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emotion
a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal -heart pounding- (2) expressive behaviors - quickened pace-, and (3) consciously experienced thoughts and feelings - "Is this a kidnapping"
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James-Lange theory
- Proposed by William James and Carl Lange
- the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli
- In other words, first comes a distinct physiological response, then (as we observe that response) comes our experienced emotion)
- "We feel sorry cause we cry, angry cause we strike, afraid cause we tremble"
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Walter Cannon
- thought the James-Lange theory was implausible in part cause he thought the body's responses are not distinct enough to evoke the different emotions; also, changes in heart rate, perspiration, and body temp seemed too slow to trigger sudden emotion
- Philip Bard agreed
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Cannon-Bard theory
- Walter Cannon and Philip Bard concluded our physiological arousal and our emotional experience occur simultaneously
- the theory that emotion-triggering stimulus is routed separately but simultaneously to the brain's cortex (causing the subjective awareness of emotion), and to the sympathetic nervous system (causing the body's arousal)
- thus your heart pounds as you experience fear; one does not cause the other
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two-factor theory
- by Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer
- proposed third theory: Our physiology and cognitions - perceptions, memories, and interpretations - together create emotion.
- emotions therefore have two ingredients: physical arousal and a cognitive label
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summary of theory's regarding emotions
- James-Lange theory maintains that our emotional feelings follow our body's response to emotion-inducing stimuli
- Cannon-Bard theory proposes that our body responds to emotion at the same time that we experience the emotion (one does not cause the other)
- Schachter-Singer two-factory theory holds that our emotions have two ingredients: physical arousal & a cognitive label
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autonomic nervous system
- ANS - mobilizes your body for action and calms it when the crisis passes
- 2 divisions: sympathetic and parasympathetic
- controls physiological arousal
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sympathetic division of ANS
- arousing division of ANS
- directs your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline)
- the fight or flight
- pupils dilate, letting in more light, blood clots faster
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parasympathetic division of ANS
- calming division of ANS
- calms your body after crisis passes
- inhibit further release of stress hormones, but those already in bloodstream will linger awhile, so arousal diminishes gradually
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control questions
referring to polygraph tests, aim to make anyone a little nervous
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critical questions
referring to polygraph tests, if physiological reactions are weaker than control question, the examiner infers you are telling the truth
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two problems with polygraph tests
- 1. our physiological arousal is much the same from one emotion to another
- 2. polygraph tests err about 1/3 the time, especially when innocent people respond with heightened tension to the accusations implied by critical questions
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guilty knowledge test
a more effective approach to lie detection which assesses a suspect's physiological responses to crime-scene details known only to the police and the guilty person
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spillover effect
- being more aroused than you normally would if you were previously aroused
- Ex: you just went for a run, you got home to hear you received a job u wanted. ? is would you feel more elated now than if you had just woken up from a nap
- Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer tested
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Arousal fuels _________________; _________ channels it
emotion; cognition
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Robert Zajonc
- contended we actually have many emotional reactions apart from, or even before, our interpretations of a situation
- Agreed with Joe LeDoux
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Joseph LeDoux
- agreed with Robert Zajonc that some emotions operate apart from the brain's thinking cortex; that some simple emotional responses occur instantly, outside our conscious awareness and before any cognitive processing occurs
- Said some emotions take a "low road" via neural pathways and bypass the cortex
- one low road pathway runs from eye or ear
- Ex: rustling leaves and wind
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Richard Lazarus
conceded that our brains process and react to vast amounts of info w/o our conscious awareness, and willingly granted that some emotional responses do not require conscious thinking
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Introverts vs. extroverts w/ emotions
- Introverts tend to excel at reading other's emotions
- extravert's emotions are generally easier to read
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empathy
you identify with others and imagine what it must be like to walk in their shoes
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Are nonverbal expressions of emotion universally understood?
- The meaning of gestures varies from culture to culture
- Facial expressions, such as those of happiness and fear, are common the world over
- Cultures differ in the amount of emotion they express
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William James
- struggled w feelings of depression and grief
- came to believe we can control emotions by going "through the outward movements" of any emotion we want to experience (so if you act happy, you will be happy)
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facial feedback
- the fact that the face is more than a billboard that displays our feelings; it also feeds our feelings - our facial expression can amplify the emotions we are displaying and signal our body to respond accourdingly
- Ex: when someone is asked to look fearful, they actually report feeling a little fearful
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behavior feedback
Acting angry can make us feel angrier
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How many distinct emotions are there?
- Carroll Izard (apparently has too much time on her hands) isolated 10 basic emotions
- joy, interest-excitement, suprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame and guilt
- "Just Eat Salad So Ashley Doesn't Come For Seth"
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catharsis
- emotional release
- The idea of "venting your anger" presumes that through aggressive action or fantasy you can achieve emotional release
- *expressing anger can be temporarily calming if it does not leave you feeling guilty or anxious
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Experts suggestions to handle anger:
- 1 - wait... you can bring down the level of physiological arousal of anger by waiting
- 2 - deal w anger in a constructive way... by exercising or talking to a friend, etc.
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feel-good, do-good phenomenon
people's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood
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subjective well-being
- assessed either as feelings of happiness (sometimes defined as a high ratio of positive to negative feelings) or as a sense of satisfaction with life
- used along with measures of objective well-being
- Ex: physical and economic indicators to evaluate people's quality of life
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two psychological phenomena:
adaption and comparison
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adaptation-level phenomenon
our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our experience
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neutral levels
- the points at which sounds seem neither loud nor soft, temps neither hot nor cold, events neither pleasant nor unpleasant - based on our prior experience
- We then notice and react to variations up or down from these levels
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relative deprivation
the perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves
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the zone called flow
where happy often are - absorbed in tasks that challenge but don't overwhelm them
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stress
- the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events (such as environmental threats and challenges), called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging
- our emotional and physical responses are a stress reaction
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Stress arises less from events themselves than from how we appraise them
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tend - and - befriend response
- describes how women often respond to stress by nurturing and banding together for support
- Shelly Taylor attributes it partly to oxytocin
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oxytocin
a stress-moderating hormone associated with pair-bonding in animals and released by cuddling, massage, and breastfeeding humans
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GAS
- general adaptation syndrome
- Hans Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three phases - alarm, resistance, exhaustion
- "Hans underwear is GASy, so u can't SELys them"
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alarm reaction (according to GAS)
- you experience trauma; your sympathetic nervous system is suddenly activated. Your heat rate zooms, blood is diverted to skeletal muscles, you feel faintness of shock
- Your ready to fight
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resistance phase of GAS
- phase 2
- your temp, BP, and repriation remain high, and there is sudden outpouring of hormones
- if persistent, the stress may eventually deplete your body's reserves during phase 3
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exhaustion stage of GAS
- 3rd phase of GAS
- you are more vulnerable to illness and even, in extreme cases, collapse and death
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What three types of stressors has researchers focused on?
catastrophes, significant life changes, and daily hassles
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coronary heart disease
- the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle
- leading cause of death in North America
- factors: smoking, obesity, elevated BP, physical inactivity, elevated cholesterol level
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Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman
tested the idea that stress increases vulnerability to heart disease
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Type A
Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people
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Type B
Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people
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psychosomatic
- term used in the past to describe psychologically caused physical symptoms
- now called psychophysiological illnesses
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psychophysiological illnesses
- literally, "mind-body" illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches
- *stress also affects our disease-fighting immune system
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2 types of white blood cells of the immune system
B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes
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B lymphocytes
form of white blood cells; form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections
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T lymphocytes
form of white blood cells; form in the thymus and other lymphatic tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances - even "good" ones, such as transplanted organs
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2 other important agents to immune system
- macrophage (big eater)
- natural killer cells (NK cells)
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macrophage
- "big eater"
- identifies, pursues, and ingests harmful invaders and warn-out cells
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NK cells
natural killer cells; pursue diseased cells (such as those infected by viruses or cancer)
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Two directions the body's immune system can err
- Responding too strongly, may attack the body's own tissues, causing arthritis or an allergic reaction
- Underreacting may allow a dormant herpes virus to erupt or cancer cells to multiply
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Men vs. Women immune system
- *Women are more immunologically stronger than men, making them less susceptible to infections
- But this very strength also makes them more susceptible to self-attacking diseases, such as lupus and multiple sclerosis
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The ABC program
- an educational program that has been used with seeming success in many countries to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS
- Abstinence, Being faithful, Condom use
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CAM
- complementary and alternative medicine
- includes relaxation, acupuncture, massage therapy, homeopathy, spiritual healing, herbal remedies, chiropractic and aromatherapy
- as yet unproven health care treatments intended to supplement (complement) or serve as alternative to conventional medicine, and which typically are not widely taught in medical schools, used in hospitals, or reimbursed by insurance companies. When research shows a therapy to be safe and effective, it usually then becomes part of accepted medical practice
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cope
alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods
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problem-focused coping
attempting to alleviate stress directly - by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor
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emotion-focused coping
attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction
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aerobic exercise
sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also reduce stress, depression and anxiety
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faith factor
a curious correlation that religiously active people tend to live longer than those who are not religiously active
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