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Emotion, Stress, and Health


Emotion, Stress, and Health The Nature of Emotion Emotion and Culture The Nature of Stress Stress and Emotion Emotions, Stress, and Health: How

to Cope


Emotion A state of arousal involving

facial and bodily changes, brain activation, cognitive appraisals, subjective feelings, and tendencies toward action.


The Nature of EmotionEmotion and the BodyEmotion and the Mind


Emotion and the Body Darwin argued that human facial

expressions are a built-in product of evolution; they evolved because they signaled friendly or hostile intent.

Certain emotional displays seem to be universal Recognized throughout the world Appear early in development


Facial Feedback The process by which the facial

muscles send feedback to the brain about the basic emotion being expressed.


Emotion and the Brain Amygdala seems

responsible for evaluating sensory information for emotional importance.

Cerebral cortex incorporates other information and can override the amygdala


Emotion and the Mind Two-Factor Theory of Emotion:

The theory that emotions depend on both physiological arousal and a cognitive interpretation of that arousal.


Emotion and CultureThe Varieties of EmotionCommunicating EmotionGender and Emotion


The Varieties of Emotion Primary Emotions: Emotions that

are considered to be universal and biologically based; they generally include fear, anger, sadness, joy, surprise, disgust, and contempt.

Secondary Emotions: Emotions that are specific to certain cultures.


Communicating Emotion Display Rules: Social and cultural

rules that regulate when, how, and where a person may express (or suppress) emotions.

Emotion Work: Expression of an emotion, often because of a role requirement, that a person does not really feel.


Gender and Emotion Little evidence that one sex feels

any of the everyday emotions more often than the other.

Major difference between the sexes is more related to how emotions are expressed.


The Nature of StressStress and the BodyStress and the Mind


Stress and the Body

Selye proposed three phases in responding to stressors: Alarm Resistance Exhaustion

Prolonged stress can lead to illness.


Stressors and the Body Noise Bereavement and Loss Work-Related Problems Poverty, Powerlessness,

and Racism


Stress and the Common Cold Risk of common

cold increases when: Stress lasts a

month or more Stress in

interpersonal relationships

Stress at work


Stress and the Mind Optimism and Pessimism The Sense of Control The Benefits of Control The Limits of Control


The Limits of Control Locus of Control: A general expectation

about whether the results of your actions are under your own control (internal locus) or beyond your control (external locus).

Primary Control: An effort to modify reality by changing other people, the situation, or events; a “fighting back” philosophy.

Secondary Control: An effort to accept reality by changing your own attitudes, goals, or emotions; a “learn to live with it” philosophy.


Stress and EmotionHostility and DepressionEmotional Inhibition


Personality and Health Type A Personality: Determined to

achieve, sense of time urgency, irritable, respond to threat or challenge very quickly, and impatient with obstacles.

Type B Personality: Calmer and less intense.

Personality type is less predictive of health problems than is hostility. Proneness to anger is a major risk factor


Hostility and Heart Disease Men with highest

hostility scores as young medical students had higher rates of heart disease 25 years later.

Hostility is more hazardous than a heavy workload.


Emotional Inhibition Emotional Inhibition: A personality trait

involving a tendency to deny feelings of anger, anxiety, or fear; in stressful situations, physiological responses such as heart rate and blood pressure rise sharply.

People who display this trait are at greater risk of becoming ill than people who can acknowledge feelings.


Emotions, Stress, and Health: How to Cope

Cooling OffSolving the ProblemRethinking the ProblemLooking Outward


Cooling Off Relaxation Training: Learning to

alternately tense and relax muscles, lie or sit quietly, or meditate by clearing the mind; has beneficial effects by lowering stress hormones and enhancing immune function.

Exercise is also an excellent stress reliever.


Fitness and Health Among those with

low stress, fit and less-fit people had similar levels of health problems.

Among those with high stress, there were fewer health problems among people who were more fit.


Rethinking the Problem Effective Cognitive Coping Methods:

Reappraising the situation Learning from the experience Making social comparisons Cultivating a sense of humor


Looking Outward Friends can help with coping:

People with network of close connections live longer than those who do not.

After heart attack, those with no close contacts were twice as likely to die.

Relationships can also cause stress. Giving support to others can be a

valuable source of comfort.