Other Emotion Concepts - AP Psychology

Positive psychology is a growing field of psychological research that seeks to grow the empirical data on optimal human functioning and positive emotions (e.g., longitudinal happiness)

Mood-congruent memory is the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's good or bad mood. Thus, if the subject is upset, he is more likely to recall negative memories during which he experienced a similar emotional state.

There are seven "basic" emotions that have been observed in nearly every culture on earth, and are recognizable between cultures even if those cultures have never interacted previously. These fundamental emotions are: joy, sadness, anger, fear, surpise, contempt, and disgust. Confusion is not one of the universal expressions.

The limbic system deals with emotion and memory. The corpus callosum connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

Richard Lazarus's theory of appraisal, which departs from a physiological explanation for emotion, posits that emotions are a result of people's subjective experience of an event. This theory is exemplified by the old tale of many different people looking at an elephant: each of these people will focus on different aspects of this elephant, like its ears, trunk, feet, etc. Likewise, someone's emotional experience of a busy road depends on his or her interpretation. Many might fear the busy road. Others accept it and feel content. Others focus on the sun outside and feel joy.

Emotions play a major role in signaling whether or not needs are being met. For instance, if we feel sad, this could be a signal that emotional, or even physical, needs are not being met. If we feel happy, this is a sign we've done something right that has fulfilled one need or another. There are other emotions, however, that are more complex. Things like surprise can be purely reactionary and unrelated to our needs, where our body is preparing itself to ascertain more information about the event (I.E. widening of the eyes to see more, opening the mouth for more respiration).

The statement used in the example is an example of a statement that, while discussing a psychological topic, is too general in nature to accurately reflect a valid psychological principle. Also, the statement offers no proof of its assertion, and does not mention any research in support of its assertion. Even if a statement seems intuitively accurate, in order for it to be a valid statement it must be specific, and supported by evidence.

The facial-feedback hypothesis is the idea that using the muscles involved in a certain emotion will make you feel that emotion. By expressing emotions with one's face, that emotion is intensified by the feedback loop created by this process.

Paul Ekman was primarily responsible for identifying many of the possible emotions of the human species and how these emotions were expressed facially. He argued that emotions were universal, though culture produced varying factors on to what extent they could be expressed and what situations/ideas would evoke which emotions. He came to this conclusion by studying emotions across cultures.

Catharsis, when being used in the context of psychoanalysis, most often refers to a release of pent up, repressed, or strong emotions. These are often negative in nature, such as sadness or anger. In Western societies, it is most often aggression, due to the fact that aggression is a socially unacceptable emotion to display in public.

The facial feedback hypothesis states that facial expressions can actually trigger the appropriate emotion, rather than just being a reflection of that emotion. Therefore, a scenario that exemplifies that concept is that Thomas smiling (expression) made him feel happier (emotion).

Capgras syndrome is when someone believes that a family member, friend, or pet is an imposter and can't be convinced otherwise. Capgras syndrome often occurs after a coma or head injury.

Difficulty reading facial expressions and repetitive, stereotyped movements are associated with autism, flashbacks with PTSD, and compulsive order with OCD.

“Affect” refers to the experience of having an emotion. The “degree to which an experience is positive or negative” and “the experience of sympathetic autonomic nervous system responses” are the definitions of valence and arousal, respectively. These are both components of emotion, but do not encompass the entirety of affect. Last, the “strength of a stimulus’ effect on attention” is the definition of salience.

"Displacement" is a defense mechanism in which a person directs an unwanted desire or aggression toward something more acceptable than the root of the desire. In this case, Tracey displaces her aggression onto her little brother by teasing him instead of the girls who had teased her.

The other answers are incorrect. "Repression" is defined as pushing desires out of our consciousness, while "regression" is defined as reverting back to old habits (often from childhood) during stressful situations. "Projection" is described as projecting negative desires onto other people. For example, Tiffany is hurt when Kim does not call her back and she says, "Kim is such a mean person. She doesn't care or like anyone but herself." Projection is sometimes confused with displacement. Last, "sublimation" is defined as changing unwanted desires into something socially valued.

Jenny's unwavering tone of voice and little variation of facial expression or emotion when speaking demonstrate the flat affect. The flat affect refers to a lack of (or diminished) emotional expression. This can be observed through robot-like speaking and lack of facial expression. On the other hand, the inappropriate affect and liable affect are the opposite of flat affect. Inappropriate affect refers to emotions are are inappropriate to the situation. Liable affect refers to rapid and inappropriate changes in mood. Jenny clearly demonstrates the flat affect.

Type A personalities are characterized by high competition, a sense of time urgency, and negative feelings including anger, stress, and hostility. Type B personalities are characterized by low competition and an overall easy-going attitude. People with type A personalities tend to become easily stressed and have more difficulty coping with stress than type B personalities. Studies on the differences between type A and B personalities have revealed that type A personalities are also at higher risk of stress-related diseases.

Type A personalities are characterized as being very competitive, goal-driven, and impatient. Additionally, Type A personalities are most likely to exhibit high levels of anger, hostility, and cynicism. While all humans will, at some point, experience lethargy, sadness, happiness, and depression these are, specifically, not characteristic of a Type A personality.

Positive psychology is a growing field of psychological research that seeks to grow the empirical data on optimal human functioning and positive emotions (e.g., longitudinal happiness)

Mood-congruent memory is the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's good or bad mood. Thus, if the subject is upset, he is more likely to recall negative memories during which he experienced a similar emotional state.