EMOTION

What is emotion?
•In psychology, emotion is often defined as a complex
state of feeling that results in physical and
psychological changes that influence thought
and behavior.
•Emotionality is associated with a range of
psychological phenomena, including temperament,
personality, mood, and motivation. According to
author David G. Meyers, human emotion involves
"...physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and
conscious experience."
•Emotion is a complex psychophysiological
experience that we experience as a result of our
interactions with our environment. There are
positive emotions and negative emotions, and
these emotions can be related to an object, an
event, social emotions, self-appraisal emotions,
etc.

•Some emotions are innate. For example: love, care,

joy, surprise, anger and fear. These are known as
primary emotions. Secondary emotions are those
that we learn through our experience. For example:
pride, rage, shame, neglect, sympathy and horror.
 Difference between feelings and
emotions
•Feelingsmean anything that can be experienced via
touch, smell, sight or any other sensory organ.
Emotion is used to describe psychophysiological
expressions, biological reactions, and mental states.
• Feelings can be used to explain any type of
experience that happens beyond physical, i.e. the
feeling of warmth, cold, etc.
• The word ‘emotion’ is used as a generic term for subjective, conscious
experience that is characterized primarily by psychophysiological
expressions, biological reactions, and mental states.
• It is often associated with mood, temperament, personality,
disposition, and motivation.
• Emotions are often caused by the release of hormones and
neurotransmitters, which then convert this emotion into feelings.
Hormones and neurotransmitters include dopamine, noradrenaline,
serotonin, oxytocin and cortisol.
• Hence it can be said that all of the emotions stem from the brain,
which then sends for hormones and neurotransmitters to make the
body realize these emotions, which are then converted into feelings;
these feelings are often short-lived.
• Emotions are considered to long-lived and are believed to be often the
driving force behind motivation. Examples of emotions include
affection, lust, hurt, jealousy, etc.
•It is also possible, however, to experience an
emotion without the presence of cognitive
elements. For instance, we may react with fear
to an unusual or novel situation (such as
coming into contact with an erratic,
unpredictable individual), without having
cognitive awareness or understanding of just
what makes the situation anxiety provoking
 Elements of Emotions
•Feelings– the subjective feeling of happiness
or sadness (private, personal and unique)

•Physiological Responses – increased heart

rate etc.

•Behaviors – e.g. Smiling, crying

 Basic Emotions
•Robert Plutchik's (1980) classification system

•Primary emotions

•Secondary emotions
Primary emotions
• What is felt first?
• Primary emotions are those that we feel first, as a first
response to a situation. Thus, if we are threatened, we may
feel fear. When we hear of a death, we may feel sadness.
They are unthinking, instinctive responses that we have.
• Typicalprimary emotions include fear, anger, sadness and
happiness. The problem sometimes with primary emotions is
that they disappear as fast as they appear.
Secondary emotions
• What is felt next
• Secondary emotions appear after primary emotions. They may
be caused directly by them, for example where the fear of a
threat turns to anger that fuels the body for a fight reaction.
They may also come from more complex chains of thinking.
• Simple or mixed feelings
• Secondaryemotions may be simple feelings or may be a mix
as more emotions join the fray.
For example, news of a wartime victory may start with feelings
of joy, but then get tinged with sadness for the loss of life.
 The Functions of Emotions
Preparing us for action
•Emotions act as a link between events in our
environment and our responses.
•For example, if you saw an angry dog charging
toward you, your emotional reaction (fear) would
be associated with physiological arousal of the
sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous
system, the activation of the “fight-or-flight”
response
Shaping our future behavior
•Emotions promote learning that will help us make
appropriate responses in the future. For instance,
your emotional response to unpleasant events
teaches you to avoid similar circumstances in the
future.
Helping us interact more effectively with others
• We often communicate the emotions we experience
through our verbal and nonverbal behaviors, making
our emotions obvious to observers. These behaviors
can act as a signal to observers, allowing them to
understand better what we are experiencing and to
help them predict our future behavior.
 James-Lange Theory
• The James-Lange theory of emotion was proposed by
psychologists William James and Carl Lange. According to this
theory, as we experience different events, our nervous system
develops physical reactions to these events.
• Examples of these reactions include increased heart rate,
trembling, upset stomach, etc. These physical reactions in turn
create emotional reactions such as anger, fear and sadness.
• For example, imagine sitting in a dark room all by yourself.
Suddenly you hear breathing sound behind you. Your heart rate
increases and you may even begin to tremble. You interpret these
physical responses as you are scared and so you experience fear.
• Thistheory suggests that different physiological states correspond
to different experiences of emotion.
• For example, suppose you are walking in the woods, and you
see a grizzly bear. You begin to tremble, and your heart
begins to race. The James-Lange theory proposes that you
will interpret your physical reactions and conclude that you
are frightened ("I am trembling. Therefore I am afraid.")
 Cannon-Bard Theory
• The Cannon-Bard theory of emotion was developed by
physiologists Walter Cannon and Philip Bard.
• According to the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion, we react
to a stimulus and experience the associated emotion at the
same time.
• Forexample: I see a snake --> I am afraid, and I begin to
tremble.
• Cannon and Bard suggested that the experience of emotion
was not dependent upon interpreting the body's
physiological reactions. Instead, they believed that the
emotion and the physical response occur simultaneously
and that one was not dependent upon the other.
• For example, imagine that you are walking to your car through
a darkened parking garage. You hear the sounds of footsteps
trailing behind you, and spot a shadowy figure slowly following
you as you make your way to your car.
• According to the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion, you will
experience feelings of fear and physical reaction at the same
time. You will begin to feel fearful, and your heart will begin to
race. You rush to your car, lock the doors behind you and rush
out of the parking garage to head home.
 Schachter-Singer Theory
• The Schachter-Singer theory of emotion was developed by Stanley
Schachter and Jerome E. Singer. According to this theory, the element
of reasoning plays an important role in how we experience emotions.
• The Schachter-Singer theory suggests that when an event causes
physiological arousal, we try to find a reason for this arousal. Then we
experience and label the emotion.
• Forexample, you are sitting in a dark room all by yourself and all of a
sudden you hear breathing sound behind you. Your heart rate increases
and you begin to tremble. Upon noticing these physical reactions, you
realize that they come from the fact that you are all alone in a dark room.
You think that you may be in danger, and you feel the emotion of fear.
 Schachter-Singer’s Two-Factor
Theory
• This theory focuses on the role of physiological arousal as a primary
factor in emotions. However, it also suggests that physical arousals
alone cannot be responsible for all the emotional responses. Therefore,
it takes into account the cognitive aspect of the emotional reaction.
• Forexample, you are sitting in a dark room all by yourself and all of a
sudden you hear breathing sound behind you. Your heart rate
increases and you begin to tremble. You notice the increased heart
rate and realize that it is caused by fear. Therefore, you feel frightened.
• The whole process begins with an external stimulus (breathing sound
in a dark room), followed by the physiological arousal (increased heart
rate and trembling). The cognitive labels come into action when we
associate the physiological arousals to fear, which is immediately
followed by the conscious experience of the emotion of fear.
•When people perceive physiological symptoms of
arousal, they look for an environmental explanation of
this arousal. The label people give an emotion depends
on what they find in their environment.
•Example: If a person finds herself near an angry mob
of people when she is physiologically aroused, she
might label that arousal “anger.” On the other hand, if
she experiences the same pattern of physiological
arousal at a music concert, she might label the arousal
“excitement.”
• Schachter and Singer agree with the James-Lange theory that
people infer emotions when they experience physiological
arousal. But they also agree with the Cannon-Bard theory that
the same pattern of physiological arousal can give rise to
different emotions.
• So,imagine you are alone in a dark parking lot walking toward
your car. A strange man suddenly emerges from a nearby row of
trees and rapidly approaches.
• Thesequence that follows, according to the two-factor theory,
would be much like this:
• 1. I see a strange man walking toward me.
• 2. My heart is racing and I am trembling.
• 3. My rapid heart rate and trembling are caused by fear.
• 4. I am frightened!
 Opponent-Process Theory
• Richard Solomon (1980) has developed a theory of motivation/emotion
that views emotions as pairs of opposites (for example, fear-relief,
pleasure-pain).
• The opponent-process theory states that when one emotion is
experienced, the other is suppressed. For example, if you are frightened
by a mean dog, the emotion of fear is expressed and relief is suppressed.
• If the fear-causing stimulus continues to be present, after a while the fear
decreases and the relief intensifies. For example, if the dog didn't move,
your fear would decrease and relief that the dog didn't attack would
increase.
• If the stimulus is no longer present, then the first emotion disappears and
is replaced totally with the second emotion. If the dog turns and runs, you
are no longer afraid, but rather feel very relieved.
•Solomon and Corbit (1974) analyzed the emotions
present when skydivers jump from planes. Beginners
experience extreme fear as they jump, which is replaced
by great relief when they land. With repeated jumps, the
fear decreases and the post-jump pleasure increases.
This process may explain a variety of thrill-seeking
behaviors.
•The drug initially produces pleasurable feelings, but then
a negative emotional experience occurs. Eventually, the
drug user takes drugs not for their pleasurable effects,
but to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
•Theopponent-process theory is an attempt to link
emotional states with motivation.