CHAPTER 3 Social Affect Moods and Emotions in our social Lives The Physiology of Affect sympathetic nervous system a division of the autonomic nervous system that is involved in preparing the body for behavior particularly in response to stress by activating the organs and the glands in the endocrine system arousal the changes in bodily sensations caused by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system including increased blood pressure heart rate perspiration and respiration feeling that accompanies strong emotions limbic system The experience of emotion is also controlled in part by one of the evolutionarily oldest parts of our brain Amygdala a region in the limbic system that is primarily responsible for regulating our perceptions of and reactions to aggression and fear has connections to other bodily systems related to emotions including the facial muscles which perceive and express emotions and it also regulates the release of neurotransmitters related to stress and aggression Basic and Secondary Emotions basic emotions anger contempt disgust fear happiness sadness and surprise are emotions those that are based primarily on the arousal that is produced by the SNS and which do not require much cognitive processing secondary emotions emotions that provide us with more complex feelings about our social worlds and which are more cognitively based Cultural and Gender Differences in Emotional Responses And as we would expect on the basis of cultural differences between individualism and collectivism emotions are more social in eastern cultures but relatively more individual in western cultures Eastern whereas emotions such as friendliness and shame are seen as more appropriate in Eastern Cultures experience more positive emotions when are with others Western Self enhancing emotions such as pride and anger are seen as more appropriate emotions to express in Western cultures Westerners are more likely to experience positive emotions when they were alone and as a result of their personal accomplishments There are at least some differences in the experience of emotion between men and women and across cultures Moods Provide Information about our Social Worlds Positive moods will likely lead us to maintain our current activities which seem to be successful whereas negative moods suggest that we may wish to attempt to change things to improve our situation And positive moods lead us to think more creatively and even to respond to opinions that are inconsistent with cultural norms Processing Fluency our environments processing fluency Processing fluency refers to the ease with which we can process information in mood states can influence information processing is through their effects on When stimuli are highly salient or highly accessible they can be quickly attended to and processed and they therefore have a large influence on our perceptions our body reacts positively to information that we can process quickly and we use this positive affective response as a basis of judgment Misattributing Arousal although emotions are usually considered to be affective in nature they really represent an excellent example of the joint influence of both affect and cognition We can say then that emotions have two factors an arousal factor and a cognitive factor Misattributed When people incorrectly label the source of the arousal that they are experiencing cognitions are such strong determinants of emotional states the same state of physiological arousal could be labeled in many different ways depending entirely upon the label provided by the social situation Emotions and Well being Stress and the Immune System well being The sense of satisfaction with one s everyday experience Stress the physical and psychological reactions that occur whenever we believe that the demands of the situation threaten our ability to respond to the threat We experience stress when we find ourselves in situations where we are not sure how to respond or whether we are going to be able to adequately cope PTSD a medical syndrome that includes symptoms of anxiety sleeplessness nightmares and social withdrawal When we are attacked afraid or concerned about our welfare the body signals us that we need to react and the stress response is one of those signals But problems begin when a threat becomes prolonged The General Adaptation Syndrome general adaptation syndrome refer to the three distinct phases of physiological change that occur in response to long term stress alarm resistance and exhaustion General alarm reaction first reaction to stress body releases hormones cortisol Resistance second stage after a period of chronic stress the body adapts to the ongoing threat and tries to return to its normal functions Glucose levels rise to sustain energy and Blood pressure rises Exhaustion in this stage the body has run out of its reserve energy Blood sugar decreases leading to decrease stress tolerance progressive mental and physical exhaustion illness and collapse and body fails HPA axis is a physiological response to stress involving interactions among the hypothalamus the pituitary and the adrenal glands The HPA response begins when the hypothalamus secretes releasing hormones that direct the pituitary gland to release the hormone ACTH then directs the adrenal glands to secrete more hormones epinephrine norepinephrine and cortisol a stress hormone that releases sugars into the blood helping preparing the body to respond to threat Stress increases activity in the SNS it also suppresses activity in the parasympathetic division of the ANS When stress is long term the HPA axis remains active and the adrenals continue to produce cortisol This increased cortisol production exhausts the stress mechanism leading to fatigue and depression daily hassles Our everyday interactions with the environment that are Sources of Stress essentially negative Negative emotions Responses to Stress fight or flight response an emotional and behavioral reaction to stress that increases the readiness for action The fight or flight response is triggered in men by the activation of the HPA axis The fight or flight response allows men to control the source of the stress if they think they can do so or if that is not possible it allows them to save face by leaving the situation Tend and befriend response behavioral reaction to stress that involves activities designed to create social networks that provide protection from threats self protective because it
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