Ch 12 Micro expressions very brief sudden emotional expressions can reveal hid den emotions Sympathetic nervous system two chains of neuron clusters to the left and right of the spinal cord arouses the body for vigorous action Parasympathetic nervous system axons extend from the medulla and the lower part of the spinal cord near organs Decreases heart rate and promotes digestion other non emergency functions The James Lange Theory of Emotions your interpretation of a stimulus evokes autonomic changes and sometimes muscle actions i e your percep tion of your action is the emotion Schachter and Singer s Theory of Emotions The intensity of the physiological state the degree of NS arousal de termines the intensity of the emotions But a cognitive appraisal of the situation determines the type of emo tions Experiment was unsuccessful but other experiments e g beta block ers show support Basic Emotions Happiness sadness anger fear disgust and surprise Duchenne Smile full expression including the muscles around the eyes Expressions are universal some variations like accents Chinese pride and disgust vs American Facial expressions serve a purpose fear eyes wide gasp disgust crinkled nose squint Facial expressions are used with other cues to determine the emotions of others gestures tears averted gaze Photos not very helpful Emotional Intelligence Elliot demonstrated that there is a difference between intelligence and emotional intelligence One can have one without the other Emotional Intelligence is the ability to perceive imagine and under stand emotions and to use that information in making decisions Includes recognizing and reacting to the emotions of others appropri ately as well as recognizing and expressing one s own emotions appropri ately Fear Anxiety Fear response to Immediate danger Anxiety vague lasting sense of impending doom Amygdala is key brain region associated with learning fears and anxi ety GAD General Anxiety Disorder disorder in which people have frequent and exaggerated worries PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder condition marked by prolonged anxi ety and depression Sexual Aggression Most common acts of violence Women commit more acts but men inflict more damage Rape huge variation on reports difficult to know of women who have been raped Definition is unclear to many Sexually aggressive men heavy users of pornography enjoy violent pornography extreme self centeredness lack of concern for others Happiness Positive Psychology the study of the features that enrich life such as happiness hope creativity spirituality courage and responsibility Hard to measure happiness produces small inconsistent physiological responses almost entirely self reporting Subjective well being a self evaluation of one s life as pleasant inter esting and satisfying Selye s Concept of Stress 1979 Stress is the non specific response of the body to any demand made upon it Includes Getting married Getting promoted Divorce BUT NOT Lifelong poverty Stress Health Direct Lifelong disability i e stress is about events People who have recently had a severely stressful event are at increased risk for everything from cardiac problems to tooth decay In constant state of stress cortisol the stress hormone is released Cortisol enhances metabolism and increases the supply of sugar and other fuels to the cells Improves immune function at first Evolution In earlier days stress likely meant injury immune function would be necessary to fight infection Result Prolonged stress decreases energy to other systems can result in fever fatigue sleepiness Withdrawn behavior Indirect Damage to hippocampus memory Can ultimately lead to depression Exhausts the immune system and you become more vulnerable to illness In addition to physiological effects stress affects behavior poor sleep for get medications alcohol 1 stressful event in childhood correlates with risk taking behavior in adult hood The risk taking behaviors lead to health problems PTSD Profound result of severe stress Marked by prolonged anxiety and depression Frequent nightmares outbursts of anger unhappiness guilt Most people do not get it Talk therapy immediately after does not predict whether or not a person will have PTSD Small Hippocampus not causal Cortisol Coping Strategies Problem focused coping do something to control the situation Reappraisal reinterpreting the situation to make it seem less threatening Emotion focused coping people try to control their emotional reaction Chapter 13 Avoiding and Accepting Responsibility Bystander Helplessness and Apathy Kitty Genovese crowds can result in diffusion of responsibility we feel less responsible to act when other people are equally able to act Pluralistic ignorance each person says nothing and assumes that others have a more informed opinion Social Loafing the tendency to work less hard when sharing the load with other people Persuasion is an attempt to alter your attitudes and or behavior All peripheral routes of persuasion Liking and Similarity People are more likely to be persuaded by some one they like or to whom they feel similar Social Norms Desire to conform Reciprocation Free samples gifts with strings attached Foot in the Door Start with a small request add a larger one later Coercive Persuasion confession cumstances Techniques Police or other authority use threats or an offer of sympathy if there is a People will often confess to crimes they did not commit under these cir Juries consider a confession very strong evidence even if they know there was coercion Kassin Gudjonsson 2004 Bait and Switch person first offers an extremely favorable deal then af ter the offer is accepted makes additional demands That s Not All Someone makes an offer and ten improves the offer be fore you have a chance to reply Fear Especially for political donations only effective if people believe their donation will make a difference Interpersonal Attraction Establishing Relationships A Possible Biological Value of Attractiveness Most people agree rather closely on which faces are attractive and which are not Good looking generally implies normal and normal implies healthy Implies good genes Feature that is not average may imply mutation Average nose average distance between eyes etc However doesn t necessarily pan out turns out that good looks have a weak link with healthy genes Similarity Attractiveness changes as you get to know a person Romantic partners and close friends tend to resemble each other in age
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