PPE 3003 1st Edition Lecture 16 Outline of Last Lecture I II III IV V VI VII VIII Amadou Diallo The Cognitive Approach to Personality Three Levels of Cognition Perceptual Level Interpretation Goals and Beliefs Intelligence Emotional Intelligence Outline of Current Lecture I Three Components of Emotions II Emotions are Functional III Two Approaches to Studying Emotions IV Emotions and Personality V Pleasant Emotions Happiness VI Negative Emotions Anxiety VII Negative Emotions Depression VIII Negative Emotions Anger Current Lecture A Three Components of Emotions a Distinct subjective feeling i How does it feel to be angry ii How does it feel to be afraid b Associated with bodily changes i Examples include heart rate facial expressions and muscle tension c Distinct action tendencies i Anger might lead to aggressive action ii Sadness might lead one to seek social support B Emotions are Functional a Emotions are adaptive i Example 1 Emotion of disgust prevents people from eating harmful things 2 Anger can prevents people from being taken advantage of 3 Sadness can signal a need for social support 4 Fear can prevent people from doing dangerous activities C Two Approaches to Studying Emotions a Categorical Approach i There are only a few primary emotions that are distinct ii Different theorists use different criteria for identifying primary emotions b Dimensional Approach i Emotions are not distinct but rather they exist on a continuum ii Two dimensions activation and pleasantness 1 Aka arousal and valance 2 High activation low activation versus pleasant unpleasant 3 High Activation and pleasant a Pleased glad aroused astonished excited happy delighted 4 Low activation and pleasant a Content satisfied at ease calm relaxed serene sleepy tired 5 Low activation and unpleasant a Miserable sad depressed gloomy bored droopy 6 High activation and unpleasant a Distressed annoyed frustrated tense angry afraid alarmed D Emotions and Personality a People s emotional experiences differ in i Content 1 The kind of emotions that one tends to experience ii Style 1 The manner is which one experiences emotions a Affect intensity how intensely does one tend to experience emotions iii What emotions are regarded as desirable 1 For example do you like to be calm or excited Do you sometimes like to feel fear E Pleasant Emotions Happiness a What is happiness i William James 1 Ratio of accomplishments to aspirations ii The subjective feeling of well being or life satisfaction iii Having more positive emotions than negative emotions b Two personality traits that are most associated with happiness i Extraversion ii Neuroticism c Larsen and colleagues i Gave participants personality questionnaires to fill out ii Exposure to pleasant or unpleasant stimuli iii High extraversion is associated with increased positive emotions after exposure to pleasant stimuli iv High neuroticism is associated with increased negative emotions after exposure to unpleasant stimuli d Happiness is associated with longevity self esteem job satisfaction marriage success and other positive outcomes i There is a reciprocal causality between success and happiness e Steps to maintain happiness i Spend time with people who you enjoy their company ii Seek meaningful work iii Help others iv Engage in pleasurable activities v Stay in shape vi Have a plan but be open to change vii Be optimistic viii Have perspective F Negative Emotions Anxiety a Closely tied to neuroticism i Easily irritated ii Overreacting to unpleasant events iii Eysenck argued that neuroticism is associated with an easily activated limbic system 1 Fight or flight response G Negative Emotions Depression a Twenty percent of Americans experiences depression at some point in their lives b Diathesis i Stress model ii A preexisting vulnerability diathesis combined with stress leads to depression c Beck s cognitive theory i Distortions in information processing contribute to depression 1 Overgeneralizing catastrophizing personalizing d Neurotransmitter theory of depression i Imbalance of serotonin and or norepinephrine can cause depression H Negative Emotions Anger a Extremely violent people showed low levels of activity in prefrontal cortex associated with emotion regulation and impulse control
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