Unit 8 Emotion Stress Emotion One of the

Unit 8: Emotion & Stress

Emotion • · One of the most powerful cognitive processes for humans is emotion • · Emotion is the combination of • o Physiological arousal • o Expressive behaviors • o Consciously experienced thoughts

• · Most all emotions are similar in feeling to humans, the differences lie in expression and explanation of causes • · There are three major theories on emotion: • o James-Lange theory: first we experience a physiological response to a situation, then comes our experienced emotion

• o Cannon-Bard theory: that both the physiological response to an event and our experienced emotion happen at the same time, and are separate. • o Two-factor theory: in order for one to experience emotion, two things happen, 1. must be physically aroused, 2. cognitively label the arousal

• · There are minor differences in physiological effects between different emotions, but they are subtle • · What is most important with emotion, is our cognitive processes and how we feel • · In some instances though, cognition does not always precede emotion

• · With emotion, different cultures have different expectations on expression • · Though, a fairly constant set of expressions that is crosscultural is facial expressions and being able to accurately read them

Stress • · Stress is the process in which we perceive and respond to stressors, that we evaluate as threatening to us • · There are often two reactions to a stressor: 1. this is a challenge or 2. this is a threat • · Two stress hormones our body releases are epinephrine and glucocorticoid hormones (e. g. : cortisol)

• · When we experience stress, researcher Hans Selye’s says it happens in three phases: • o Phase 1: Alarm reaction, from the activation of the sympathetic nervous system • o Phase 2: Resistance, body temperature, blood pressure, and respiration all remain high, with outpouring of hormones • o Phase 3: Exhaustion, vulnerable to illness, and in extreme cases, collapse and die • · His theory is called the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

• · Stress can be onset for a number of reasons: catastrophes, significant life changes, and even daily hassles • · Stress can also be onset by personality, Type A personalities are much more prone to experiencing stress than Type B personalities

• · Stress can be damaging to both physiological and psychological aspects of people. • · With high stress: • o People are more prone to heart attacks/heart disease • o Have a higher susceptibility to disease • o Usually decline faster during diseases like cancer or HIV • o Affects people’s psychology and thinking processes, which in turn affects their behavior, (Remember: everything psychological is simultaneously biological!)