Behavioural Science

1. EMOTION

2. Unit 10
• Meaning and Nature of Emotion
• Types of Emotion
• Changes during emotion (External and Internal)
• Measures to Control Emotion
• Theories of Emotion: James Lang Theory, Cannon Bard
Theory, Schcachter and Singer’s two factor theory,
Congitive Appraisal Theory
• Purpose of emotion
• Effect of Emotion on Health
• Measures to Control Emotion

3. Emotion
• Meaning and Definition
• The word "emotion" dates back to 1579, when it was
adapted from the French word émouvoir, which means "to
stir up".
• Emotion can be defined as a complex pattern of changes,
including physiological arousal, feelings, cognitive
processes, and behavioral reactions, made in response to
a situation perceived to be personally significant.

4. • Merriam-Webster defines emotion as a conscious and
subjective mental reaction toward a particular event and is
usually accompanied by changes in the physiologic and
behavioural aspects of a person.
• From this definition, we can deduce that an emotion has
four components, namely: cognitive reactions, physiological
reactions, behavioural reactions and affect.

5. • Cognitive reactions refer to a person’s memory, thinking
and perception of an event. Physiological reactions are
primarily caused by changes in the hormonal levels in the
body.
• On the other hand, behavioural reactions comprise the
active expression of the emotion.
• Lastly, affect includes the positive or negative state of the
emotion and is what makes an emotion a conscious and
subjective experience.

6. Nature of Emotion
• Emotion is aroused by the stimulus, the stimulus is found
in environment. So, if the environment is better, the
individual will be more emotionally balanced.
• Every emotion is followed by physiological change such
as rapid heartbeat, change in the pulse rate, change in
blood pressure, and change in the facial expression, voice
and body movements.

7. • Emotion is accompanied by a feeling of pleasantness and
unpleasantness, following physiological changes.
• Emotions are subjective and purely individual. The same
situation may evoke different emotions in different
individuals.

8. • Emotion is a tripolar response having affective, cognitive
and conative aspects.
• Emotions have wide range and are not restricted to a
particular age period. They occur to children, adolescents
and adults.
• Emotions rise abruptly. The passing away of emotions is,
however slow, leaving behind an emotional state which
lasts for some time.

9. • Emotions have swings. One emotion may give rise to
another emotion and the two may get merged.
• Emotions are temporary in nature, for example, when we
get angry or feel happy, it remains for specific period of
time. If it remain for prolong time, it may turn to illness.
• An emotion mostly raises when the organism faces a
difficult situation or when the basic need is challenged or
is not satisfied. In fact, a situation, real or imaginary, is
always connected with an emotion.

10. • Emotions and thinking are inversely related :- It is a well
known fact that during emotions excitement, our thinking
and reasoning are grossly effected. Thinking and
reasoning cannot go on properly during an emotional
experience.
• Children's emotions are not as natural and long-standing
as those of adults. Their emotions are characterised by
sudden and intense outburst, are transitory, more frequent
and are easily expressed.

11. Types of Emotion
•Negative Emotion
•Positive Emotion

12. Negative Emotion vs Positive Emotion
• Unpleasant emotions like fear, anger, jealousy
which are harmful to the wellbeing and
development of the individual are termed as
negative emotion.
• The pleasant emotions like amusement, love,
curiosity, joy and happiness which are helpful and
essential to the normal development are termed
as positive emotion.

13. • It should not be considered that experiencing of positive
emotions is always good and that of negative emotion is
always bad.
• We should consider the following factors to determine any
emotion as bad or good:
1. The frequency and the intensity of the experience
2. The situation, occasion or nature of the stimulus which arouse it
• Emotion with too much intensity whether positive or
negative has harmful effect.
• Sometimes the so-called negative emotions have
beneficial effects , eg. Fear, it prepares us to face the
danger and to avoid it also.

14. External and Internal Changes during
Emotion
• During the period of emotion (negative as
well as positive), our body undergoes
several internal as well as external
changes,

15. Internal Bodily Changes
• Internal body changes can be measured using galvanic
skin reflex instrument, EEG, Sphygmomanometer,
polygraph (lie detector) etc.
• Some of the common internal changes are:
• Increased heart rate
• In most of the cases, circulation increases, in some cases like fear,
anxiety and shock it drops down.
• In most of the cases respiration increases, in some cases fear,
shock etc. it decreases
• Stomach and intestine works slowly, digestive enzymes decreases
• Blood changes- ↑ adrenaline level, ↑ sugar level,

16. • Temperature ↓
• Changes in galvanic skin response- ↓ in case of emotion which
results seating, ↑ incase of fear, love, wonder

17. External Changes
• Changes in facial expression

18. • Facial expression differ in different emotional reactions.
• The face is flushed in anger and pale in fear.
• Mouth turns down in unpleasant emotion, up in pleasant
emotions.

19. Change in body posture

20. • Unexpected fearful situation might cause a startle pattern
in which eyes close, mouth widen, head and neck are
thrust forward.
• In anger, one may clench ones fists and move to attack.
• In shy or guilt, the head may be dropped.

21. Change in Voice and Vocal Expression
• A tremor or a break in the voice may denote deep sorrow.
• A loud, sharp high pitched voice usually denote anger.
• Speech is low and monotonous in sadness and rapid in
tension and excitation.

22. Purposes of Emotion

23. Theories of Emotion
• James Lang Theory,
• Cannon Bard Theory,
• Schcachter and Singer’s Theory
• Cognitive Appraisal Theory

24. James Lang Theory of Emotion
• In 1880, Williams James formulated the first modern
theory of emotion, at almost the same time a Danish
psychologist Carl Lange reached the same conclusion
independently.
• So, it is called James-Lange theory of emotion.

25. • The James-Lange theory of emotion argues that an event
causes physiological arousal first and then we interpret
this arousal.
• Only after our interpretation of the arousal can we
experience emotion.
• If the arousal is not noticed or is not given any thought,
then we will not experience any emotion based on this
event.

27. Cannon-Bard Theory
• Canon-Bard theory was proposed by Walter Cannon and Philip Bard
in the 1920s.
• The Cannon-Bard theory, on the other hand, suggests that the given
stimulus evokes both the physiological and emotional response
simultaneously and that neither one causes the other.
• According to Cannon’s theory, the emotional experience occurs as
soon as the cortex receives the message from the thalamus; it does not
depend on feedback from internal organs and selected response.

30. Schachter-Singer Theory
• Schachter-Singer theory is called ‘cognitive theory of
emotion’.
• Schachter proposed that the emotional states are a
function of the interaction of cognitive factors and a state
of physiological arousal.

31. • The Schachter-Singer theory takes a more cognitive
approach to the issue.
• He believes that an event causes physiological arousal,
but that you must then identify a reason for the arousal
before you label the emotion.

32. The conscious experience of emotion
involves the integration of information
from three sources:• Feedback to the brain from the internal organs and other
body parts activated by the sympathetic nervous system
• Subject interpretation of aroused state
• Information stored in the memory and the perception of what
is taking place in the environment, i.e. memory of past
experience and appraisal of current situation.

34. Cognitive Appraisal Theory
• Developed by Lazarus
• Based on Schachter-Singer theory
• When an event occurs, a cognitive appraisal, an emotion
and physiological response follow.

35. • Cognitive appraisals usually occur in situations where there is
no physical stimulation or obvious clues as to how the situation
should be interpreted.
• For example, if you wake up in the middle of the night and
there's a stranger standing over you with a gun, you won't need
a cognitive appraisal because the threat to your safety is clear
and the situation doesn't need interpretation.

36. • Example: If Tracy is driving on a winding road by the edge of
a high cliff, she may be concerned about the danger of the road.
Her passenger, on the other hand, thinks about the beauty of the
view. Tracy will probably feel frightened, while her passenger
may feel exhilarated.

39. Purposes of Emotion
• Motivation:
• First of all, motivations are 'emotions'. They act to
motivate us. Without emotions we would probably not do
very much and hence would not survive.
• For example, when faced with a competitive exam, we
might feel a lot of anxiety about whether we will perform
well and how the test will impact our final grade. Because
of these emotional responses, we might be more likely to
study.

40. • Emotions help us survive, thrive, and avoid danger. :
• Naturalist Charles Darwin believed that emotions are
adaptations that allow both humans and animals to
survive and reproduce.
• When we are angry, we are likely to confront the source of
our irritation. When we experience fear, we are more likely
to flee the threat.
• When we feel love, we might seek out a mate and
reproduce.
• Emotions serve an adaptive role in our lives by motivating
us to act quickly and take actions that will maximize our
chances for survival and success.

41. • Emotions can help us make decision. :
• Our emotions have a major influence on the decisions we
make, from what we decide to have for breakfast to which
candidates we choose to vote for in political elections.
• Researchers have also found that people with certain types of
brain damage affecting their ability to experience emotions also
have a decreased ability to make good decisions.
• Even in situations where we believe our decisions are guided
purely by logic and rationality, emotions play a key role.
Emotional intelligence, or our ability to understand and manage
emotions, has been shown to play an important role in
decision-making.

42. • Social signals:
• When we interact with other people, it is important to give
cues to help them understand how we are feeling.
• These cues might involve emotional expression through
body language, such as various facial expressions
connected with the particular emotions we are
experiencing.
• In other cases, it might involve directly stating how we
feel.

43. • Emotions allow us to understand others. :
• Just as our own emotions provide valuable information to
others, the emotional expressions of those around us
gives us a wealth of social information.
• Social communication is an important part of our daily
lives and relationships, and being able to interpret and
react to the emotions of others is essential.
• It allows us to respond appropriately and build deeper,
more meaningful relationships with our friends, family, and
loved ones.

45. Effects of Emotion on Health

46. • The person charged with more positive emotion enjoy
better physical and mental health, than the person with
negative emotion.
• Negative emotion is linked with many physical illnesses
like, DM, HTN, Peptic Ulcer, Migraine, Chronic
Constipation, heart Disease, Skin problem etc.
• Negative emotion suppresses immunity and results late
recovery of operative wound, other diseases and
frequently get cold.

47. • In case of auto immune disease like psoriasis, SLE,
Arthritis, negative emotion is associated with hyper
immune response.
• Person with negative emotion is less likely to involve in
healthy behaviour like exercise, healthy eating, adequate
sleep, taking health services; similarly more likely to
indulge in drinking, smoking, using elicit drugs etc.
• Positive emotions like love, positive self-thinking,
amusement, laughter, joy and happiness are directly
related in maintaining our good physical and mental
health. It helps magically in regaining health after illness.

48. Measures to Control Emotion
• Control of Emotion with in self
• Control of emotion in others

49. Control of emotion with in self
• Try to understand yourself, your conflicts and your
physical and emotional limits
• Learn, as much as, you can about the course and
physical reaction to emotions
• Greater knowledge helps to control over emotions.
• Plan work to avoid emergencies
• Control stress
• Balance work with recreations, exercise and social
activities

50. • Practice relaxation by meditation, listening to music,
involving yourself into hobbies etc.
• Use sense of humor
• Try to control unreasonable and excessive external
expressions of emotion because they tend to increase the
intensity of emotional experience of the individual.
• They can excite other people and cause further
emotionality
• A desirable philosophy of life will enable you to avoid
mental conflicts and emotional tensions.

51. Control of Emotion with in other
• Remember the importance of tone of the voice and
body language; it leaves a mark on the client.
• 2. Create welcome and ease atmosphere:
• Welcome as an important guest
• Hide your negative feelings if you have due to different
causes
• Provide pleasant and relaxed atmosphere
• 3. Understand his negative emotions: They are less
self controllers, tensed, irritable and unbalanced so try to
show patience, maturity and balance in behavior.
• 4. Promote positive feelings: Patient’s negative
emotions need to be substituted by positive thoughts.

52. • Eliminate fear, anger, worry, anxiety and resentment by
establishing healthy interpersonal relationships.
• 5. Develop empathy: It will be helpful and can be
developed through understanding and accepting the
patient as individual.
• Psychosomatic patients need more time, patience
and attention if situation demands more provision for
professional counseling.

53. Taking Physical Actions
• Control your breathing.
• Emotions are a combination of cognition
(thinking) and physical responses.
• For example, in the case of fear, your
brain has to process automatic
physiological reactions such as dry
mouth and elevated heart rate before it
can interpret these things as the
emotion we understand to be “fear.’’
• You can counter these physiological
responses by controlling your breathing.
Breath control is only one step in
controlling your emotions, but it’s an
easy one to start with

54. Use assertive body language.
• You can communicate
assertiveness and
confidence simply by holding
your body in certain ways.
• Changing your posture will
also help you feel more in
control of your own
emotions.
• Body language is more
ingrained in your body than
you might think, and it can
have a powerful effect on
how you feel about yourself.