Myers EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY 4 th Ed Chapter 10

Myers’ EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY (4 th Ed) Chapter 10 Emotions, Stress, and Health James A. Mc. Cubbin, Ph. D Clemson University Worth Publishers

Emotion z. Emotion ya response of the whole organism xphysiological arousal xexpressive behaviors xconscious experience

Emotional Arousal Autonomic nervous system controls physiological arousal Sympathetic division (arousing) Pupils dilate Parasympathetic division (calming) EYES Pupils contract SALVATION Increases Perspires SKIN Dries Increases RESPERATION Decreases Accelerates HEART Slows Inhibits DIGESTION Activates Secrete stress hormones ADRENAL GLANDS Decrease secretion of stress hormones Decreases

Arousal and Performance level Difficult tasks Low z Performance peaks at lower levels of arousal for difficult tasks, and at higher levels for easy or welllearned tasks Easy tasks Arousal High

Lie Detectors z. Polygraph ymachine commonly used in attempts to detect lies ymeasures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion xperspiration xheart rate xblood pressure xbreathing changes

Lie Detectors z. Control Question y. Up to age 18, did you ever physically harm anyone? z. Relevant Question y. Did the deceased threaten to harm you in any way? z. Relevant > Control --> Lie

Emotion. Lie Detectors Respiration Perspiration Heart rate Control Relevant question (a) Control question Relevant question (b)

Emotion. Lie Detectors z 50 Innocents z 50 Thieves Percentage 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Innocent people Guilty people Judged innocent by polygraph Judged guilty by polygraph y 1/3 of innocent declared guilty y 1/4 of guilty declared innocent (from Kleinmuntz & Szucko, 1984)

Emotion. Lie Detectors z. Is 70% accuracy good? y. Assume 5% of 1000 employees actually guilty xtest all employees x 285 will be wrongly accused z. What about 95% accuracy? y. Assume 1 in 1000 employees actually guilty xtest all employees (including 999 innocents) x 50 wrongly declared guilty x 1 of 51 testing positive are guilty (2%)

Expressing Emotion (a) (b) (c) (d) Smiles can show different emotions: A) Mask anger B) Overly polite C) Soften criticism D) Reluctant compliance

Expressing Emotion z. Culturally universal expressions

Experiencing Emotion z. Catharsis yemotional release ycatharsis hypothesis x“releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges z. Feel-good, do-good phenomenon ypeople’s tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood

Experiencing Emotion z. Subjective Well-Being yself-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life yused along with measures of objective well-being xphysical and economic indicators to evaluate people’s quality of life

Experiencing Emotion z. Are today’s collegians materialistic? Percentage rating goal as very important or essential 90 Being very well-off financially 80 70 60 50 40 30 Developing a meaningful life philosophy 20 10 0 1966 ‘ 68 ‘ 70 ‘ 72 ‘ 74 ‘ 76 ‘ 78 ‘ 80 ‘ 82 Year ‘ 84 ‘ 86 ‘ 88 ‘ 90 ‘ 92 ‘ 94 ‘ 96

Experiencing Emotion z. Does money buy happiness? Average per-person after-tax income in 1995 dollars $20, 000 $19, 000 $18, 000 100% $17, 000 90% $16, 000 $15, 000 80% $14, 000 70% $13, 000 Personal income $12, 000 60% $11, 000 50% $10, 000 Percentage very happy 40% $9, 000 30% $8, 000 $7, 000 20% $6, 000 10% $5, 000 0% $4, 000 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 Year Percentage describing themselves as very happy

Experiencing Emotion z. Adaptation-Level Phenomenon ytendency to form judgements relative to a “neutral” level xbrightness of lights xvolume of sound xlevel of income ydefined by our prior experience z. Relative Deprivation yperception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

Theories of Emotion z. Does your heart pound because you are afraid. . . or are you afraid because you feel your heart pounding?

James-Lange Theory of Emotion z Experience of emotion is awareness of physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli James-Lange Theory Sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) Pounding heart (arousal) Fear (emotion)

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion Cannon-Bard Theory Pounding heart (arousal) Sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) Fear (emotion) z. Emotion-arousing stimuli simultaneously trigger: yphysiological responses ysubjective experience of emotion

Schachter’s Two Factor Theory of Emotion Schachter’s Theory Sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) z To experience emotion one must: Pounding heart (arousal) Cognitive label “I’m afraid” Fear (emotion= labeled arousal) ybe physically aroused ycognitively label the arousal

Cognition and Emotion z The brain’s shortcut for emotions Thalamus Instant fear response Visual cortex Amygdala Slightly slower interpretation: “This is a snake! Get away. ” To pounding heart

Cognition and Emotion Experienced emotion Cognition z. Emotion and cognition feed on each other

What is Stress? z. Stressors Catastrophes Life changes Hassles Intervening factors Appraisal Perceived control Personality Stress Social support reactions Coping behaviors Physiological Emotional Behavioral ythe process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging

What is Stress? The body’s resistance to stress can only Last so long before exhaustion sets in y. Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress as composed of three stages Stress resistance Stressor occurs Phase 1 Alarm reaction (mobilize resources) z General Adaptation Syndrome Phase 2 Resistance (cope with stressor) Phase 3 Exhaustion (reserves depleted)

What is Stress? z. Coronary Heart Disease yclogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle yleading cause of death in the United States

Stress & Coronary Heart Disease Hopelessness scores 3. 5 3 2. 5 Men who feel extreme hopelessness are at greater risk for heart attacks and early death 2 1. 5 1 0. 5 0 Heart attack Low risk Death Moderate risk High risk

Stress & Coronary Heart Disease z. Type A y. Friedman and Rosenman’s term for people who are competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, anger-prone z. Type B y. Friedman and Rosenman’s term for easygoing, relaxed people

Stress and Disease z. Psychophysiological Illness y“mind-body” illness yany stress-related physical illness ydistinct from hypochondriasis – misinterpreting normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease

Stress and Disease z. Lymphocytes ytwo types of white blood cells that are part of the body’s immune system x. B lymphocytes form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections x. T lymphocytes form in the thymus and, among other duties, attack cancer cells, viruses and foreign substances

Stress and Disease UCS (drug) UCR (immune suppression) CS (sweetened water) z. Conditioning of immune suppression UCS (drug) UCR (immune suppression) CS (sweetened water) CR (immune suppression)

Stress and Disease z. Negative emotions and health-related consequences Heart disease Negative emotions Unhealthy behaviors (smoking, drinking, poor nutrition and sleep) Stress hormones Immune suppression Autonomic nervous system effects (headaches, hypertension)

Promoting Health Depression 14 score 13 No-treatment group 12 11 10 Relaxation treatment group 9 8 7 6 Aerobic exercise group 5 4 3 Before treatment evaluation After treatment evaluation z. Aerobic Exercise ysustained exercise that increases heart vand lung fitness ymay also alleviate depression and anxiety

Promoting Health z. Biofeedback ysystem for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state xblood pressure xmuscle tension Patient observes

Promoting Health z. Modifying Type A life-style can reduce recurrence of heart attacks Percentage 6 of patients with recurrent 5 heart attacks (cumulative 4 average) 3 Control patients Modifying life-style reduced recurrent heart attacks 2 Life-style modification patients 1 0 1978 1979 1980 Year 1981 1982

Life events Personal appraisal Challenge Threat Personality type Hostile Depressed Pessimistic Easy going Nondepressed Optimistic Personality habits Smoking Sedentary Poor nutrition Nonsmoking Regular exercise Good nutrition Level of social support Close, enduring Lacking Tendency toward Health Illness