Emotion Learning Objectives 1 What is a narrative identity What purpose does having a life story provide a Narrative identity a person s identity is not to be found in behavior nor more important though this is in the reactions of others but in the capacity to keep a particular narrative going i The identity we create for ourselves through telling stories b Having a life story provides a way to create imaginative and creative productions that each of us constructs and reconstructs as we move through our adult years i We make a life by making a story and those stories become parts of who we are c Personal narrative makes sense of the brain s own behavior and may underlie the sense of a unitary self 2 What is the difference between the paradigmatic and narrative modes a Paradigmatic Mode we seek to comprehend our experience in terms of tightly reasoned analyses logical proof and empirical observation i Seek order in terms of logical theories ii Goal is to control reality iii Look for cause and effect relationships b Narrative mode concerns itself with stories organized in time i Events are not explained logically ii Deals with human wants needs and goals iii Events are explained in terms of human actors striving to do things over time 3 What are two primary psychological functions of stories and storytelling Why does self disclosure of traumatic events help reduce health problems and unwanted ruminations of the event a Integration and Healing i Stories may bring our lives together when we feel shattered mend us when we are broken heal us when we are sick help us cope in times of stress and move us toward psychological fulfillment and maturity b Pennebaker argues that the process of actively inhibiting feelings and thoughts about negative events requires excessive physiological work higher heart rate and blood pressure which is why it helps reduce health problems i If a person tries to inhibit thoughts and emotions the more he or she is likely to think about that which is being inhibited which leads to higher anxiety levels 4 According to Tomkins s script theory what is the role of affect with regard to behavior How does it relate to drives What are the 10 primary affects and what makes them distinct a Affect human emotion b Affects such as excitement joy and anger are independent of drives such as hunger and sexuality but amplify drives by providing them with motivational power i Ex Sex moves the person to act in a sexual manner when amplified by the affect c There are 10 primary affects each rooted in human biology and evolution of excitement i Positive ii Neutral iii Negative 1 Enjoyment Joy reaction to success impulse to share 2 Interest Excitement reaction to new situation impulse to attend 1 Surprise Startle reaction to sudden change resets impulses 1 Anger Rage reaction to threat impulse to attack 2 Disgust reaction to a bad taste impulse to discard 3 Dissmell reaction to bad smell impulse to avoid 4 Distress Anguish reaction to loss impulse to mourn 5 Fear Terror reaction to danger impulse to run or hide 6 Sadness reaction to upsetting situations 7 Shame Guilt reaction to failure impulse to review behavior d Each affect is linked to characteristic movements of the muscles in the face 5 What tends to be universal about emotions What about emotions tend to be based on culture Hint display rules a Primary emotions appear to be biologically linked to specific facial expressions b Display rules the appropriateness of expressing certain emotions through facial behavior in certain situations i Different cultures have different display rules 6 What is the difference between a scene and a script What is the short term and long term importance of a particular scene What is the process of psychological magnification Be sure to include analogs and variants in your answer a Scene the memory of a specific happening or event in one s life that contains at least one affect and one object of that affect b Script enable us to make sense of the relations among various scenes i A set of rules for interpreting creating enhancing or defending against a family of related scenes c Short term importance of any particular scene in a person s life is likely to be a function of the quality of the affect in the scene d The long term importance of a scene in the context of a person s entire life drama or narrative is likely to be a function of psychological magnification i Psychological magnification the process of connecting related scenes into a meaningful pattern 1 Analogs the detection of similarities in different experiences a Negative affect scenes are often psychologically magnified through the formation of analogs 2 Variants when you focus on differences in organizing various life scenes a Most likely to do this in the magnification of positive affect scenes 7 Is it better to make cognitive sense of positive or negative life story scenes Why a The cognitive processing of negative events leads to insight and positive consequences for psychological well being and health i Writing about negative events in life produces positive effects on health and well being b Extensively processing positive events may lead to reduced well being 8 What is a commitment script How are the scenes in this type of script generally organized a Commitment script the person binds him herself to a life program or goal that promises the reward of intense positive affect Involves a long term investment in improving things i ii Person organizes scenes around a clearly defined and undisputed goal iii Not likely to entail significant conflict between competing goals or troubling ambivalence about any single goal 9 What is a nuclear script What is a nuclear scene and what is the general procession in a nuclear script a Nuclear script generally marked by ambivalence and confusion about one s life goals i Always involves complex approach avoidance conflicts ii Begins with nuclear scene 1 Nuclear scene a positive childhood scene that eventually turns bad iii Initially formed to reverse the nuclear scene only partially successful 10 What are the four forms of coherence in a life story schema a Life story schema a mental structure or pattern for putting a life into story form for making a narrative identity out of a human life i Temporal coherence shows that a person can narrate a sequence of actions that happen over time ii Biographical coherence ability to conform their autobiographical understanding to society s expectations of
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