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Chapter videos narrated by author
of the textbook Dr Zimbardo
Motivation and Emotion
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Hundreds of Olympic athletes are pictured on the television screen. Although many of them did not say anything, you know what they were feeling by observing their facial expressions. The face is like a bulletin board that displays what we term emotion.
One of the questions that has puzzled researchers is why emotions exist. From an evolutionary point of view, among the answers is the observation that emotions communicate information to others and they also provide a readiness to respond. When we are angry or afraid, our body prepares us for either fight or flight.
There are several theoretical explanations of emotions. Some theories focus on physiological aspects of the emotion; others focus on cognitive aspects of emotion. Think about blushing and you realize the importance of physiological components of emotion. As a result, psychologists have sought to distinguish emotions on the basis of physiological changes. Although the changes are not large, there are a number of changes, especially in heart rate and in temperature.
Moreover, these changes are reflected in the language we use when describing emotions. For example, an angry person may be described as being “hot under the collar.” The brain has two routes that can carry emotional information. The faster of the two routes can result in a quicker response occurring even before we have a complete evaluation of a situation. The brain hemispheres seem to be specialized for different emotions: the right hemisphere is more active during negative emotions such as fear; the left hemisphere is more active during positive emotions such as happiness.
One of the controversial areas of emotion is the use of polygraphs. Although a polygraph is often called a lie detector, there is no specific physiological reaction indicative of a deception. An individual undergoing a polygraph examination may show a physiological reaction; however, the person may be angry or afraid or experiencing an emotion unrelated to deception.
At least six emotions—anger, fear, sadness, disgust, happiness, and surprise—are recognized around the world. However, which emotions are expressed and how strongly they are expressed are a function of what are called display rules. These culturally determined rules govern the expression of emotions.
Although facial expressions communicate emotions, we communicate via body language and paralanguage. Culture also plays a role in these forms of communication. For example, when you use certain gestures you need to be sure you understand how the gesture is interpreted in a given culture.
Some cultures have a rich vocabulary of emotions, others have fewer words to describe emotions. Cognitive psychologists have focused on how we appraise situations that can lead to emotions.
These cognitive theories have examined both the similarities and the cultural differences in how situations are appraised. The values of a culture have an impact on which emotions will be experienced even when situations are identical. The expression of certain emotions such as shame depends on the development of self awareness; this observation further supports the cognitive view of emotion.
Much attention has been focused on the relationship between intelligence and success. More and more, the importance of what has been termed emotional intelligence is seen as important for success in life. Thus the importance of emotion has become a focus of attention in recent years.
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