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I. IntroductionA. Emotion is often what we remember about interpersonalencounters

1. Forms the foundation for how we represent and judge ourrelationships

2. Influences how we talk to others, hear what others say, and howcommunication affects relationship outcomes

II. Defining emotionA.

Scholars differentiate between real feelings and manufactured

feeling

1. Manufactured feelings are called emotion laborB. Emotion- the critical internal structure that orients us to andengages us with what matters in our lives: our feelings about ourselves

and others

1. Emotion encompasses both the internal feelings of one person, as wellas feelings that can be experienced only in a relationship

C. Emotion systems1. System 1: category system

a) To capture the complexity of emotion, researchers have createdsystems

b) The category system is based on(1) Valance- attribute of emotion that refers to whether theemotion reflects a positive or negative feeling

(2) Activity- attribute of emotion that refers to whether theemotion implies action or passivity

2. System 2: emotion conea) The emotion cone is based on intensity- an attribute of emotionthat refers to how strongly an emotion is felt

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b)

III. Emotion, reason, and the bodyA. Emotion is more than just feelingsB. One reason it is so difficult to define because it is often groundedin dualisms

C. Dualism- a way of thinking that constructs polar oppositecategories to encompass the totality of the thing

1. Prompt us to think either-or2.

Keeps up from seeing a 3

rd

(or 4th

) possibility

a) Hotcold Strongweakb) Malefemale rightwrongc) Goodbad publicprivated) Mindbody blackwhitee) Reasonemotion thinkingfeeling

f) Liberalsconservatives activepassiveD. Emotional states affect physical wellness

1. Prolonged depression makes people more susceptible to heart attacksE. Reason can also be dependent on emotion

1. A hunch or gut feeling

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F. Perception- a bad feeling about somethingIV. Explaining emotion: biology and social interaction

A. Theories on the origination of emotion1. The biological theory of emotion

a) , related to instinct and energyb) If emotions are similar across many types of people, they proposethat people from all cultures should experience feelings in the same

manner

c) Theory assumes that andthat we need thought only to bring a preexisting emotion to our

conscious awareness

(1) Advancing ideas vs. experiencing emotions(2) Introspection

d) Charles Darwin placed importance on observable emotionalexpressions, not the meaning associated with them

(1) These physical gestures of emotion are remnants ofprehistoric behaviors that served important functions

(a) Showing teeth(b) Look of disgust(c) Hug

(2) Darwin says people enact these gesture as a result ofexperiencing emotion

(3) He said the opposite is also true- when people enact a certaingesture the experience the related emotion

(4) He believed most gestures were universal2. Social interaction theory of emotion

a) Acknowledges biological influencesb) This theory is more interested in how people interact with their

social situation before, during, and after the experience of emotion

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c) Also interested in gesture(1) Focuses on how the reactions of other to our gestures help usdefine what we are feeling

3. Comparing the theoriesThe biological theory The social theory

Definition of emorion Biological process The way one feels is a result of

social interactions

Relationship of emotions to

cognitions

Separate Interrelated

Assumption of universality Yes No

Concern with subjective

meaning

No Yes