What are Emotions?

1
What are Emotions?

• Are they feelings, or are they more?

2
Psychological Factors

• Strong emotions result in bodily changes
• Some psychological changes are recognizable,
  others arent easily detectable
• Increased heart rate
• Rise in blood pressure
• Increase in adrenaline secretions
• Slowing of digestion
• Dilation of pupils
• Churning stomach, tense jaw
• Tense muscles

3
Nonverbal Reactions

• Not all physical changes are internal, some have
  observable changes (appearance)
• Blushing
• Sweating
• Facial expressions
• Posture
• Gestures
• Tense muscles
• Change in vocal tone and rate
• What do the physical changes mean?

4
Cognitive Interpretations

• The mind plays an important role in determining
  emotional states
• Often the symptoms are similar to the physical
  changes, for example fear
• Racing heart
• Elevated blood pressure
• Perspiration
• Tense muscles
• Interestingly, these symptoms are also similar to
  physical changes that accompany excitement, joy,
  and other emotions

5
Verbal Expression

• Better at conveying feelings than ideas
• Anger
• Joy
• Fear
• sadness
• Whats primary in one culture may not be primary
  in another culture
• Shame
• Interdependence
• Independence
• Extroverted
• Introverted

6
Influences on Emotional Expression

• Personality extroverted, introverted, neurotic
• Culture Individualism-collectivism spectrum
• Gender Men and women express emotions
  differently
• Women are more attuned to emotions than men
• Women react more intensely to emotion-producing
  stimuli than most men
• A third factor is the individual with whom we are
  communicating (close relationship, less close,
  strangers, members of our own cultural group,
  same gender)

7
Social Conventions

• We are discouraged in the direct expression of
  most emotions
• Shared emotions tend to be positive
• Social rules discourage too much expression, even
  of positive feelings (hugs and kisses verses
  handshakes)
• Expressions of emotions are shaped by
  requirements (sales people, teachers, students)

8
Aristotles Golden Mean

• Moderation is important neither too much or too
  little (the mean)
• Preferred behavior would fall equally between the
  extremes
• Aristotle urges communicators to moderate their
  own style
• A person with a hot temper attempts to cool down
• A person who rarely expresses him/herself would
  aim to become more expressive

9
Key Terms

• Debilitative emotions
• Emotional contagion
• Facilitative emotions
• Fallacy of approval (approval of ALL is vital)
• Fallacy of catastrophic expectations (Murphys
  Law)
• Fallacy of causation (caused by others rather
  than self)
• Fallacy of helplessness (happiness is beyond your
  control)
• Rumination
• Self-talk