Positive Emotions (continued)

Class 19

SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

Subjective Well Being: Ingredients? Pleasant

affectUnpleasant

affectLife

satisfactionDomain

satisfactionsJoy Guilt and

shameDesire to change life

Work

Elation Sadness Satisfaction w’ current life

Family

Contentment Anxiety and worry

Satisfaction with past

Leisure

Pride Anger Satisfaction with future

Health

Affection Stress Sig. others’ view of one’s life

Finances

Happiness Depression   Self 

Ecstacy Envy   One’s group

What Does, and Doesn’t, Predict SWB?Does Not Predict SWB Does Predicts SWB

 

Income Social contacts, soc. integration

Age Goals:

IQ a. Congruent goals

Attractiveness b. Meeting goals  Not having psychopathology  Genes (40%-80%)  Personality (+ extroversion,

optimism) - Neuroticism   Culture (+ in Latin countries)

SWB and Income

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

1946 1963 1972 1980 1985 1989

Income

SWB

Goals and Subjective Well Being (SWB) SWB enhanced by pursuing intrinsically satisfying goals

Prison evidence:

I need self-acceptance, meaning Suffer more

I need biceps, abs Suffer less

Goals that meet fundamental needs happiness

Goals and culture

West promotes self-completion, pers. goals happy

East promotes community, social goals happy

Internally congruent goals

Likes activity, outdoors, excite. ___ Fireman? ___ CEO?

Strong Campbell Interests Inventory

Influencing: Leadership, law, etc.

Organizing: Supervision, admin, etc.

Helping: Counseling, medicine, etc.

Creating: Art/design, cooking, writing

Analyzing: Math, science

Producing: Mechanics, programming

Adventuring: Athletics, military, etc.

Happiness and Heath: The Nun StudyHappiness more Immunoglobulin A (S-igA) Longer life

Nun study * Sample = convent nuns

* Review convent applications, why want to be a nun* Rate applications for happy vs. negative tone

Happy: Glory of God, rapture, serenityUnhappy: Avoid sin, teach damnation

* Survival rates 60 years laterHappy nuns: 80% still aliveUnhappy nuns: 55% still alive

Self Structure and Well BeingActual Self: Who you truly are, heart of hearts, at your core. Values, likes, desires

Other selves: Self as student, friend, son/daughter, etc.

Self Congruence: Are all your various “selves” consistent with your “actual self”

Traits: Qualities that make up your selves: (pos. = skilled, kindly, competent; neg = selfish, lazy, jealous, etc.)

Negative Elaboration (NE): Degree that different kinds of negative traits apply to your different selves.

QUESTION: How do congruence and NE affect SWB?

Happy With Being a Mom (Reich, Harber, & Siegel, 2008)

Participants: 33 first time expectant mothers

Time 1: Self structure reporting BEFORE giving birth

a. Self-congruence: How much does “real me” fit with:

(1) me as a mother

(2) me with the father of my child

b. Neg. Elaboration (NE): How much are my various

selves (real me, me as mother, me with child’s father)

filled with negative traits?

Time 2: Feelings of depression AFTER giving birth

Depression Post-Childbirth

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

maternal self-congruence

LOW HIGH

Depr

essio

n

low NE

high NE

Note. NE: Negative elaboration. Amount of neg. traits w/n “selves”Maternal self-congruence: whether or not actual self contains me as an expecting mother and/or me with father of my child

The Mystery of Laughter

Laughter is essentially a social phenomenon

Other species “laugh”Chimp pantingRats chirping

Functions of laughter

Social bondingCoping

Dark side of laughing

Derision, in-group insularity & out-group rejectionGiggling enuresisLaughter in church phenomenon

Much still unknown

Down Side of Being Up?

Happiness leads to less careful thinking: heuristics, stereotypes. (But more creative!)

Unhappiness: more vigilant, more critical (but more rigid)

Feb. 2001: USS Greenville has civil. visitors, shows the fun of crash surface--sinks Japanese fishing boat!

Anger and Aggression

Class 20

Anger and Aggression

What gets us angry—what kinds of situations, people?

Is anger more common with friends, family, strangers, competitors/adversaries?

Is anger a positive or negative emotion?

Does anger ever do any good?

Would humans be better off without anger?

Causes of Aggression

Territoriality Impeding free action (B.F. Skinner, Behaviorism) Maintaining Social Hierarchies

Social hierarchies common across species, cultures

Hierarchies maintained by threats

Aggressive sequence: Aggression Surrender Reconciliation Frustration and Aggression

Frustration and Aggression TheoryBasic Idea: Aggression arises when basic goals, needs, desires are frustrated. Aggression a form of displacement

Lindzey, G. 1950: Frustration Prejudice

Frustrate subjects (40 Harvard males, 20 high anti-sem, 20 low anti-sem)

1. Can’t eat, drink 12 hrs before study

2. Drink 1 QT water, can’t pee

3. Clumsy blood test

4. Failure at group task

5. Outcome – anti-sem subs show increased anti-Semitism

Punishment and Rewards Due to Own Discomfort(Berkowitz, et al. 1981)

0

5

10

15

20

Cold Water Tepid Water

Rewards

Punishments

General Effect

Giving Punishment that Supposedly Helps Performancevs. Punishment that Hurts Performance,

Due to Own Discomfort (Berkowitz, et al. 1981)

0

1

2

3

4

5

Cold Water Tepid Water

Punishment hurts

Punishment Helps

Giving Punishment that Supposedly Helps Performancevs. Punishment that Hurts Performance,

Due to Own Discomfort (Berkowitz, et al. 1981)

0

1

2

3

4

5

Cold Water Tepid Water

Punishment hurts

Punishment Helps

Terror Management Theory and Aggression

Human Dilemma

Humans only species aware of its own mortality

Humans, like all animals, instinctively flee danger

BUT

Mortality awareness is danger humans can’t flee

Culture provides defense against “existential terror” of mortality awareness.

* Promise of immortality (e.g., religion)

* Promise of meaningful life, transcends mortality

Threat to Cultural Worldview and Violence

If mortality is greatest fear, and

If cultural worldview is my only defense against mortality fears,

Then how do I feel towards those who challenge my cultural worldview?

Murder for religious, ideological beliefs

Martyrdom for religious, ideological beliefs

Terror Mgt and Violence: Experimental Evidence

Mortality Salience Manipulation

Briefly write describe the emotions that the thought of your own death arouse in you.

Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you as you physically die.

Control Condition Neutral: Write about eating a meal, watching TV

Control Condition Negative: Dental pain, social rejection

Results of Terror Mgt ExperimentsHostile Attitudes

Increased Anti-Semitism

Harsher criminal sentences to repeat offenders

Harsher ratings of anti USA essay writer

Increased hostility to African Americans

Hostile Behavior

Distance from Turk vs. fellow German

Hot sauce administered to person with opposing views

Culture and Aggression:

Yanomamo and Inuit

Culture and Aggression

Interdependent Cultures: Utku Environ. requires cooperation and tolerance Adios to crazy, savage researcher

Individualistic/Pride Based Culture: Yanomamo

Environment more benign, cooperation less necessaryLet’s rip-off the sappy researcher

What is the MOST violent industrialized society? USA

Violence in the USA

Percent of adolescent boys involved in 1 + fights

Percent of adolescent girls involved in 1 + fights

Percent of adolescents who bring knife to school

Percent of adolescents who bring gun to school

50%

25%

23%

3-5%

Percent of men 12-19 encounter violent crime 8%

All stats under-reported

Individualistic vs. Collectivist Cultures

Individualistic: Self interest promoted

"I Self"

Collectivist: Group interest promoted"We self"

Individualist: Your gain can be my loss

Collectivist: Your gain is our gain is my gain

Violence in "we self" culture is bizarre; like self- mutilation.

BUT: Also authoritarian vs. libertarian societies

“Thanatos”: Instinct for Destruction (Freud)

Destruction, mayhem is fun

Movies, novels, plays, video games

“That dog is gonna die” movies—justify our blood lust.

Does anger do any good???

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, …., a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.  ….But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, … .  The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.

Prisoners’ Dilemma Cooperation Game

  Cooperate

Defect

Cooperate Both gainsmall reward

Player #1 gains big reward, #2

looses

Defect Player #2 gains big reward, #1

looses

Both playerloose

Player 1 Player 2

HOSTILE EMOTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS: ANY GOOD ONES?

Contempt

Anger

Withdrawal

Whining

Not Good

Sometimes Good

Not Good

Not Good

Function of Anger in Interpersonal Relationships (Averill, 1981)

Subjects: 80 married, 80 singles

Subs complete daily emotion self-reports

Results: 66% report anger 1-2 a week

44% annoyance once a day

Anger due to: frustration, violation of expectation,

lost of pride, damage to property, self

Anger source: Most often someone known, liked

Why get angry? Assert authority, rights

Change the offender

Strengthen relationship

Does Anger do Any Good? Averill, continued

Feelings about being angry: most DON’T like it

Was expression of anger beneficial?

Percent of Expressers saying yes:

Percent of Targets saying yes:

62%

70%

Anger relationship readjustment

Anger is act of commitment, is pledge to see problem through

But, anger can lead to cycle of violence

Seeing Others' Emotions Through Body Movement

Chouchourelou, Matsuka, Harber, & Shiffrar, 2006