PSYC 222

Motivation and Emotions

Session 6 – The Concept of Emotion

Lecturer: Dr. Annabella Osei-Tutu, Psychology Department

Contact Information: aopare-henaku@ug.edu.gh

College of Education
School of Continuing and Distance Education
2015/2016 – 2016/2017
 Session Overview

Human beings are emotional beings. We communicate through

verbal and non-verbal expressions of emotions. Whereas some
people are very good at detecting other people’s emotions,
others have a difficulty detecting emotions.

This session helps you to define emotion, and know the three
components of emotion. You will also learn how to detect various
facial expressions.

Slide 2
 Session Outline
The key topics to be covered in the session are:

• Topic One : Defining Emotion

• Topic Two : Detecting Emotion
• Topic Three: The Effects of Facial Expressions

Slide 3
Topic One

DEFINING EMOTION

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 What is an Emotion?

Emotions are a part of our social reality

We go through a wide range of emotions

throughout the day

What is Emotion?
 What is an Emotion?

Emotions are psychological responses of the whole

organism involving an interplay among
physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and
conscious experience
(Myers, 2010)
 What is an Emotion?
• Emotion elicitors: In order to
experience an emotion, certain
internal or external stimulus must
trigger the process for emotions
to occur.
 What is an Emotion?
• Internal elicitors may include
changes in your physiological states
(e.g., hunger) and cognitive
processes (a pleasant thought)

• External elicitors include noise,

death of a loved one, etc.
 What is an Emotion?

Is emotion the same as feeling or mood?

Although the terms are related, they do not mean the

same thing
 What is an Emotion?

• A feeling is our subjective experience of an emotional

reaction

• Feelings represent our private emotional experience

 What is an Emotion?
A mood is the mildest form of an
emotion

It is a low-intensity, long-lasting
emotional state.

A moods can last for many hours, or

even days
Topic Two

COMPONENTS OF EMOTION

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Components of Emotion

(Myers, 2010)
 Components of Emotion:
Physiological Arousal
1. Physiology

The physiological aspects of emotions are

innate, or built into the body.

Emotions results in neural, hormonal,

visceral, and muscular changes.
 Components of Emotion:
Physiological Arousal
During an emotional experience, our
autonomic nervous system mobilizes energy
in the body that arouses us.

This results in change in heartbeat, dilation of

the pupil…
Components of Emotion: Physiological
Arousal

(Myers, 2010)
 Components of Emotion:
Physiological Arousal

• The physiological changes associated with

emotional arousal are consistent across
cultures.

• These reactions are nearly universal because

they are controlled by the autonomic nervous
system.
Components of Emotion: Cognition
2. Cognition

What is the connection between how we think

(cognition) and how we feel (emotion)?

The cognition component of emotion is related to

the evaluations or appraisals we associate with an
emotional arousal
 Components of Emotion: Cognition

The cognitive processes include our

interpretations, memories, and
expectations.

During an emotional arousal, sensory

information goes through the amygdala or
through the cortex for analysis.
Components of Emotion: Expression
3. Expression

The third component of emotion is expression. It

includes verbal and non-verbal expressions

Emotional expressions are outward signs of

what a person is feeling
 Components of Emotion: Expression

• Emotional expressions are typically

observable; e.g., changes in face, voice, body,
and activity level (Lewis, 2008)

• Emotional expressions are important

because they communicate emotion
from one person to another.
Components of Emotion: Expression

Can you tell what emotions others

are feeling, showing, or expressing?
Components of Emotion: Expression
Emotions are expressed on the face, by the body,
and by the intonation of voice.

Is this nonverbal language of emotion universal?

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 Components of Emotion: Expression
• The most basic emotional expressions
appear to be fairly universal.

• For example, smile is the most universal

and easily recognized facial expression of
emotion.
 Components of Emotion: Expression
• Children’s facial gestures such as joy, sadness,
disgust appear to be natural.

• However, many adult facial expressions are

influenced by learning.

• Some facial expressions are unique to certain

cultures.
Topic Two

DETECTING EMOTIONS IN OTHERS

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 Detecting Emotions in Others

 People read a great deal of emotional content in the

eyes and the faces.

 We are good at quickly detecting negative emotions,

and even negative emotion words.

 Those who have been abused are more sensitive

toward seeing fearful faces as angry.

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Detecting Emotions in Others: Gender

 Women seem to have greater and more

complex emotional expression.
 Women are also more skilled at detecting
emotions in others.
 Note that the above statements are
overgeneralized.
 People tend to attribute women’s emotionality
to their dispositions, and attribute men’s
emotions to their circumstances.

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 Detecting Emotions Others: Gender

• We also see some emotions as being

more “male”

• Example anger is often seen as a

“manly” emotion

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 Detecting Emotions Others: Context
 The context influences
our detection of
emotion
(Barrett, 2012)

 The context includes

the physical
environment as well as
the gestures

 E.g., What emotion is

this person on the right
experiencing?
Detecting Emotions in Others: Context
• Now with the context,
you can fully appreciate
what emotion is being
expressed.

• The picture shows Serena

Williams feeling ecstatic
after she beats her sister,
Venus Williams, in the
2008 U.S. Open tennis
finals (Barrett, 2012)
Detecting Emotions in Others: Cultures
Are there universally recognized emotions?

Would you be able to detect emotions of people

of other countries, cultures, or groups?

(Myers 2010) 32
Detecting Emotions in Others: Cultures

 Some facial expressions are universally understood

o People of various cultures agree on the emotional

labels for the expressions Fear, Anger, Disgust,
Sadness, Surprise, Happiness

 People in other studies have more accuracy judging

emotions from their own culture.
Topic Three

EFFECTS OF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

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 Effects of Facial Expressions
• Emotional facial expression allows us to
communicate emotional feelings with
others;

• Others can use this information as an

indicator of the way to act in uncertain or
ambiguous situations.
 Effects of Facial Expressions

Do our facial expressions influence our

feelings?

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 Effects of Facial Expressions
• Researchers have observed that therapists tend to
“catch” their client’s feelings; parents (non-verbally;
and unintentionally) communicate their feelings to
their children, and vice versa; and friends resonate to
each other’s moods.

This is known as
Emotional Contagion!

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 Reading List
• Lewis, M. (2008). The emergence of emotions. In, Lewis, M., &
Harviland-Jones, J. M., & Barrett, L. F. (Eds.) (2008). Hand book
of emotions (3rd Ed). New York: The Guilford Press.

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 References
• Myers, D. (2010). Psychology: Ninth edition in
modules. New York: Worth Publishers.
• Lewis, M. (2008). The emergence of emotions. In,
Lewis, M., & Harviland-Jones, J. M., & Barrett, L. F.
(Eds.) (2008). Handbook of emotions (3rd Ed). New
York: The Guilford Press.
• Barrett, L. F. (2012). Emotions are real. Emotion, 12,
413-429.

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