Chapter 2

Understanding
Emotions
Prof. Bernardo Fernandez II
EMOTIONS
 Learning
objectives!
• The definitions of emotions and
mood.
• The science behind positive
affectivity and neuroscience.
• The power of the ‘positivity ratio’.
• The broaden-and-build theory of
positive emotions.
• The influence of genetics and
personality on emotions.
• Two main theories within
emotional intelligence
KUMUSTA
KA
TODAY?
When was last time you
felt ‘really happy’?

Stop for a minute and reflect

upon the last time you felt ‘really
happy’.
Have you done this?
What did you think of?
How do you now feel?
 EMOTION
An emotion can be defined as a ‘psychological
state defined by subjective feelings but also
characteristic patterns of physiological arousal
thought and behaviours’ (Peterson, 2006: 73).
Emotions tend to focus on a specific event or
circumstance during the past, present or
future.
However, emotions are likely to be short lived
and we are aware of them at the time of
occurrence.
 MOOD

Moods, on the other hand, are different from

emotions as they are ‘free floating or
objectless, more long-lasting and occupy the
background consciousness’ (Fredrickson and
Losada, 2005: 121).
Thus moods, unlike emotions, tend to be
unfocused and enduring.
Paul Ekman (2003), a leading
researcher on the study of human
emotions and expression, posits that
there are six basic human emotions
found throughout the world, across
gender, age and culture. These
include: anger, disgust, fear, joy,
sadness, and surprise.
Carroll Izard theorized that each emotion was
an intra-individual process or a conscious
feeling state marked by its neurobiological
activity and expression pattern like distinct
facial expressions. Izard's theory of emotion is
also called differential emotions theory.
His theory postulates ten primary
emotions: interest, joy, surprise, sadness,
anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame and
guilt.
Broaden and Build Theory by Barbara Fredickson
A theory associated with the field of positive
psychology that explores the function of positive
emotions in building resiliency. This theory is based on
the notion that positive emotions can have the effect
of broadening awareness and response to events as
well as building resiliency and coping skills.
The basis for Fredrickson’s (1998) broaden-and-build
theory states that individuals who engage in more
positive thinking and behaviors are better able to
adapt to their environments, elicit more fulfilling lives,
engage in greater personal resource development, and
that this engagement can enhance factors that would
promote health longevity.
 • Fredrickson’s positive emotions lab has repeatedly tested the broadening effects
of positive emotions.

The Broadening • They propose that when we experience one of the main positive emotions, our
minds tend to open up – or broaden – and we are able to think ‘outside the box’.
Effect • This is important because when we broaden our thinking patterns we tend to
get a bird’s-eye view of our situation, which can help generate alternative
solutions to the tasks at hand. We also become more creative, with positive
emotions being found to enhance verbal creativity tasks
The Building Effect

• Positive emotions do not only open our mind to alternative strategies

– research has shown that the experience of positive emotions
coupled with the broadening effect has the ability to build personal
resources, which we are able to dip into when needed.
• These include intellectual resources (problem solving, being open to
learning),
• physical resources (cardiovascular health, coordination),
• social resources (we can maintain relationships and create new ones)
• and psychological resources (resilience, optimism, sense of identity
and goal orientation).
As these develop, they induce more positive emotions that continue
building the resources in an upward spiral
Love is the most
experienced
human emotion.
 Mind–body dualism
Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato discussed the
human self in terms of three separate entities: the mind,
body and the soul.
It wasn’t until René Descartes came along in the
seventeenth century, with his famous quote ‘I think
therefore I am’ that society began a longstanding debate
between the existence of the immaterial mind
(consciousness, self-awareness) and material body
(brain-intelligence) (eventually know as Cartesian
dualism).
According to scientists, the separation debate is
considered outdated, with research showing that it is a
complex interaction between both – the body and the
mind affecting each other. Within the brain, researchers
have identified that the primary somatosensory cortex is
responsible for the transference of sensory information
from the body to the brain (Ratey, 2001).
Brain
The brain Within our magical, wonderful brain there are several systems that are linked
to the experience of happiness. The brain can be separated into three categorises
including:
Reptilian: the oldest part of the brain structure, which we share with our ancestors. It
controls basic functioning such as temperature regulation, sleeping and waking.
Paleomammalian: this section includes the limbic system and also controls movement
for survival, as well as some elements of emotions.
Neomammalian: also known as the cortex, this is the latest evolutionary component in
the brain, which enables abstract thinking, planning, and control of lower functioning
skills (Ratey, 2001).
Specific parts of the brain responsible for the regulation of happiness include:
The reward system: this is responsible for inducing feelings of pleasure.
The pleasure system: this recognizes what the person is doing, seeing or listening to is
good.
Dopamine: this is the key neurotransmitter involved in the pleasure centre. Limited
levels of dopamine can subdue levels of motivation whereas high levels of dopamine
can lead to mania (Ackerman, 2009).
Ventral tegmental area (VTA): in collaboration with the substantia nigra, the VTA is the
key area of the dopamine system.
Nucleus accumbens: this component of the brain is a very important player in the
reward system of the brain. Part of the limbic system, it is thought to be ‘the pleasure
centre as it holds the highest concentration of dopamine neurotransmitters’. Addictive
drugs (for example, cocaine) target this area.
Prefrontal cortex: this area of the brain is responsible for working memory.
Orbital frontal cortex: this is the area of the brain where decisions are made.
Looking to
our brains
Looking to
our brains
 Positive emotions and other people
When we feel positive emotions, we feel connected to others and actually allow ourselves to open up and
include others into our sense of self.
Positive emotions make us feel less as two and more as one. This inclusion side effect has tremendous impact
on personal relationships with others. Not only do we see others as part of our self-concept but we are also
more likely to understand other people’s complexities and perspectives, which in turn will enhance the
relational bond.
Cross-cultural research shows that feeling positive emotions is not a selfish endeavour. In fact, by experiencing
positive emotions we are able to take a broader perspective, recognizing others’ viewpoints and not just our
own, thereby developing stronger relationships with others.
This connection to others expands beyond people that we already know. In fact, Fredrickson has found
evidence that inducing positive emotions can help with combating and almost eliminating own-race bias.
Own-race bias is the psychological phenomenon that people are not good at recognizing members of other
races, which can feed racism and segregation.
Furthermore, there is also evidence that suggests that positive emotions can affect cross-cultural perspective
taking, with people who feel higher levels of positive emotions being able to take a larger perspective and
exhibit greater feelings of sympathy and compassion for someone from a dissimilar cultural.
Attenuation
to positive
emotion
Personality
and Positive
Emotions
 Non- Duchene
Duchene Smile
Smile
 Emotional intelligence (EI) is a widely used phrase within
pop psychology. Salovey and Mayer (1990: 189) define EI as
the ‘ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and
emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this
information to guide one’s thinking and action.’

Emotional Ultimately, researchers believe that emotions have use and

are not present for idle purpose.
intelligence
Our emotions are good at sending us messages to let us
know how we feel about people and situations. Emotional
suppression can be detrimental to our wellbeing, thus
attempts to become more aware of emotions are important
(Mayer and Salovey, 1993; Mayer et al., 2001, 2004).
MSCEIT MODEL
The Bar-ON
model of
Emotional-Social
intelligence (ESI)
Thanks
for your attention