Discipline: General Psychology

Lecturer: Yelnura N.Autalipova

Group: 1st course, MDE 154

Lecture
Emotions
Unit Structure:
1. Understanding of emotions
2. Theories of emotions
3. Emotional intelligence

1. Understanding of emotions
Emotions impact hugely on people’s lives—they govern their behavior, give meaning to their
existence, and are at the core of what it is to be considered human. Yet in reality emotions result from
physiological responses in the brain triggered by different stimuli - the psychological significance
read into emotions is an entirely human construct. Emotions evolved to promote human success and
survival by initiating certain behaviors. For example, feelings of affection prompt the desire to find a
mate, reproduce, and live in a group; fear generates a physiological response to avoid danger (fight-
or-flight); reading emotions in others makes social bonding possible.
Emotion is a complex psychological event that involves a mixture of reactions:
• A physiological response (usually arousal);
• An expressive reaction (distinctive facial expression, body posture, or vocalization);
• Some subjective experiences (internal thoughts and feelings).
Emotion typically involves feeling. Feeling is one of the primary forms of emotional
experiencing, which reflects the individual's steady attitude towards specific objects or processes of
the external world.
Emotion differs from feeling in having an overt or implicit engagement with the world. One of
the differences, emotion (unconscious) is a short-term mental phenomenonа and feeling (conscious) is
a long-term mental phenomenonа.
Functions of emotions:
• Emotions prepare us for action: when you see a person with a gun coming towards you, the
emotion of fear and the accompanying bodily changes will help you run away from the situation.
• Emotions help arrange our activities and future behaviour in some order: emotions help us to
gather information and increase our chances of making the correct response in the future. When a
person threatens us, we will try to avoid meeting that person out of fear. Positive emotions can act
as reinforcement such as, wanting to repeat an action that brought us praise and joy.
• Emotions help us interact effectively with others: when we show our emotions, other people
watching them may become familiar with our way of behaving and know how we are likely to act
again in the future. Similarly, others' emotional expressions help us understand how to behave
with them.
Components of emotions:
• Physiological changes: when a person feels a particular emotion, changes occur in our body, such
as an increase in heart rate and blood pressure; pupil size is increased; sweat takes place; breathing
is faster; the mouth may become dry.
• Behavioural changes and emotional expression refer to the outward and noticeable signs of what a
person is feeling. These include facial expressions, bodily postures and gestures with the hand.
And it consists of the seven primary emotions in facial expressions are fear, anger, sadness,
surprise, disgust, contempt and joy. These emotions are easily recognized in people from all over
the world.
• Emotional feelings: Emotion also includes personal/individual feelings. We can label the emotion
as happy, sad, angry, disgusted and so on. Labelling of a sense is inheriting the past experiences
and the culture one belongs to it.
Emotion - it provides a reflection of the surrounding world. American Psychologist Paul
Ekman proposed seven basic emotions: sadness, joy (happiness), anger, surprise, fear, disgust,
contempt. The specific significance of the event determines the particular quality of the emotion.

American Psychologist Paul Ekman

American Psychologist Paul Ekman

Sadness an emotional state of unhappiness, ranging in intensity
from mild to extreme and usually aroused by the loss of
something that is highly valued. Facial movements: inner corners
of eyebrows raised, eyelids loose, lip corners pulled down.
Sadness is hard to fake, according to researchers. One of the
telltale signs of sadness is the inner-brow raise, which very few
people can do on demand.

Joy (happiness) an emotion of gladness, satisfaction, and well-

being. Facial movements: muscle around the eyes tightened,
“crows feet” wrinkles around the eyes, cheeks raised, lip corners
raised diagonally.
Despite the friendly connotation, researchers believe our smiles
might have a more sinister origin. Many primates show their teeth
to assert their dominance and lock down their status in their social
structure. Some researchers believe it is that non-verbal sign that
eventually evolved into a smile.

Anger an emotion characterized by tension and hostility arising

from frustration, real or imagined injury by another, or perceived
injustice. Facial movements: eyebrows pulled down, upper
eyelids pulled up, lower eyelids pulled up, margins of lips rolled
in, lips may be tightened.
Anger face works so well because each facial movement makes a
person look physically stronger, according to researchers. This
face lets the threat know we mean business. It's one of our most
powerful emotions and it shows just how expressive the human
face can be. This face serves as a warning, whether it's simply to
intimidate or to show that a conflict has begun.
Surprise an emotion typically resulting from the violation of an
expectation or the detection of novelty in the environment. Facial
movements: entire eyebrow pulled up, eyelids pulled up, mouth
hangs open, pupils dilated.
While the surprise expression might only last a second or two, the
facial movements - particularly the raised eyebrows - allow us to
take in our surroundings, shift our attention to another, possibly
threatening event, and react quicker. Whether it's a good or bad
surprise, the facial reaction is the same

Fear intense emotion aroused by the detection of imminent

threat, involving an immediate alarm reaction that mobilizes the
organism by triggering a set of physiological changes. These
include rapid heartbeat, redirection of blood flow away from the
periphery toward the gut, tensing of the muscles, and a general
mobilization of the organism to take action (see fear response;
fight-or-flight response). Facial movements: eyebrows pulled up
and together, upper eyelids pulled up, mouth stretched
Each fear-based facial movement prepares us for a fight-or-flight
response. This facial expression capitalizes off of the way our
bodies work. Widening our eyes opens up our field of vision,
letting in more light and allows lets us see the threats around us.
The same can be said for our oxygen pathways. Opening our
nostrils increases our oxygen intake and helps us prepare to flee
or fight.

Disgust a strong aversion, for example, to the taste, smell, or

touch of something deemed revolting, or toward a person or
behavior deemed morally repugnant. Facial movements:
eyebrows pulled down, nose wrinkled, upper lip pulled up, lips
loose.
The disgust face doesn’t just show our distaste, it also works to
protect us. Wrinkling the nose closes the nasal passage protecting
it from dangerous fumes and squinting our eyes shields them
from damage.

Contempt an emotion characterized by negative regard for

anything or anybody considered to be inferior, vile, or worthless.
Facial movements: eyes neutral with the lip corner pulled up and
back on one side.
Although the emotion of contempt can overlap with anger and
distrust, the facial expression is unique. It is the only expression
that occurs on only one side of the face and can vary in intensity.
At its strongest, one brow may lower while the lower eyelid and
lip corner rise on the same side. At its most covert, the lip corner
might only rise briefly.

2. Theories of emotion
Our emotional states are combinations of physiological arousal, psychological appraisal, and
subjective experiences. Together, these are known as the components of emotion. These appraisals are
informed by our experiences, backgrounds, and cultures. Therefore, different people may have
different emotional experiences even when faced with similar circumstances. Over time, several
different theories of emotion to explain how the various components of emotion interact with one
another.
The James-Lange theory. The James-Lange theory was developed in the late 1800s by
William James and Carl Lange, who each separately published similar writings about the nature of
emotion. According to James and Lange, emotions consist of the body’s physical responses to
something in the environment. When you witness something emotional, this leads to changes in the
body. For example, your heart rate or blood pressure might increase, you might start sweating, or you
might start breathing more quickly.
The James–Lange theory of emotion asserts that emotions arise from physiological arousal: in
essence, that the self-perception of changes in the body produce emotional experiences. For example,
we laugh (a physiological response to a stimulus), and consequently we feel happy (an emotion); we
cry, and consequently we feel sad

Recall what you have learned about the sympathetic nervous system and our fight or flight
response when threatened. If you were to encounter some threat in your environment, for example a
venomous snake in your backyard, your sympathetic nervous system would initiate significant
physiological arousal, which would make your heart race and increase your respiration rate.
According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, you would only experience a feeling of fear after
this physiological arousal had taken place. Furthermore, different arousal patterns would be associated
with different feelings.The sympathetic nervous system. Any time you are under stress or faced with
an emergency, the sympathetic nervous system automatically mobilizes the body’s resources,
preparing you for action. The sympathetic nervous system, according to American psychologist
Walter Cannon was named the “fight-or-flight” response (emergency). If an ominous-looking stranger
started following you down a dark, deserted street, your sympathetic nervous system would
automatically go to work. Your heart would begin to pound, your pulse rate would increase rapidly,
your breathing would quicken, your digestive system would nearly shut down, and the blood flow to
your skeletal muscles would be enhanced. These reactions would make all of your bodily resources
ready to handle the emergency.
Cannon-Bard theory. The Cannon-Bard theory of emotion was developed in the 1920s by
Walter Cannon and Philip Bard as a response to the James-Lange theory of emotion.While the James–
Lange theory proposes that emotions arise from physical arousal the Cannon–Bard theory argues that
physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously, yet independently. For
example, when you see the venomous snake, you feel fear at exactly the same time that your body
mounts its fight or flight response. This emotional reaction would be separate and independent of the
physiological arousal, even though they co-occur.

According to the Cannon–Bard theory, emotional expression results from activation of the
subcortical centers of the brain. The optic thalamus, in particular, is a region that contains the neural
organizations for different emotional expressions. An individual’s sensory organs take in an emotional
stimulus, and then information about that stimulus is relayed to the cerebral cortex. It is in the cortex
where such information is associated with conditioned processes, which in turn determine the
direction of the response and stimulate the thalamic processes.
 The Schachter-Singer two-factor theory of emotion. Like the James–Lange and Cannon–
Bard theories, the Schachter–Singer theory of emotion (also known as the two-factor theory) attempts
to explain emotion as it relates to physiological arousal. According to the Schacter–Singer theory in
1962, emotion results from the interaction between two factors: physiological arousal and cognition.
More specifically, this theory claims that physiological arousal is cognitively interpreted within the
context of each situation, which ultimately produces the emotional experience. These cognitive
interpretations —how a person labels and understands what they are experiencing—are formed based
on the person’s past experiences.

In revisiting our example involving the venomous snake in your backyard, the two-factor
theory maintains that the snake elicits sympathetic nervous system activation that is labeled as fear
given the context, and our experience is that of fear.
Contrary to the James–Lange theory, therefore, which asserts that emotions arise from
physiological arousal, this theory argues that bodily changes can support conscious emotional
experiences but do not necessarily cause them. Rather, the interpretation of a certain emotion depends
on both the individual’s physiological state as well as their circumstances, a relationship mediated by
cognitive processing.
Lazarus’ cognitive-mediational theory. Lazarus in 1991 developed the cognitive-
mediational theory that asserts our emotions are determined by our appraisal of the stimulus. This
appraisal mediates between the stimulus and the emotional response, and it is immediate and often
unconscious.

Richard S. Lazarus
American psychologist
In contrast to the Schachter–Singer theory of emotions, which views emotion as an outcome of
the interaction between physiological arousal and cognition, Lazarus argued that the appraisal
precedes cognitive labeling, simultaneously stimulating both the physiological arousal and the
emotional experience itself.

3. Emotional intelligence (EI)

Emotional intelligence (EI) - the ability to understand ourselves and other people, and in
particular to be aware of, understand and use information about the emotional states of ourselves and
others with competence. It includes the ability to understand, express and manage our own emotions,
and respond to the emotions of others, in ways that are helpful to ourselves and others.
Historical background of EI:
1930s - Edward Thorndike described the concept of Social intelligence as the ability to get along
with other people by being able to understand the internal states, motives and behaviours of oneself
and others.
1940s – David Wechsler developed the concept of non-cognitive intelligence stating that it is
essential for success in life intelligence is not complete until we are not able to define its non
cognitive aspects. Noncognitive or “soft skills” are related to motivation, integrity, and interpersonal
interaction. They may also involve intellect, but more indirectly and less consciously than cognitive
skills. Soft skills are associated with an individual's personality, temperament, and attitudes.
1950s – Humanistic Psychologist Abraham Maslow suggested that people can build emotional
strength. Emotional strength is defined as the ability to respond in an open and vulnerable way in the
face of intense emotional experience, feeling one's way deeper into the emotion which allows access
to implicit functional processes driving action.
1975 - Howard Gardner introduces the concept of Multiple Intelligences in his book Frames of Mind
. Multiple Intelligence suggests human intelligence can be differentiated into eight modalities: visual-
spatial intelligence (allows people to comprehend maps and other types of graphical information),
verbal-linguistic intelligence (the ability to analyze information and produce work that involves oral
and written language, such as speeches, books, and emails), musical intelligence intelligence (enables
individuals to produce and make meaning of different types of sound), logical-mathematical
intelligence (the ability to develop equations and proofs, make calculations, and solve abstract
problems), naturalistic intelligence (the ability to identify and distinguish among different types of
plants, animals, and weather formations found in the natural world and bodily-kinesthetic), bodily-
kinesthetic intelligence (entails using one's own body to create products or solve problems),
interpersonal intelligence (the ability to recognize and understand other people's moods, desires,
motivations, and intentions) and intrapersonal intelligence (the ability to recognize and assess those
same characteristics within themselves). According to Gardner the Interpersonal and Intrapersonal as
important as IQ.
1985 - Wayne Payne used the term emotional intelligence in his doctoral dissertation entitled ‘A study
of emotion: Developing emotional intelligence; self-integration; relating to fear, pain and desire’.
1987 – In an article published in Mensa Magazine, Keith Beasley used the term "Emotional
Quotient” (otherwise known as emotional intelligence or EI). It has been suggested that this is the
first published use of the term, although Reuven Bar-On claims to have used the term in an
unpublished version of his graduate thesis.
1990 - Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer published their landmark article ‘Emotional
Intelligence’ in the journal ‘Imagination, cognition, and personality’ and coined the term Emotional
Intelligence.
1995 - The concept of EI got popularized after the publication on Daniel Goleman's book -
Emotional Intelligence: Why It can Matter More than IQ.
There are various definitions of EI that are complementary to each other; each one aims at
understanding one‘s own and others emotions. In 1990, Salovey and Mayer defined Emotional
Intelligence as a subset of social intelligence that involves 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 actions. This was the very first definition of EI which was then redefined in 1997 and it stated EI
as, "the ability to perceive and express emotion, assimilate emotion in thought, understand and reason
with emotion and regulate emotion in self and others‖. Review of literature suggests that this
definition of EI is accepted and adopted by most of the scholars and researchers around the world.
In 1995 Goleman published his book Emotional Intelligence, Why it matters more than IQ and
it instantly became a worldwide best seller, he defined EI as an ability which include self-control, zeal
and persistence and the ability to motivate oneself and later he redefined EI as the capacity for
recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves and for managing
emotions effectively in ourselves and others. Bar-On introduced the term Emotional Quotient in his
doctoral dissertation as an analogue to Intelligent Quotient (IQ). He defined emotional intelligence as
―an array of non cognitive capabilities, competencies and skills that influence one‘s ability to
succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures. In 1997 the most compendious
definition of EI was offered by M. N. Martinez he defined EI against most common definitions, as
non-cognitive skills, which surrounds skills that help person in dealing with daily life. He defined EI
as "an array of noncognitive skills, capabilities and competencies that influence a person's ability to
cope with environmental demands and pressures”.
The most formal definition of EI refers to the ability to identify and express emotions,
understand emotions, assimilate emotions in thought, and regulate positive and negative emotions in
oneself and others. Talking about competency in perception of emotion: it consists of recognition of
emotion-related facial and voice cues of others and awareness of one‘s own body states relating to
emotion. Competency in understanding one‘s own and others emotions involves knowing the causes
and consequences of different emotions as well as being able to differentiate between varying
emotions. This conceptualization suggest that the competencies of perception, understanding, utilizing
and managing emotions effectively in the self and others comprise the core of emotional intelligence.

Models of Emotional Intelligence

Mayer and Salovey Four-Branch Model of EI:
The first branch, Perception of Emotion, is the ability to be self-aware of emotions and to
express emotions and emotional needs accurately to others. It also includes the ability to distinguish
between accurate and inaccurate or honest and tricky emotional expressions.
The second branch, Use of Emotion to Facilitate Thinking, is the ability to distinguish among
the different emotions one is feeling and to identify those that are influencing their thought processes
by directing attention to important information. Just like Emotional mood swings change the
individual‘s thinking pattern from optimistic to pessimistic, encouraging consideration of multiple
points of view. Emotional states distinctively encourage specific problem-solving approaches such as
happiness state facilitates inductive reasoning and creativity.
The third branch, Understanding of Emotion, is the ability to understand complex emotions
and the ability to identify transitions from one emotion to the other such as the transition from anger
to satisfaction or from anger to shame.
Lastly, the fourth branch, Management of Emotion, is the ability to stay open to both pleasant
and unpleasant feelings, the ability to reflectively connect or detach from an emotion depending upon
it being judged to be informative or utility and regulate emotions in both ourselves and in others.
Mayer et. al explain that the four branches function hierarchically with the perception of
emotions acting as the most basic or bottom branch, and emotional management as the most complex
or top branch.

Goleman’s Competency Model. Goleman developed a performance-based model of EQ to

assess employee levels of emotional intelligence, as well as to identify areas of improvement. The
model consists of five components: self–awareness, self–regulation, motivation, empathy and social
skills.
1. The first component of self awareness which means, “having a deep understanding to one’s
emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs and drives”. People who possess this quality avoid the
extremes of being overly crucial and unrealistically hopeful. Furthermore, these people know how
their feelings affect them, others and their job performance.
2. The component of self-regulation. This is an ongoing conversation people have with
themselves, which frees them being prisoners of their feelings. People who have high degree of self
regulation have much capability of facing the ambiguities of an advancing industry than those who
has low degree of self regulation. People with high level of self-regulation do not make bad decisions
through impulsive behaviors. Self- regulation will help individuals to make thoughtful decisions,
which stay in control of their feelings.
3. The component of motivation, which extends to the deep inner desire to achieve for the
sake of achievement. Motivated individuals want to achieve beyond their and everyone else’s
expectations. Motivation makes people restless; therefore they continuously explore new horizons to
find better ways of doing their jobs. Highly motivated people remain optimistic even though they
have experienced failure or a setback. Motivated person is committed to succeed in its goals and
objectives.
 4. The component of empathy which means to be considerate and aware of other’s feelings.
Empathic individuals are also effective in retaining talent because they are able to develop personal
rapport with others.
5. The components of social skills. Social skills are more than just being friendly. Goleman
describes them as “friendliness with a purpose”, meaning everyone is treated politely and with
respect, yet healthy relationships are then also used for personal and organisational benefit.
Goleman argues that individuals that adopt these characteristics give themselves a far greater
chance of being successful than individuals that do not. However, individuals are not simply born
with these skills and they can be learned. They also work in synergy with each other and therefore
developing each one of them has exponential returns.

Goleman’s Emotional intelligence quadrant. In 2000 Goleman developed this model further,
focusing on four key categories and various sub-categories within them. These categories are self-
awareness, social awareness, self-management and relationship management.
Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence Quadrant

Recognition/ Awareness

Self -Awareness Social Awareness

Emotional self-awareness Empathy

Accurate self-assessment Organizational Awareness
Self-control Service

Self Others
Self-Management Relationship Management

Emotional Self-Control Influence

Transparency Inspirational Leadership
Adaptability Developing Others
Achievement Change catalyst
Initiative Building bonds
Optimism Conflict Management
Teamwork & Collaboration

Regulation/ Control

1. Self- awareness as the ability to read and understand your emotions as well as recognize
their impact on others. It can simply be put that self-awareness is a basic understanding of how we
feel and why we feel that way. The more we are aware of our feelings that easier they are to
manage and dictate how we might respond to others.
Emotional awareness is the result of this sequence:
1. Sense the emotion (feeling)
2. Acknowledge the feeling
3. Identify more facts
4. Accept the feeling
5. Reflect on why the emotion is showing up in that moment. Notice what other feelings are present
or came before it. Ask yourself what its purpose might be, what it is communicating,
demonstrating, or trying to teach you.
6. Act – bring your thoughts and feelings up and take appropriate action, if needed.
7. Reflect on the usefulness of the response and what lesson you would like to take away.
2. Self-management, or self-regulation, can be defined as the ability to manage one’s actions,
thoughts, and feelings in flexible ways to get the desired results. Optimal self-regulation
contributes to a sense of well-being, a sense of self-efficacy or confidence, and a sense of
connectedness to others. The goal is for a self-regulating individual to be able to take his or her
emotional responses as cues for both action and coping effectively in relationships. It is important
to have an understanding of self-awareness first in order for this to be possible.
3. Social awareness is the ability to accurately notice the emotions of others and “read”
situations appropriately. It is about sensing what other people are thinking and feeling to be able to
take their perspective using your capacity for empathy. Goleman explains, our ability actually
comes from neurons in an extended circuitry connected to the amygdala. They read another
person’s face, voice, etc. for emotion and help direct us how we should speak to them. “Empathy
refers to the cognitive and emotional processes that bind people together in various kinds of
relationships that permit sharing experiences as well as understanding of others”. Our brains take
note how the other person responded and the amygdala and connected circuits keep us in an
interpersonal loop of emotional connection. In order to do this, we must have already become
aware of the emotions of others around us and the circumstances that impacted them. Social
awareness is all about noticing the person in the room that is frustrated by the task at hand and
responding in a way that can prevent further negative emotions.
4. Relationship management is the ability to take one’s own emotions, the emotions of others,
and the context to manage social interactions successfully. This quadrant pulls together the other 3
dimensions and creates the final product – relationship management. Often if we have the other
three dimensions figured out, this will flow more naturally. This can be known as “friendliness with
a purpose” or getting desired responses when working with others. This can be very depending on
the situation and this is why this dimension actually has 7 competencies (inspirational leadership,
influence, developing others, change catalyst, conflict management, building bonds, teamwork and
collaboration) that fall under it that all have to do with relationships. Relationship management can
be used to influence those around us to make a good decision. We can sense other’s reactions to the
situation and fine-tune our response to move the interaction in a positive direction. It is critical that
this is a genuine attempt to help everyone reach the best possible outcome and not to ever become
an act of manipulation for self-interest. Another example of relationship management is dealing
specifically with conflict of others. Those strong in this area can see that conflict is forming and
take steps to move others away from this in a more positive interaction. Listening and empathizing
are critical skills to deal with these often difficult conversations. 10% of conflict is due to the
difference in opinion, and 90% is due to the delivery and tone of voice.
 Home assignment
Task 1. Read the lecture notes.
Task 2. Answer the following questions (in a copybook or in an e- copybook):
1. Explain the definition of emotion, functions of emotion and components of emotions.
2. Describe the basic types of emotions according by P. Ekman.
3. a) Watch the video ‘Developing Emotional Intelligence’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=n9h8fG1DKhA&ab_channel=MindToolsVideos

b) Watch the TEDx Talks Video by Maximilian Park ‘Emotional Intelligence From a Teenage
Perspective’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkWMe1ji5YE

Questions:
a) Describe the skills of emotional intelligence.
b) Does it matter to use it your specialty, give your example.
4. Read the article by Lisa Firestone ‘Why We Need to Teach Kids Emotional Intelligence’ https://
www.psychalive.org/why-we-need-to-teach-kids-emotional-intelligence/
Question: Why we need to teach kids emotional intelligence.
4. You can check the Emotional Intelligence by Online Test http://globalleadershipfoundation.com/
geit/eitest.html

Task 3. Make the glossary from lecture notes (in a copybook or in an e- copybook).

References:
1. Mayers, G. D. (2013). Psychology - 10th Edition. Worth Publishers, USA, 908 p. ISBN-13:
978-1-4292-6178-4, Chapter 12
2. 1. Spielman, Rose M. Psychology (2014). OpenStax resource. First Edition Textbook by XanEdu
Publishing. Chapter 10.4
3. Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2000). Models of emotional intelligence. In J.R. Sternburg
(Ed.), Handbook of Intelligence (pp. 396-420). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Pres
4. Why We Need to Teach Kids Emotional Intelligence’ https://www.psychalive.org/why-we-need-to-
teach-kids-emotional-intelligence/
5. Emotional Intelligence Online Test http://globalleadershipfoundation.com/geit/eitest.html