Chapter 4 Notes (Textbook: Looking Out/Looking In) PDF

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Notes taken while reading Chapter 4 of the textbook, "Looking Out/Looking In"...

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Ch. 4 Notes Emotions Video (Fallacies) 

What does Patricia mean by perfection causes chaos? o

Perfection Causes CHAOS – Perfection, Causation, Catastrophic Expectations, Helplessness, Approval, Overgeneralization, Shoulds

7 Interpersonal Fallacies/Emotional Fallacies (AKA Irrational Thinking) 1. Perfection – subscribing to unrealistic expectations of self or others 2. Causation – thinking emotions are caused by others, and not by the person with the emotion; taking full responsibility for how someone else responds to your behavior 3. Catastrophic Expectations – assuming something bad has happened/is happening/will happen 4. Helplessness – we are victims of circumstances outside of our control 5. Approval – we want others to like us and approve of us 6. Overgeneralization – drawing conclusions based on too few examples 7. Shoulds – belief that people will behave as you think they should behave 

What is self-reflexiveness? o

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the human ability to think about what we are doing while we are doing it

What complicates your ability to recognize irrational thoughts? o

Multiple fallacies in the same thought 

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may contribute to a self-fulfilling prophecy

Fallacies initiated by external source and accepted as valid 

if you accept a fallacy, you are also guilty of committing the fallacy

Emotions Video (Contagion) 

How emotion is defined o Emotions serve to focus our attention and motivate us to action in a way that helps us survive and thrive. They provide information about our interior world and about our relationships. o “Felt tendencies toward stimuli” – Richard Weaver o reaction to an activating event/stimuli

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physiological changes 

proprioceptive stimuli – changes you can detect

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non-proprioceptive – changes you can’t detect

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nonverbal reactions – observable on the outside

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cognitive interpretations (what does it mean?)

What emotions are not o Feelings (physical sensations) o Beliefs (generally accepted “truth” based on value system) or opinions (judgment about something)

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Facilitative vs. Debilitative Emotions o Facilitative – contribute to effective functioning o Debilitative – hinders effective functioning o differentiated by intensity and duration

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Primary/Secondary/Mixed Emotions o Primary – first emotion you feel o Secondary – caused by the primary emotion o Mixed – multiple conflicting emotions at the same time

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Emotional Contagion Theory o suggests how emotions are passed to others o “One person’s emotions and related behaviors directly trigger similar emotions and behaviors in other people.” 

When you mimic another’s behavior, the muscular movements in your face or body adjust blood flow to the brain which affects mood. The sensations associated with specific behaviors trigger memories (and hence the feelings) linked with those particular behaviors

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Women are more likely than men to mimic these behaviors/emotions

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Emotions expressed by others on Facebook influence our own emotions, constituting experimental evidence for massive-scale contagion

Textbook Notes Emotional Intelligence – the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions and be sensitive to others’ feelings -

positively linked with self-esteem, life satisfaction, and self-acceptance, as well as healthy conflict management and relationships

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vital to personal and interpersonal success

Emotions -

physiological factors/changes (heart rate, blood pressure, dilation of pupils, churning stomach, tense jaw, etc.)

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nonverbal reactions (blushing, sweating, facial expressions, posture, gestures, etc.) 

nonverbal behavior is usually ambiguous

Reappraisal – rethinking the meaning of emotionally charged events in ways that alter their emotional impact Emotion Labor – situations in which managing and even suppressing emotions is both appropriate and necessary; important in professional settings Common Human Emotions: afraid, aggravated, amazed, ambivalent, angry, annoyed, anxious, apathetic, ashamed, bashful, befuddled, bewildered, bitter, bored, brave, calm, cantankerous, carefree, cheerful, cocky, cold, comfortable, concerned, confident, confused, content, crazy, defeated, defensive, delighted, depressed, detached, devastated, disappointed, disgusted, disturbed, ecstatic, edgy, elated, embarrassed, empty, enthusiastic, envious, excited, exhausted, fearful, fed, fidgety, flattered, foolish, forlorn, free, friendly, frustrated, furious, glad, glum, grateful, happy, harassed, helpless, high, hopeful, horrible, hostile, humiliated, hurried, hurt, hysterical, impatient, impressed, inhibited, insecure, interested, intimidated, irritable, jealous, joyful, lazy, lonely, loving, lukewarm, mad, mean, miserable, mixed, mortified, neglected, nervous, numb, optimistic, paranoid, passionate, peaceful, pessimistic, playful, please, possessive, pressured, protective, puzzled, refreshed, regretful, relieved, resentful, restless, ridiculous, romantic, sad, sentimental, sexy, shaky, shocked, shy, sorry, strong, subdued, surprised, suspicious, tender, tents, terrified, tired, trapped, ugly, uneasy, up, vulnerable, warm, week, wonderful, worried Facilitative Emotions – contribute to effective functioning

Debilitative Emotions – detract from effective functioning -

Intensity and Duration differentiate the two types of emotions

Rumination – dwelling persistently on negative thoughts that in turn intensify negative feelings Emotional Memory – seemingly harmless events can trigger debilitative feelings if they bear even a slight resemblance to troublesome experiences from the past Self-Talk – interpreting an event to determine one’s feelings

Debilitative Emotions from Fallacies 1. Fallacy of Perfection – belief that a worthwhile communicator should be able to handle every situation with complete confidence and skill; desiring to be a perfect communicator 2. Fallacy of Approval - based on the idea that it is not only desirable but also vital to get the approval of virtually every person 3. Fallacy of Shoulds – inability to distinguish between what is and what should be (My friend should be more understanding… I should always be happy…) 4. Fallacy of Overgeneralization – when we base a belief on a limited amount of evidence or when we exaggerate shortcomings 5. Fallacy of Causation – based on the irrational belief that emotions are caused by others rather than by one’s own self-talk 6. Fallacy of Helplessness – suggests that satisfaction in life is determined by forces beyond your control a. many ‘can’ts’ are really rationalizations to justify not wanting to change 7. Fallacy of Catastrophic Expectations – the assumption that if something bad can happen, it will

Summary Emotions have several dimensions. They are signaled by internal physiological changes, manifested by nonverbal reactions, defined in most cases by cognitive interpretations. We can use this information to make choices about whether or not to verbalize our feelings. There are several reasons why people do not verbalize many of the emotions they feel. Some people have personalities that are less prone toward emotional expression. Culture and gender also have an effect on the emotions we do and don't share with others. Social rules and

roles discourage the expression of some feelings, particularly negative ones. Fear of consequences leads people to withhold expression of some emotions. Finally, contagion can lead us to experience emotions that we might not otherwise have had. Because total expression of emotions is not appropriate, several guidelines help define when and how to express emotions effectively. Expanding your emotional vocabulary, becoming more self-aware, and expressing mixed feelings are important. Recognizing the difference between feeling, thinking, and acting, as well as accepting responsibility for feelings instead of blaming them on others, lead to better reactions. Choosing the proper time and place to share feelings is also important, as is choosing the best channel for expressing emotions. Whereas some emotions are facilitative, others are debilitated an inhibit effective functioning. Many of these debilitated emotions are biological reactions rooted in the amygdala portion of the brain, but their negative impact can be altered through rational thinking. It is often possible to communicate more confidently and effectively by identifying troublesome emotions, identifying the activating event and self-talk that triggered them, and reappraising any irrational thoughts with a more logical analysis of the situation....