Essay for my Psychology Class

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Psychology

CHAPTER11

Emotion, Stress,

and Health

Nature of Emotion LO11.1: Explain the three components that contribute to defining an emotion.

• Emotion

– A state of arousal involving facial and bodily

changes, brain activation, cognitive

appraisals, subjective feelings, and

tendencies toward action, all shaped by

cultural rules

Nature of Emotion, cont’ LO11.2: List the emotions that have a universal facial expression.

• Emotions and the body

– Primary emotions

• Emotions considered to be universal and

biologically based

• Usually thought to include fear, anger, sadness,

joy, surprise, disgust, and contempt; possibly pride

– Secondary emotions

• Emotions that develop with cognitive maturity and

vary across individuals and cultures

Nature of Emotion, cont’ LO11.2: List the emotions that have a universal facial expression.

• Facial expressions

– Reflect internal feelings AND influence them

(facial feedback)

– Foster communication with others

– Signal intentions to others

– Enhance infant survival

Nature of Emotion, cont’ LO11.2: List the emotions that have a universal facial expression.

• Cultural and social limits to readability

of facial expressions:

– People are better at indentifying emotions

expressed by others in their own ethnic,

national, or regional group.

– Within a culture, expressions can have:

• Different meanings depending on the situation

• Different interpretations depending on the social

context

Nature of Emotion, cont’ LO11.2: List the emotions that have a universal facial expression.

• Facial expressions as only part of the

emotional picture:

– People can feel emotions without showing

them.

– People use facial expressions to lie about

their feelings.

Nature of Emotion, cont’ LO11.3: Discuss the brain structures involved in the experience of emotions.

• Emotion and

the brain

– Cerebral cortex:

Can override the

amygdala’s initial

appraisal

– Amygdala:

Responsible for

assessing threat

Cerebral cortex

Amygdala

Nature of Emotion, cont’ LO11.3: Discuss the brain structures involved in the experience of emotions.

• Emotion and the brain

– Left prefrontal cortex

• “Approach emotions”

– Right prefrontal cortex

• “Escape emotions”

Nature of Emotion, cont’ LO11.4: Explain what research on mirror neurons reveals about understanding and

communicating emotions.

• Neurons for imitation and empathy

– Mirror neurons

• Brain cells that fire when a person or animal

observes others carrying out an action

– Involved in:

• Empathy

• Imitation

• Behavioral synchrony

• Mood contagion

Nature of Emotion, cont’ LO11.5: Describe the primary neurotransmitters involved in emotional experience.

• The energy of emotion

– When experiencing an intense emotion, two

hormones are released:

• Epinephrine

• Norepinephrine

– This results in increased:

• Alertness

• Arousal

Nature of Emotion, cont’ LO11.5: Describe the primary neurotransmitters involved in emotional experience.

• Biology and deception

– Can lies be detected in the brain and body?

• Polygraph machines:

– Most popular method of lie detection

– Low reliability and validity

– High rate of labeling innocent people as guilty

• Guilty knowledge test

– More successful, but similar drawbacks

Nature of Emotion, cont’ LO11.6: Summarize the basic research findings indicating that cognitive appraisal plays a

role in emotional experience.

• Emotions and the mind

– Essential to the creation of most

emotions:

• Attributions

• Beliefs

• Meanings people give events

Emotion and Culture LO11.7: Describe the ways emotional experience can differ across cultures, in terms of

concepts, expression, language, and expectations.

• How culture shapes emotions

– Many psychologists

• All human beings share the ability to experience

primary emotions, but secondary emotions may be

culture-specific.

– Other psychologists:

• Culture affects every aspect of emotional experience,

including which emotions are considered

basic.

– Both groups: Culture determines much of what

people feel emotional about.

Emotion and Culture LO11.7: Describe the ways emotional experience can differ across cultures, in terms of

concepts, expression, language, and expectations.

• Communicating emotions

– Display rules

• Social and cultural rules that regulate when, how, and

where emotions are to be expressed or when they

should be squelched

– Body language

• The nonverbal signals of body movement, posture, and

gaze that people constantly express

– Emotion work

• Acting out an emotion we do not feel or trying to create

the right emotion for the occasion

Emotion and Culture, cont’ LO11.8: Explain sex differences that appear to exist in emotional experience, and

comment on the complex reasons for these differences.

• Gender and emotion

– Women and men are equally likely to feel all

emotions, although gender rules shape

differences in emotional expression.

– North American women are on average more

expressive than men, except for anger at

strangers.

– Both sexes are less expressive to a person of

higher status and will do the emotion work their

job requires.

The Nature of Stress LO11.9: Describe the three phases of the general adaptation syndrome, and provide an

example that illustrates each phase.

• General adaptation syndrome

– Phase 1: Alarm

– Phase 2: Resistance

– Phase 3: Exhaustion

The Nature of Stress, cont’ LO11.10: Summarize the activity of the HPA axis when the body is under stress.

• Current approaches

– When a person is

under stress or in

danger, the

hypothalamus

sends messages

to the endocrine

glands along two

major pathways.

The Nature of Stress, cont’ LO11.10: Summarize the activity of the HPA axis when the body is under stress.

– When stressors of poverty

and unemployment

become chronic, they can

increase people’s

chances of illness.

– Responses to stress vary

across individuals

depending on:

• The stressor

• The person’s genetic

predispositions

• Cumulative effects of stress

The Nature of Stress, cont’ LO11.11: Describe how psychneuroimmunology links activity at a cellular level with

outcomes at a behavioral level.

• The Immune System: PNI

– Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

• The study of the relationships among psychology,

the nervous and endocrine systems, and the

immune system

• PNI researchers are particularly interested in the

white blood cells that destroy harmful foreign

bodies (antigens).

The Nature of Stress, cont’ LO11.12: Describe some of the health benefits of optimism, and some of the health

consequences of pessimism.

• Optimism and pessimism

– Optimism is better for health than pessimism.

• Optimists take better care of themselves.

• Optimism is directly associated with better immune

function.

The Nature of Stress, cont’ LO 11.13: Discuss why a sense of control contributes to positive health outcomes.

• Sense of control

– Locus of control: A general expectation

about whether the results of your actions are

under your own control (internal locus) or

beyond your control (external locus)

– Feelings of control can reduce or even

eliminate the relationship between stressors

and health.

The Nature of Stress, cont’ LO 11.13: Discuss why a sense of control contributes to positive health outcomes.

• Culture and control

– Cultures generally differ in the kind of control

they emphasize and value.

• Western cultures:

– Primary control

– “Fighting back” philosophy

• Eastern cultures:

– Secondary control

– “Learn to live with it” philosophy

Stress and Emotion LO11.14: Summarize the evidence that negative emotions (such as hostility and aggression)

detract from health, and positive emotions (such as hope and happiness) contribute to health.

– Personality type is

less predictive of

health problems than

is hostility.

– Proneness to anger

is a major risk factor.

• Hostility and depression:

Do they hurt?

Stress and Emotion LO11.14: Summarize the evidence that negative emotions (such as hostility and aggression)

detract from health, and positive emotions (such as hope and happiness) contribute to health.

– Clinical depression is linked to at least a

doubled risk of later heart attack and

cardiovascular disease.

• Lethargy

• Overeating

• Hostility and depression:

Do they hurt?

Stress and Emotion, cont’ LO11.14: Summarize the evidence that negative emotions (such as hostility and aggression)

detract from health, and positive emotions (such as hope and happiness) contribute to health.

• Positive emotions: Do they help?

– Positive emotions appear related to:

• Well-being

• Better health

• Longevity

Stress and Emotion, cont’ LO 11.15: Discuss how confession, forgiveness, and other forms of “letting grievances

go” contribute to health benefits.

• Emotional inhibition and expression

– Suppressing emotions can become stressful

to the body.

– Two ways of letting go of negative emotions:

• Confession

• Forgiveness

Stress and Emotion, cont’ LO 11.15: Discuss how confession, forgiveness, and other forms of “letting grievances

go” contribute to health benefits.

• Heartfelt forgiveness

Coping with Stress LO 11.16: Discuss how emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping contribute

to the problem-solving approach to dealing with stress.

• Solving the problem

– Emotion-focused coping

• Concentrating on the emotions the problem

has caused

– Problem-focused coping

• Taking steps to solve the problem

Coping with Stress, cont’ LO 11.17: Describe three effective coping strategies that rely on rethinking the stressful

problem at hand, and give an example of each.

• Rethinking the problem

– Reappraising the situation

– Learning from the experience

– Making social comparisons

Coping with Stress, cont’ LO11.18: Discuss the ways in which friends can help or hinder successful coping efforts.

• Drawing on social support

– When friends help you cope

• Friends can help: People who have networks

of close connections live longer than those

who do not.

• Partner support: Touching can elevate levels

of oxytocin, the hormone that induces

relaxation.

• Giving support to others can be a valuable

source of comfort.

Coping with Stress, cont’ LO11.18: Discuss the ways in which friends can help or hinder successful coping efforts.

• Hugs and help

Coping with Stress, cont’ LO11.18: Discuss the ways in which friends can help or hinder successful coping efforts.

• Coping with Friends

– In close relationships, the support person may

also be the source of stress.

– Married couples who argue in a hostile way

have:

• Increased elevations of stress hormones

• Weakened immune systems

– Friends may be unsupportive or offer the

wrong kind of support.