Psych 1101 Chapter 12 Emotions, Stress, and HealthEmotions-emotion: a response of the whole organism that involves an interplay among (1) bodily arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience.-James-Lange theory: states that our experience of an emotion is a consequence of our physiological response to a stimulus-e.g. we experience fear because our heart pounds (say, in response to an approaching stranger) (one causes another)-Cannon-Bard theory: proposes that the physiological response and our emotional experience occur simultaneously -e.g. heart pounding and fear occur at the same time - one does not cause the other (happen at the same time)-Two-factor theory of emotion: focuses on the interplay of thinking and feeling, not on the timingof feelings; states that to experience emotion, one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal-The spillover effect occurs when arousal from one event affects our response to other events; affective states can be experienced as different emotions depending on how we interpret and label it --> Arousal fuels emotion and cognition channels it-Unlabeled emotion --> sensory input can follow a pathway that leads via the thalamus to the amygdala, bypassing the cortex and triggering a rapid reaction that is outside our conscious awareness (e,g. experiencing an emotion when you hear a song)-More complex emotions (hatred and love) require interpretation and are routed along the slower route to the cortex for analysis-Automatic emotion and the importance of conscious thinking in emotion illustrate our two-trackmindsNeuropsychology and Emotion-Similar physiological arousal occurs during fear, anger, and sexual arousal. Nonetheless, these emotions feel different and our facial expressions differ during these three stages. For example, during fear, brow muscles tense; happiness, muscles around mouth and corner of eyes flex (Duchenne smile)-Brain scans show increased activity in the amygdala during emotional experiences-Emotions activate different areas of the brain's cortex --> The right prefrontal cortex becomes more electrically active as people experience negative emotions, such as disgust. The left frontal lobe shows more activity with positive emotionsPhysiological Measure of Emotion-Polygraph: measures several physiological indicators of emotion - for example, changes in breathing, cardiovascular activity, and perspiration-Research indicates unreliability too high to justify its widespread use in business, government, and legal proceedingsExperienced Emotion-10 basic emotions: joy, interest-excitement, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, and guilt-When people report their experiences of different emotions, they all seem to place emotions along the dimensions of pleasant/positive versus unpleasant/negative (the emotion's valence) andhigh versus low arousal-On the valence and arousal dimensions, for example, terrified is more frightened than afraid, and delighted is happier than happyAnger-Anger is often a response to friends' or loved ones' misdeeds and is especially common when those acts seem willful, unjustified, and avoidable-Although blowing off steam may temporarily calm an angry person, it may also amplify underlying hostility, and...Expressed Emotion-All of us communicate nonverbally as well as verbally-Most people can detect nonverbal cues, and we are especially sensitive to nonverbal threats. Experience contributes to our sensitivity to cues-Introverts are better emotion-detectors than extraverts, although extraverts are easier to readFemales tend to read emotions better than males-The facial feedback effect indicates that expressions amplify our emotions by activating musclesassociated with specific states, and the muscles signal the body to respond as though we are experiencing those statesGeneral Adaptation Syndrome (Selye)-Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), the body's adaptive response to stress is composed of three stages-Phase 1 - we experience an alarm reaction due to the sudden activation of our sympathetic nervous system. Heart rate increases and blood is diverted to the skeletal muscles-Phase 2 - (resistance) temperature, blood pressure, and respiration remain high, and there is a sudden outpouring of stress hormones. If the stress if persistent, it may eventually deplete our body's reserves during-Phase 3 - (exhaustion) - with exhaustion, we are more vulnerable to illness or even, in extreme cases, collapse and deathCulture and Emotion-Although some gestures are culturally determined, facial expressions, such as those of happinessand anger, are common the world overStress and Health-Prolonged stress increases our risk for serious illness and death-Behavioral medicine - the interdisciplinary field that integrates behavioral and medical knowledge-Stress if not just a stimulus or a response; rather, it is the process by which we appraise and respond to a threatening or challenging event-When perceived as challenges, stressors can arouse and motivate us to conquer problemsPsychoneuroimmunology-psychophysiological illness refers to any stress-related physical illnesses such as hypertension and some headaches-pyshoneuroimmunology - studies how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect our immune system and health-The secretion of stress hormones suppresses the immune system's white blood cells, called lymphocytes-B lymphocytes are important in fighting bacterial infections, and T lymphocytes fight cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances-Two other agents of the immune system are the macrophage and the natural killer cells (NK