Unit 8B, Emotions, Stress and Health Notes 366

Unit 8B, Emotions, Stress and Health Notes 366 (2011 Updates for Chapters 13 and 14 in 2007 book)

I. Theories of Emotion What are the components of emotion? a. Physiological reaction b. Expressive behaviors c. Conscious experience

Does your heart pound because you are afraid, or are you afraid because your heart pounds? A. James-Lange 367 Emotion is the awareness of physiological responses to emotion producing stimuli Ex: sight of oncoming car -> pounding heart -> fear

Comments: 1. every emotion would associated with a different physiological reaction 2. Facial expressions intensify emotional experience

B. Cannon-Bard Environmental stimuli simultaneously trigger  pounding heart Sight on oncoming car  perception of

 fear Comment: this theory is more cognitive than J-L And, both body and feeling happen at the same time

C. Cognitive (Schacter-Singer, or two factor theory) Schacter’s two factor theory of emotion: physical arousal and labeling

Pounding heart

Sight of car fear, emotion labeled arousal

Label: I’m afraid 1. Zajonc says some emotion occurs before cognition; for example, likes, dislikes and fears all involve no conscious thinking

II. Embodied Emotion 369 Emotions and the autonomic nervous system What is the link between emotional arousal and the autonomic nervous system? Parasympathetic nervous system: calms Sympathetic nervous system; arouses A. Arousal Brought on by sympathetic nervous system inc. in respire rate, blood sugar; pupil dilation, slower digest

Pancreas: regulates the level of sugar in blood, releasing insulin, as part of the endocrine system; also part of the sympathetic nervous system (the arousal system)

Arousal and performance fig. 8B.3, page 370 2. Moderate arousal is best for performances 3. Easy tasks: best performance when arousal is high

B. Physiological Similarities Among Specific Emotions 370 Do different emotions activate different physiological and brain pattern responses? 1. negative emotions in the right hemisphere/ prefrontal cortex 2. left hem. Activated by positive emotions; rich supply of dopamine receptors 3. Most researchers agree with the Cannon Bard Theory: our experienced emotions involve cognition 4. New evidence showing subtle distinct physiological changes among the emotions gives support to the James Lange theory

Cognition and emotion 372 To experience emotions, must we consciously interpret and label them? Spillover effect: Schacter and Singer A stirred up state can be experienced as one emotion or another depending on how you interpreted the event. Key point: arousal fuels emotion, cognition channels it.

C. Lie detection measuring human physiology 372 GSR: galvanic skin response: a measure of perspiration in the skin that is thought to reflect anxiety-related physiological arousal

1. Polygraph: measures breathing, pulse rate, blood pressure, and perspiration 2. Control questions: try to elicit reactions 3. Guilty knowledge test: only the culprit would know the answer to very detailed questions 4. False positives: occur more often 5. Government and courts are skeptical 6. about 70% accurate

New lie detection techniques Paul Ekman teaches police to notice changes in micro-expressions EEG recordings reveal familiarity with crime scenes FMRI show brains lighting up in places truth tellers’ brains do not

Cognition does not always precede emotion 374 Robert Zajonc: emotions can occur even before we interpret a situation The brain’s emotional short cut is the amygdala see fig. 8B.6, page 375 Richard Lazarus: we process emotional information without conscious awareness; then later we analyze it to see if our initial assumption was correct Zajonc and Joseph LeDoux: some emotional likes and dislikes and fears involve no conscious thinking; emotional pathway takes the “low road” bypassing the cortex. Other emotions that are like depression or complex feelings are greatly influence by our memories, expectations, and interpretations. Highly emotional people can personalize events as about them and generalize an event by blowing it out of proportion.

III. Expressed emotion 377 C. Nonverbal communication Thin slicing: Rosenthal and Hall—some are better at detecting emotion in others; some can read fleeting changes in expression more quickly; a mere 10-secon clip can tell students whether a teacher should be liked and admired. Some are more sensitive to these cues and need only 2 seconds of a visual (Rosenthal and Hall, 1979)

Gender, emotion and Nonverbal Behavior 379 a. women are more empathic b. people are quicker to see anger on men’s faces c. empathy: identifying with others and imagining what it might be like to ‘walk in their shoes’ Mirror neurons are the physiological component of empathy. 2. detecting and computing emotion a. Paul Ekman classifies lie detectors using facial detection b. Email leads to problems when meeting people because no emotional content is usually in the communication until people meet, gestures, tone of voice and facial expression having all been absent; emoticons can address this.

D. Culture and emotional expression 380 Are nonverbal expressions of emotion universally understood? 1. Gestures/ hand signals differ from culture to culture 2. Paul Ekman (1975), and others found that all peoples interpret facial expressions similarly: genetic similarity 3. Culturally interdependent people don’t want negative emotions displayed 4. The level of analysis for emotion is biopsychosocial in application: you look at cognitive labeling, culture, presence of others, physiological arousal, and the spillover effect.

E. The Effects of Facial Expressions 383 As William James and Charles Darwin thought, the face influences emotion 1. Better than body movements at detecting signals 2. Charles Darwin on emotion: b. expressing them helped us survive c. we used similar facial expressions for basic emotions Our expressions retain animal facial displays 3. Facial feedback effect: Holding a pen with your teeth is enough to make you feel that a cartoon is more amusing 4. Behavior feedback phenomenon: going through motions changes your emotion 5. Mimicry explains why emotions are contagious.

III. Experienced Emotion 384 Carroll Izard (1977): there are 10 basic emotions A. Dimensions 1. valence (pleasant or unpleasant) 2. arousal B. Fear 385 What is the function of fear, and how do we learn fears? Most human fears are learned 1. Biology predisposes us to learn some fears quickly 2. Susan Mineka’s experiment with monkeys: they learned fear through observational learning

The Biology of Fear 386 1. The amygdala associates fear with certain situations 2. A limbic system response deep in the brain (see fig. 8B.17, page 386) 3. Twin studies show a genetic influence

C. Anger 387 What are the causes and consequences of anger? Perceived misdeeds especially if they are viewed as unjustified, but also small events. James Averill: most people become angry several times a week. 1. Baring teeth conveys threat: evolutionary perspective, leads to survival 2. Catharsis: anger reduction/emotional expression: expressing can be calming temporarily only if it does not leave us feeling guilty. Otherwise it usually leads us to breed more anger, usually because it provokes more aggression. Better: wait, then divert your attention with an activity you like.

Venting is encouraged in individualistic cultures, but not interdependent ones.

D. Happiness 389 What are the causes and consequences of happiness? Yearbook photo smiles reveal the outcomes of marriages and jobs years later (Harker and Keltner, 2001) 1. Not related to education level or intelligence 2. correlated with good marriage/friendship; high self esteem; religious faith 3. Subjective well being: your self perception of happiness a. Influenced by genetic predispositions 5. Feel-good, do-good phenomenon Being helpful when you’re already in a good mood

The Short Life of Emotional Ups and Downs 390 We usually overestimate the duration of emotions and underestimate our ability to adapt to emotional changes Even tragedy is not permanently depressing. Positive emotions are hard to sustain report the Diener brothers (2009).

Wealth and Well-Being 391 Young people now associate these two Once you have enough money for comfort, piling up more matters less: the diminishing returns phenomenon But countries with more wealth aren’t usually happier (see table 8B.21, page 393)

Two Psychological Phenomena: Adaptation and Comparison 393 Happiness and Prior Experience a. Adaptation level principle We form judgments based on a neutral level that comes from prior experience; when something changes for the positive we respond to it but after a while that becomes normal and we want more Taking something for granted b. Relative deprivation principle Perception that you’re worse off than those you compare yourself with Other wealthy players became concerned when Alex Rodgriquez inked a $75 million baseball deal.

Happiness predictors 396 High self-esteem, optimism, close friendships and marriage, engaging work, faith, enough sleep, exercise

Opponent process theory of emotion Developed by Richard Solomon (1980) i. with repeated experiences of a pleasurable event, feelings of pleasure decrease in intensity ii. with repeated experiences of a painful event, feelings of pain decrease in intensity iii. every emotion triggers an opposing emotion that fights it.

Stress and Health 397 Behavioral medicine integrates health and behavior knowledge to treat disease Health psychology psychology’s contribution to behavioral medicine

I. Stress and Illness What is stress? Distress: negative stressors Eustress: positive stressors

A Stress and Stressors Stress: process by which we appraise and cope with environment threats and challenges Stressor: something in the environment causing stress Stress reaction: how you respond to a stressor Stress response system Walter Cannon, 1920s Stress produces epinephrine and norepinephrine and cortisol, the stress hormones Sympathetic nervous system Fight or flight response Womens’ alternative: tend and befriend. Shelly Taylor and colleagues (2000) found that seeking and giving support is good for dealing with stress. This releases the stress moderating hormone, oxytocin. General adaptation syndrome a. body’s response to prolonged stress Hans Selye (1936) Alarm, resistance, exhaustion

Stressful Life events What events provoke stress responses? a.Catastrophes b. Significant life changes c. Daily hassles Burnout: the result of daily hassles

Types of Conflicts Did you ever hear of the phrase, “Between a rock and a hard place.”? This refers to a situation in which no matter what you do, you will not like the result. Psychologists call this an avoid-avoid conflict because either choice leaves you frustrated.

The other types of conflicts are approach-approach, and approach-avoid. Approach-approach: single event with two attractive choices; can’t decide Approach-avoid: single event that has an unattractive and attractive feature; keeps you from deciding

B. Stress and the Heart 401 Why are some of us more prone than others to coronary heart disease? 1. Coronary heart disease, No. 1 American killer Meyer Friedman & Ray Rosenman research: no type B’s suffered a heart attack in their study. a. Type A personality. Competitive, hard driving, impatient, easily angered Type A’s toxic core is negative emotions; they are more combat ready; their blood may contain excess fat and cholesterol that are deposited in the heart.

b. Type B personality Relaxed and easy going

Pessimism and depression are also significant negative factors.

C. Stress and Susceptibility to Disease 403 How does stress make us more vulnerable to disease? 1. Psychophysiological illness: hypertension and headaches are examples Not caused by physical disorder; caused by stress. Psychoneuroimmunology, PNI: how psychology, neural and endocrine systems affect the immune system.

PNI 403 Lymphocytes white blood cells in immune system Macrophage kills invading cells Stress lowers the body’s resistance to infections, cancer, and heart disease.

Stress and AIDS 405 No. 1 killer in Africa Stress and emotions do correlate with progression of AIDS

Stress and cancer 405 Stress and negative emotions are also correlated with the progression of cancer. Stress does not create cancer.

Mind and body interact when dealing with stress and health issues. We are biopsychosocial systems.

Key Terms: 408 (see study guide) AP Quiz: 408-409

Classically conditioning the immune system Robert Ader and Nicholas Cohen experiment (1975) Ader helped found the field of PNI. Rats can be conditioned to suppress their immune system. Saccharine water was conditioned stimulus (CS) that suppressed the immune system It was originally paired (acting as a NS) with cyclophosphamide, a drug (UCS) that made the rats feel nauseous (UCR). When the drug was removed; just the saccharine caused the rats’ immune system to continue to weaken (CR).

Placebos might promote healing II. Promoting Health

A. Coping with Stress Appendix C Problem focused coping changing the stressor Emotion focused coping avoiding or ignoring the stressor

1. Perceived control C-2 The more control you have, the healthier you are Loss of it suppresses your immune response and elevates stress hormones

Poverty and inequality: economic status influences longevity.

Optimism and Health C-3 If you perceive more control over your life and are more optimistic you are in a better position to deal with stress or prevent illness Laughter is also a factor Optimism/pessimism Happier nuns lived seven years long in Danner’s study (2001).

3. Social support C-4 People with social assistance better fight against cancer and heart disease, living better and longer. Functional marriages lead to longer, healthier living. Close up: Pets are friends, too. Allen (2003) found they increase survival after a heart attack. Suppressing emotions can harm health. Talking about stressful events calms the limbic system.

B. Managing stress C-6 1. Aerobic exercise decreases depression and hypertension Increases levels of mood boosting chemicals: epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin and the endorphins.

Exercise and health C-7 Moderate exercise can add two years to your life.

2. Biofeedback, Relaxation and Meditation C-9 Relaxation based on feedback about physiology Helps control tension See Table C-1, Alternative therapies: the placebo effect and spontaneous remission may be at work for some of them. Acupuncture can act as a placebo Others: herbal medicine, EM fields, chiropractic, homeopathy, aromatherapy.

3. Meditation relaxation and the relaxation response developed by Herbert Benson Meditation can influence left frontal lobe activity and improved immune system functioning.

4. Spirituality and Faith Communities C-11 The faith factors Better social support Subscribing to the same world view Feelings of acceptance Optimistic view of the future Healthier immune systems Longest life expectancies: more than once a week Lowers coronary heart disease death rates

6. Predictors of mortality 1. not smoking 2. regular exercise 3. weekly religious attendance

Terms to remember: C-13 (see study guide) AP Quiz Questions: C-13