbal signals such as body language and
facial expressions.

2.Reasoning with emotions: The next step involves using

emotions to promote thinking and cognitive activity. Emotions
help prioritize what we pay attention and react to; we respond
emotionally to things that garner our attention.
3. Understanding emotions: The emotions that we perceive can carry a wide
variety of meanings. If someone is expressing angry emotions, the observer
must interpret the cause of the person's anger and what it could mean. For
example, if your boss is acting angry, it might mean that they are dissatisfied
with your work, or it could be because they got a speeding ticket on their way to
work that morning or that they've been fighting with their partner.

4. Managing emotions: The ability to manage emotions effectively is a crucial

part of emotional intelligence and the highest level. Regulating emotions and
responding appropriately as well as responding to the emotions of others are all
important aspects of emotional management.
• The four branches of this model are arranged by complexity with
the more basic processes at the lower levels and the more
advanced processes at the higher levels. For example, the lowest
levels involve perceiving and expressing emotion, while higher
levels require greater conscious involvement and involve
regulating emotions.
Impact of Emotional Intelligence

Thinking Before Reacting

Emotionally intelligent people know that emotions can be powerful, but also temporary. When a highly charged emotional event
happens, such as becoming angry with a co-worker, the emotionally intelligent response would be to take some time before
responding. This allows everyone to calm their emotions and think more rationally about all the factors surrounding the argument.
Greater Self-Awareness
Emotionally intelligent people are not only good at thinking about how other people might feel but they are also adept at
understanding their own feelings. Self-awareness allows people to consider the many different factors that contribute to their
emotions.
Empathy for Others
A large part of emotional intelligence is being able to think about and empathize with how other people are feeling. This often
involves considering how you would respond if you were in the same situation.
THANK YOU