Chapter 11 - Emotions, Stress, and Health

Chapter 11 • Emotion • Stress • Health 1

Emotion (Branches)

Thoughts and explanations

(Gardener) Culture & experience & expression of emotion

(Root &Trunk) Biological capacity for emotion

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Think about these Issues • Are emotions and cognitions two separate processes that often conflict with each other, or are they inextricably connected? • Can we control our emotion? • Is thinking always rational and emotion irrational? 3

Face & Emotion Paul Ekman • Neurocultural Theory • 1-Universal neurophysiology in the facial muscles • 2-Culture-specific variations in the expression of emotion • Seven Universal Facial Expressions of Emotion • Anger, happiness, fear, surprise, disgust, sadness, and contempt 4

Emotion • Elements of Emotion • 1-Physiological changes in the face, brain, and body • 2-Cognitive processes such as interpretations of events • 3-Cultural influences that shape the experience and expression of emotion 5

(1) The Physiology of Emotion (Face, Hormones, Brain)

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Visual Cliff Studies

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Visual Cliff Studies • 75% of the babies crossed the cliff when their mothers put on a happy, reassuring expression. • Not a single one crossed when their mothers showed an expression of fear.

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Facial Feedback • Facial expressions affect the sympathetic nervous system. • A smile sends a message to the brain and positive emotions increase

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Hormones and Emotion • You perceive the sensory stimulus. • The adrenal gland sends two hormones: epinephrine and norepinephrine. • They activate the sympathetic nervous system. • That produces a state of arousal or alertness that provides the body with the energy to act (the pupils dilate, the heart beats faster, and breathing speeds up). 12

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Detecting Emotion Lie Detectors • It measures several of the arousal responses that accompany emotion, such as breathing, blood pressure, and perspiration. • The polygraph cannot distinguish between anxiety, irritation, or guilt; all appear as arousal. • An innocent person might respond with heightened tension to the accusations. 14

The Brain and Emotion Left Hemisphere • Important for the expression of positive emotion • Damage to the L.H. leads to loss of the capacity of joy. • Activation in the L.H. leads to tendencies to approach other people.

Right Hemisphere • Important for the expression of negative emotion • Damage to the R.H. may make people euphoric.

• Activation in the R.H. leads to tendencies to withdraw from people. 15

Amygdala • Is a small structure in the limbic system • Is responsible for evaluating sensory information & determines its importance • Makes initial decision to approach or withdraw from situation • Its initial response may be overridden by a more accurate appraisal by the cerebral cortex 16

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The Brain’s Shortcut for Emotions • We feel some emotions before we think. • Some neural pathways involved in emotion bypass the cortical areas involved in thinking. • One such pathway runs from the eye or ear via the thalamus to the amygdala, the emotional control center. • This shortcut enables a quick, precognitive emotional response before the intellect intervenes. • The cortex can override the decision of the amygdala to react. 18

(2) Thoughts & Emotion

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Theories of Emotion 1- James-Lang Theory 2- Cannon-Bard Theory 3- Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory

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James-Lang Theory Stimulus (Sight of Oncoming Car)

Arousal (Pounding Heart)

Emotion (Fear) 21

Cannon-Bard Theory Stimulus (Sight of oncoming Car)

Arousal + Emotion (Pounding Heart)

(Fear)

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Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory Stimulus (Sight of oncoming Car)

Arousal

Cognitive Label

(Pounding Heart)

(“I’m afraid”)

Emotion (Fear) 23

Two-factor Theory of Emotion Stanley Schachter & Jerome Singer • • • •

1962 Emotion depends on 2 factors: 1- Physiological arousal 2- The cognitive interpretation of that arousal • Unless you can interpret, explain, and label the bodily changes, you will not feel a true emotion. 24

Mental Development • Infants

• Adults

• Cognition is basic. • Do not feel shame • Cerebral cortex is not fully developed. • Cognitive appraisals are basic. • Emotions are not complex.

• Cognition is complex. • Cerebral cortex is developed. • Cognitive appraisals & emotions are complex. • Emergence of selfconsciousness 25

Anger

A short madness Or Makes any coward brave???

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Anybody can become angry, that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way, that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy. (Aristotle) 27

Anger • Chronic hostility is linked to heart disease. • Anger makes you react more assertively. • Anger leads to talking things over with the offender. • Societies that value their interdependence consider anger as a threat to group harmony. 28

Catharsis Hypothesis Venting anger can be temporarily calming if it doesn’t leave us with guilty feelings

Catharsis fails to cleanse one’s rage. Anger breeds more anger. Anger may provoke retaliation. Blowing off steam may amplify the underlying hostility. 29

How to Handle Anger

• Don’t suppress it. • Don’t express it aggressively. • Confess it and do something about it. • Seek reconciliation rather than retaliation. 30

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Happiness • Feel-good, do-good phenomenon • We overestimate the long-term of emotional impact of very bad news and underestimate our capacity to adapt. • Wealth is like health: Its utter absence breeds misery, yet having it is no guarantee of happiness. Those who value love more than money report much higher satisfaction with life than their money-hungry peers. 37

Happiness Is Relative • The Adaptive-Level Principle • Our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) is relative to a “neutral” level defined by our prior experience.

• The Relative Deprivation Level • The perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself (others’ attainment) 38

Happiness is • • • • • • • • •

Having high self-esteem Being optimistic and agreeable. Having a satisfying social life. Having work and leisure that engage one’s skills. Having a meaningful religious faith. Sleeping well and exercise. Having a positive attitude Helping others Counting your blessings 39

Happiness Is Not Related to • • • • •

Age Parenthood Gender Education levels Physical attractiveness

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Happiness • You cannot receive joy from life itself unless you really desire it. Life just gives you time and space; it’s up to you to fill it. • The only medicine that needs no prescription , has no unpleasant taste, and costs no money is laughter.

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Stress • The process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging. • It is not just stimulus-response

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Positive Effects of Stressors • It motivates us to conquer the problem. • People emerge with stronger self-esteem. • People emerge with deepened spirituality and sense of purpose. • Stress in earlier life is conducive to later emotional resilience. Adversity begets growth. 43

Hans Selye (1936,1976) General Adaptation Syndrome 1- Phase 1 – Alarm Reaction 2- Phase 2 – Resistance 3- Phase 3 - exhaustion

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What Causes Stress? • Perceived Control – Poverty and inequality, pessimism

• Stressful Life Events – Catastrophes, significant life changes, daily hassles

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Personality and How People Respond to Stress 1- Emotions and Illness Negative emotions affect the course of illness Type A behavior may be a risk for heart disease. Depression may be a risk for heart disease. Cynical or antagonistic hostility was found to be related to heart disease. 46

Personality and How People Respond to Stress 1- Emotions and Illness Emotional inhibition may decrease the circulating white blood cells that fight disease. Emotion and health: a two-way street Disease may cause emotion rather than the opposite. 47

Personality and How People Respond to Stress 2- Optimism and Pessimism Pessimism is associated with more illness and slower recovery from trauma. Optimists take better care of themselves and have better immune functions 3- The Sense of Control Perceiving a loss of control, we become vulnerable to ill health. 48

What Are the Effects of Stress? • • • •

Stress and Heart Disease Stress and the Immune System Stress and AIDS Stress and Cancer

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The Immune System Lymphocytes (White Cells) B Lymphocytes

T Lymphocytes

Form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections.

Form in the thymus and, among other duties, attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances.

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How Does Stress Make Us Vulnerable to Disease? • Stress diverts energy from the immune system. • It inhibits activities of its B and T lymphocytes • Stress does not cause diseases such as cancer. • It may influence the progression of cancer. 51

The Immune System Can Err in Two Ways (1) Responding too strongly It may attack the body’s own tissues, causing arthritis or allergic reactions

(2) It may underreact Allowing a dormant herpes virus to erupt or cancer cells to multiply.

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Conditioning the Immune System’s Suppression Sweetened Water (Unconditioned Stimulus) + Drug Suppressing the Immune System

Immune Suppression (Unconditioned Response) Sweetened Water Alone (Conditioned Stimulus) Immune Suppression (Conditioned Response) 53

Conditioning the Immune System’s Enhancement • Placebos • They have no biochemical effect. • They can promote healing.

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Coping with Stress • • • • • • • • •

Aerobic Exercise Biofeedback , Relaxation, &Breathing Social Support Spirituality Organization Time Management Self-talk Laughter Positive Thinking

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Ten Habits of Highly Effective Stress Managers

1- They know how to relax. 2- They eat right and exercise often. 3- They get enough sleep. 4- They don’t worry about the unimportant stuff. 5- They don’t get angry often. 56

Ten Habits of Highly Effective Stress Managers 6- They are organized. 7- They manage their time effectively. 8- They have and they make use of a strong social support system. 9- They live According to their values. 10-They have a good sense of humor. 57