Emotion definition psychology

• William James (1884) and Carl Lange (1885) devised two physiological theories of emotion independently. These theories had different emphases, and some scholars argue that the James-Lange theory of emotion is a distortion of both scientists’ work. • James-Lange theory of emotion (the 1880s) proposed that bodily changes come first and form the basis of an emotional experience. Thus, emotions are caused by bodily sensations (you become happier when you smile. You are afraid because you run). • The James-Lange theory of emotion has spurned over a century of research into the physiology of emotion, and notable critics of the James-Lange theory (such as the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion) have also garnered tremendous traction from researchers. • This theory has been criticized as it cannot explain emotion without any arousal nor the role of learning and cognition. It is also difficult to perceive different physiological states accurately (e.g., blood pressure). Table of Contents • • • • Overview and History William James (1948) and Carl Lange (1885) devised two distinct theories surrounding physiology and emotions independently. While James emphasized the various somatic and visceral responses to stimuli that can prompt conscious emotional experiences, Lange had a specific emphasis. To Lange, emotion was a cardiovascular event (Lang, 1994). Nonetheless, both scientists agreed that emotion did not begin with the conscious experience of emotion but with bodily responses to exte...

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn How we interpret and respond to the world around us makes up who we are and contributes to our quality of life. The study of emotional psychology allows researchers to dive into what makes humans react as they do to certain stimuli and how those reactions affect us both physically and mentally. While the study of emotional psychology is vast and complex, researchers have discovered quite a bit about what constitutes our emotions and our behavioral and physical reactions to them. Defining Emotions Emotions are often confused with feelings and moods, but the three terms are not interchangeable. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), emotion is Feelings arise from an emotional experience. Because a person is conscious of the experience, this is classified in the same category as hunger or pain. A feeling is the result of an emotion and may be influenced by memories, beliefs and other factors. A mood is Defining emotions is a task that is not yet complete. Many researchers are still proposing theories about what makes up our emotions, and existing theories are constantly being challenged. Still, there’s a good basis of knowledge to analyze when exploring the topic. The Process of Emotion While there is debate about sequence, there is general agreement that emotions, as mentioned earlier, are made up of three parts: subjective experiences, physiological responses and behavioral responses. Let’s look at each of these parts in more de...

Anger is one of the basic human emotions, as elemental as Anger is related to the “fight, flight, or freeze” response of the sympathetic Of course, anger too easily or frequently mobilized can undermine relationships or damage physical health in the long term. Prolonged release of the For those who struggle with chronic anger, or for those who only experience occasional outbursts, learning skills to identify and navigate this powerful emotion can lead to growth and change. Everyone knows the feeling. It's that rage that rises when a driver is cut off on the highway or an employee is demeaned by his boss. People have trouble managing anger and other negative emotions. However, unleashing anger doesn’t produce the sense of catharsis people crave—it tends to feed on itself instead. The best path forward may be to understand anger—its roots, its triggers, its consequences—and cultivate the ability to manage it. The question of why some shrug off annoyances while others explode in rage is a fascinating one. One model of anger, put forth by psychologist Jerry Deffenbacher, posits that anger results from a combination of the trigger event, the qualities of the individual, and the individual's appraisal of the situation. The trigger is the event that provokes anger, such as being cut off in traffic or yelled at by a parent. The qualities of the individual include Research suggests that the tendency to become angry is associated with • Entitlement (believing that one’s rights and p...

Emotional intelligence, or EI, refers to perceiving, controlling, and evaluating emotions. Some researchers propose that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others argue it is an inborn characteristic. The ability to express and manage emotions is essential, but so is the ability to understand, diagnose, and react to the emotions of others. Imagine a world in which one could not understand when a friend felt sad or a classmate was angry. Psychologists refer to this knowledge as emotional intelligence, and some experts even suggest that it can be more significant than IQ in one’s overall success throughout one’s life. Table of Contents • • • • • • • Why is Emotional Intelligence Critical? Emotional Intelligence is the “ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior” (Salovey and Mayer, 1990). Having a higher level of emotional intelligence allows one to empathize with others, communicate effectively, and be both self and socially aware. How people respond to themselves and others impacts all types of environments. Living in this world signifies interacting with many diverse kinds of individuals and constant change with life-changing surprises. Being emotionally intelligent is key to how one reacts to what life throws. It is furthermore a fundamental element of compassion and comprehending the deeper rea...

The immediate environment also plays an important role in how physical responses are identified and labeled. In the example above, the dark, lonely setting and the sudden presence of an ominous stranger contributes to the identification of the emotion as fear. What would happen if you were walking toward your car on a bright sunny day and an elderly woman began to approach you? Rather than feeling fear, you might interpret your physical response as something like curiosity or concern if the woman seemed to be in need of assistance. All of the participants were told that they were being injected with a new drug to test their eyesight. However, one group of participants was informed of the possible side-effects that the injection might cause while the other group of participants was not. Participants were then placed in a room with another participant who was actually a confederate in the experiment. Those who were in a room with the euphoric confederate were more likely to interpret the side effects of the drug as happiness, while those exposed to the angry confederate were more likely to interpret their feelings as anger. Schacter and Singer had hypothesized that if people experienced an emotion for which they had no explanation, they would then label these feelings using their feelings at the moment. • Your boss calls you into their office. They don't tell you why. You start sweating, and you label what you're feeling as "anxious." However, when you meet with them, they s...

You know the difference between being in a good mood when you tend to be happy and cheerful, and being in a bad mood when you tend to be sad and grumpy. Moods are different from emotions in three main respects. First, moods tend to be much more long-lasting, going for hours or days, whereas an emotion may only last minutes. Second, emotions are about something specific, such as a person or situation, but moods are much more diffuse with no identifiable object. A mood is a general feeling, not a reaction to a particular situation. Third, moods are not as intense as emotions, which can be strong feelings such as exhilaration, terror, or despair. In contrast, you might not be consciously aware that you are in a good or bad mood until you reflect on your response to situations. Moods and emotions are linked. When you are in a bad mood, you are inclined to have negative emotions such as being sad, angry, or afraid about something. But when you are in a good mood, you are inclined to have positive emotions such as being happy or hopeful about something. So the nature of emotions should inform us about the nature of moods. But what are moods that operate without representations of particular situations? I propose that moods are dispositions to have emotions. Salt has a disposition to dissolve in water, and glass bottles have a disposition to break when dropped. But what is a disposition? Philosophers often treat dispositions as counterfactual conditional (Choi & Fara, 2012). For ...

Emotion Regulation Emotion regulation is defined as the process through which people influence the experience and expression of emotions (Gross, 2002). From: Psychopathy and Criminal Behavior, 2022 Related terms: • Borderline Personality Disorder • Dialectical Behavior Therapy • Mindfulness • Amygdala • Adolescents • Emotion-Regulation Strategy • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder • Prefrontal Cortex R.A. Thompson, ... R. Jochem, in Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Childhood Development, 2008 Emotion regulation concerns how people manage emotional experience for personal and social purposes. It is a complex and multifaceted process, and is developmentally important because it is central to social competence, psychological wellbeing, and risk for affective psychopathology. The development of emotion regulation is based on early neurobiological growth, shaped by temperamental individuality, and guided by the young child’s conceptual understanding of emotion, strategies of emotion management, and the self. It is also guided by social influences: parental coaching, modeling, direct interventions, conversation, the quality of the parent–child relationship, and the unique influences of peers and siblings. B.P. Doré, K.N. Ochsner, in Brain Mapping, 2015 Emotion Regulation Emotion regulation involves the modification of emotional responses via the recruitment of strategies that influence particular stages of the emotion generation process. Figure 1 illustrates four such families of emo...