PowerPoint Presentation to accompany

Looking Out, Looking In, Tenth Edition

Chapter 4: Emotions: Thinking, Feeling,

and Acting
Presentation prepared by
Dr. Michael Pearson, Gretchen Gill, and Tim
Scanlon of West Chester University

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is a trademark used herein under license.

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CHAPTER 4

Emotions:Thinking,
Feeling, and
Acting

Copyright 2002 Thomson Learning, Inc.

Emotions: Thinking, Feeling, and
Acting

What are Emotions?

Verbal Expression
Types of Emotions
Influences on Emotional Expression
Guidelines for Expressing Emotions
Managing Difficult Emotions

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 What are Emotions?
Physiological Changes
When a person has strong emotions, many bodily
changes occur.
Proprioceptive stimuli: they are activated by the
movement of internal tissues
Increased heartbeat
Rise in blood pressure
Dilation of the pupils

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 What are Emotions?
Nonverbal Reactions
Observable changes
blushing
sweating
distinctive facial expression
posture

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 What are Emotions?
Cognitive Interpretations
The mind plays an important role in
determining how we feel.

Verbal Expression
Labeling our emotions can be very difficult:
e.g. Is someone trembling because of fear or
because of excitement?

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 Types of Emotions
Primary and Mixed Emotions
Primary Emotions- basic emotions (inside the
perimeter of the wheel)
Mixed Emotions- a combination of primary
emotions (outside the wheel)

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 Types of Emotions
Intense and Mild Emotions
This model shows the
importance not only of
choosing the right
emotional family when
expressing yourself, but
also of describing the
strength of the feeling.

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Influences on Emotional
Expression
Culture
People from all over have the same emotions. No
matter where theyre from, people feel happy, sad,
surprised, angry, and disgusted. However, the same
events do not always bring out the same emotions.
Individualistic cultures: people feel comfortable
revealing their feelings to others who are close to them
(e.g. United States & Canada)
Collectivistic cultures: discourage expression of any
negative emotions that might upset relationships among
people who belong to the in-group (e.g. Japan and
India)
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Influences on Emotional
Expression
Gender
Females - express positive emotions and feelings of
vulnerability
Males - rarely express their feelings but might reveal
strengths
Factors in expressing feelings - gender, being
familiar with the partner, and difference in power.

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Influences on Emotional
Expression
Social Conventions and
Social Rules
In the US, the unwritten rule is the discouragement of
showing your emotions in public.
Emotions that are shared are usually positive (however,
never too much positive emotion).
Teachers and managers are expected to keep their
emotions under control.

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Influences on Emotional
Expression
Emotional Contagion
Emotional Contagion: the process by which
emotions are transferred from one person to
another.
Emotions are infectious
e.g. If we hang out with a grouch, then we
ourselves get put into a bad mood

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Influences on Emotional
Expression
Fear of Self-Disclosure
Revealing your emotions can seem risky
A person who musters up enough courage to share his
or her feelings runs the risk of an unpleasant
consequence. For example:
a wink and smile unwanted romance
confession of uncertainty weakness
emotional honesty people feel uncomfortable

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Guidelines for Expressing
Emotions
Recognize Your Feelings
Answer this question, How do you feel?
Monitor your nonverbal behavior.
Monitor your thoughts as well as your actions.

Think About How to Describe Feelings

Use single words: excited or depressed
Whats happening to you: Im on top of the world
What youd like to do: I feel like giving up

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Guidelines for Expressing
Emotions
Share Multiple Feelings
Im mad at you for not showing up. Im also disappointed
I didnt see you.
I get mad when you flirt. I care about you a lot, and I hate to
think that you dont feel the same.

Recognize the Difference Between

Feeling, Talking, and Acting
Feeling something, talking about it, and then acting on that

feeling can sometimes be disastrous or liberating

Understand the consequences of your actions
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Guidelines for Expressing
Emotions
Accept responsibility for your feelings
Instead of, You make me so angry say, I am feeling
angry
Consider when and where to express
your feelings
Wait until you have thought out carefully how
you might express your feelings in a way that
would be most likely to be heard.

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 Managing Difficult Emotions

Facilitative and Debilitative Emotions

Facilitative Emotions - emotions that contribute to
effective functioning

Debilitative Emotions - emotions that prevent a person

from functioning effectively

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 Managing Difficult Emotions
Thoughts Cause Feelings
It is not events such as meeting strangers or being
jilted by a lover that cause people to feel bad, but
rather the beliefs they hold about these events.
Interpretations that people make of an event, during
the process of self-talk, determine feelings.

Event Thought Feeling

Being called names Ive done some- hurt, upset
thing wrong
Being called names My friend must concern,
be sick sympathy
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 Managing Difficult Emotions
Irrational Thinking and Debilitative Emotions
Many debilitative emotions come from accepting
irrational thoughts:
1. The Fallacy of Perfection
2. The Fallacy of Approval
3. The Fallacy of Shoulds
4. The Fallacy of Overgeneralization
5. The Fallacy of Causation
6. The Fallacy of Helplessness
7. The Fallacy of Catastrophic Expectations
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 Managing Difficult Emotions

Minimizing Debilitative Emotions

1. Monitor your emotional reactions.
2. Note the activating event.
3. Record your self-talk.
4. Dispute your irrational beliefs.

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