PSYC201

Ch13:Emotion,stress,andhealth
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Chapter 13

emotion, stress, and health

I. THE NATURE OF EMOTION

A. Emotion and the body
1. The face of emotion--facial expressions are hard-wired
a. Ekmans cross-cultural work identified seven universal expressions:
anger,
happiness, fear, surprise, disgust, sadness, and contempt
b. Neuro-cultural theory--universal face muscle physiology and cultural
variations contribute to the facial expression of emotion
c. Facial expressions that convey genuine emotions may use different sets of
muscles and last for different durations than faked facial expressions
d. Facial expressions have evolved to express internal states and
communicate
with others
e. Facial expressions of parents have important impact on infants
f. Facial-feedback hypothesis--suggests that ones own facial expression
influences the experience of emotion
2. Emotion and the brain
a. Right hemisphere is activated when processing incoming emotional
information and expressing emotion
b. Two cerebral hemispheres process different emotions; left = positive
emotions, right = negative emotions
c. Source of fear-related emotions appears to be the amygdala
d. Cortex allows us to override emotional response triggered by amygdala
3. The energy of emotion--hormones
a. Epinephrine and norepinephrine produced by adrenal gland activate the
sympathetic nervous system
b. At high hormone levels, we may feel flooded by an emotion, but we can
learn to control our actions
c. Both physiological similarities and differences exist between emotions
B. Emotion and the mind
1. Explanations of events predict emotion better than events themselves
2. Many emotions distinguished by particular thoughts or perceptions--they
cannot
be experienced without a sense of self and an understanding of social
expectations
(e.g., envy and jealousy, shame and guilt)
II. EMOTION AND CULTURE
A. Cultural differences exist in norms; norm violations lead to the experience of
anger
B. How culture shapes emotions
1. Many psychologists believe that it is possible to identify a number of primary
emotions that are experienced universally
2. Secondary emotions are culture-specific
3. Many think searching for primary emotions is misleading and masks the

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Ch13:Emotion,stress,andhealth
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influence of culture on all emotions

a. What is considered basic or primary is influenced by culture
b. Culture determines much of what people feel emotional about
C. Communicating emotion
1. Display rules--the cultural rules that govern how and when emotions may be
expressed--specify what to do when feeling an emotion
2. Body language is important in the communication of emotion
D. Gender and emotion
1. Some rules tell us how and when we should show an emotion we do not feel-called emotion work
2. Seeming gender differences in emotionality may be explained by differing
expectations for men and women
III.THE NATURE OF STRESS
A. Stress and the body
1. Stressors force the body to respond by mobilizing its resources--prepare the
individual to fight or flee
2. Hans Selye concluded that stress consists of a series of physiological
reactions
that occur in three phases:
a. Alarm phase--organism mobilizes to meet the threat with a package of
biological responses
b. Resistance phase--organism attempts to resist or cope with a threat that
cannot be avoided
c. Exhaustion phase--occurs if the stressor persists--bodys resources
become
overwhelmed--body becomes vulnerable to fatigue, physical
problems, and
illness
3. Not all stress is bad
4. The immune system is affected by stress--prolonged stress can suppress cells
that fight disease and infection
B. Some sources of stress
1. Work-related problems
a. Increase one's chances of catcing a cold
b. Workers who have little control are most at risk from a variety of illnesses
2. Noise is an unhealthy stressor if it is chronic and cannot be controlled
3. Bereavement and loss
a. Loss of a loved one or close relationship is one of the most powerful
stressors
in life
b. Widowed and divorced married people are more susceptible to a variety of
diseases and their mortality rate is higher than average
4. Poverty, powerlessness, and racism
a. Poor people cannot afford good medical care and healthy food
b. Poor people are exposed to many continuous stressors such as high crime
rates and run-down housing
c. Urban blacks have a higher incidence of hypertension
d. Racial discrimination is a major stressor

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5. Everyone does not react to stressors in the same way; it is necessary to

take perceptions into account
C. Stress and the mind
1. Optimism and pessimism
a. Optimism--associated with greater longevity
b. Health and well-being may depend on having positive illusions
c. Several programs and strategies have been developed to help overcome
pessimism
2. The sense of control
a. Locus of control
b. People with internal locus of control tend to believe that they are
responsible
for what happens to them
c. People with external locus of control tend to believe that they are victims
of
circumstance
d. The most debilitating aspect of chronically stressful situations is feeling
out of
control
e. Sense of control affects the immune systems
3. The limits of control--ideas about control are strongly influenced by culture
a. Primary control--more Western approach--people try to influence existing
reality by changing other people, events, circumstances
b. Secondary control--more Eastern approach--people try to accommodate
reality by changing their own aspirations or desires
c. Both primary and secondary control have benefits--people who are ill can
combine these two forms of control by taking responsibility for future
actions
while not blaming themselves for past ones
IV. STRESS AND EMOTION
A. Hostility and depression
1. Type A personality characteristics--determined to achieve, have a sense of
time
urgency, are irritable, are impatient with anybody who gets in their way
2. Type B characteristics - calmer, less intense
3. Recent research shows that Type As who are characterized by cynical or
antagonistic hostility are at increased risk for heart disease
4. Clinical depression may put people at increased risk for heart disease
B. Positive emotions: Do they help?
1. Yes, they do
C. Emotional inhibition and expression
1. People who characteristically inhibit emotional expression are called
suppressors
2. Suppressors tend to deny feelings of anxiety, anger, and fear
3. In stressful situations, heart rate and blood pressure of suppressors tend to
rise
sharply
4. Suppressors are at elevated risk of becoming ill and dying earlier than
nonsuppressors
5. Prolonged inhibition of thoughts and emotions requires physical effort that is

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Ch13:Emotion,stress,andhealth
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stressful to the body

6. Confession confers a range of health benefits on an individual
7. Forgiveness confers a range of health benefits on an individual
V. EMOTIONS, STRESS, AND HEALTH: HOW TO COPE
A. Cooling off--stress reduction strategies include relaxation techniques, exercise,
and massage
B. Solving the problem
1. Emotion-focused coping concentrates on the emotions the problem has
caused
2. Problem-focused coping involves learning as much as possible about the
problem from professionals, friends, books, and others in the same
predicament
3. Problem-focused coping tends to increase a persons sense of self-efficacy,
control, and effectiveness
C. Rethinking the problem
1. Reappraisal--when people cannot eliminate a stressor, they can choose to
reassess its meaning
2. Learning from the experience--finding useful lessons in it
3. Social comparisons--successful copers often compare themselves both to
those
less fortunate and those more fortunate
D. Friends
1. Others can help by providing concern, affection, evaluation, ideas for
planning,
and other needed resources
2. Social support is medically beneficial, but stressful relationships can create
more
stress
3. People who give support are healthier and happier than those who are selfinvolved