Chapter 13: Emotion Theories of Emotion Emotion is made up of three components; physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious

experience. One of the oldest theoretical controversies regarding emotion focuses on the timing of our feelings in relation to the physiological responses that accompany emotion. William James and Carl Lange proposed that we feel emotion after we notice our physiological responses. Walter Cannon and Philip Bard believed that we feel emotion at the same time that our bodies respond. A third, more recent, theory, the Schachter-Singer twofactor theory, focuses on the interplay of the emotions rather than the timing of the emotions. It states that there are only two components of emotion, physical arousal and a cognitive label. Embodied Emotion Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous System Emotions are both psychological and physiological. Much of the physiological activity is controlled by the autonomic nervous systems sympathetic (arousing) and parasympathetic (calming) divisions. Our performance on a task is usually best when arousal is moderate, though this varies with the difficulty of the task. Physiological Similarities Among Specific Emotions Three emotionsfear, anger, and sexual arousalproduce similar physiological responses that are nearly indistinguishable to an untrained observer. However, the emotions are felt differently by those experiencing them. Physiological Differences Among Specific Emotions Emotions stimulate different facial muscles. Additionally, scientists have discovered subtle differences in activity in the brains cortical areas, in use of brain pathways, and in secretion of hormones associated with different emotions. Cognition and Emotion A spillover effect occurs when our arousal response to one event spills over into our response to the following event. Arousal fuels emotion; cognition channels it. Emotional responses are immediate when sensory input goes directly to the amygdala via the thalamus, bypassing the cortex, triggering a rapid reaction that is outside our conscious awareness. Expressed Emotion Nonverbal Communication Much of our communication is through the bodys silent language. Psychologists have studied peoples abilities to detect emotion, even from thin slices of behavior. Research has found that women are typically more sensitive to nonverbal clues than men. Detecting and Computing Emotion Discerning lies from truth is difficult for the untrained eye. There are certain professionals who are more skilled at detecting emotion. Researchers are studying the role of nonverbal communication during job interviews. In E-mail communications, nonverbal cues are missing which can lead to misinterpretation. Culture and Emotional Expression

Although some gestures are culturally determined, facial expressions, such as those of happiness and fear, are common the world over. In communal cultures that value interdependence, intense displays of potentially disruptive emotions are infrequent. The Effects of Facial Expressions Expressions do more than communicate emotion. They also amplify the felt emotion and signal the body to respond accordingly. Emotions, then, arise from the interplay of cognition, physiology, and expressive behaviors. Experienced Emotion Among various human emotions, we looked closely at how we experience three: fear, anger, and happiness. Fear Fear is an adaptive emotion, but it can be traumatic. Although we seem biologically predisposed to acquire some fears, what we learn through experience and observation best explains the variety of human fears. Anger Anger is most often evoked by events that not only are frustrating or insulting but also are interpreted as willful, unjustified, and avoidable. Blowing off steam may be temporarily calming, but in the long run it does not reduce anger. Expressing anger can actually make us angrier. Happiness A good mood boosts peoples perceptions of the world and their willingness to help others. The moods triggered by the days good or bad events seldom last beyond that day. Even significant good events, such as a substantial rise in income, seldom increase happiness for long. We can explain the relativity of happiness with the adaptation-level phenomenon and the relative deprivation principle. Nevertheless, some people are usually happier than others, and researchers have identified factors that predict such happiness.