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Файл:Mental processes and states in general psychology (for students in the English medium). Study aid
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Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: a motivational framework proposed by
Abraham Maslow, categorizing human needs into five hierarchical levels:
physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
Willpower: the capacity to exert self-control, delay gratification, and override
impulsive behaviors to achieve long-term goals.
Volition: the conscious effort or intention to act, often involving decisionmaking and commitment to a chosen course of action.
Cognitive Control: the mental process involved in regulating thoughts, emotions,
and behaviors to align with desired outcomes, crucial for exercising willpower.
Autonomy: the sense of independence and self-determination, which plays
a critical role in sustaining willpower and motivation.
TOPIC III. EMOTIONS
Emotions color and enrich our lives, helping us recharge with energy so that
we can cope with everything that comes our way. They are adaptive and form the
foundation of human existence. Emotions can be viewed from five different,
interrelated perspectives.
In everyday life, the subjective experience of emotions seems to be the most
important. For instance, when you feel happy, sad, or angry, these experiences give
emotions a sharpness that ranges from pleasant to unpleasant, from exciting to
exhausting.
Feelings go beyond emotions: in addition to feelings of happiness, disgust, or
shame, we can also experience pain and discomfort. Nonetheless, it is the sensory
aspect of emotions that appears particularly significant in daily life.
Emotions have their own behavioral dimensions. An angry conversation
unfolds differently compared to a calm one. You can observe emotional behavior
through others' facial expressions. You also understand that smiling carries various
social implications. In short, emotions prepare us for action; a "readiness for action"
is associated with them, which is frequently manifested in behavior.
Physiological changes are also tied to emotions. For example, after narrowly
avoiding a car accident, you might notice your heart racing and your muscles
trembling. This indicates that emotions are closely linked to bodily physiological
processes, serving as a bridge between the physical and the mental. The degree of
energy mobilization required for emotions’ functions is regulated by the autonomic
nervous system interacting with brain structures that constitute the central neural
apparatus of emotions. The emergence of an emotional response (particularly intense
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emotions) is accompanied by well-known vegetative-vascular reactions: changes in
skin color, pulse rate, breathing, and blood pressure occur.
Emotions involve cognition since thought and emotion are intertwined. We
perceive objects and assess them, and it is this evaluation that triggers emotions. This
cognitive component serves as an essential (and perhaps indispensable) precursor to
our emotional responses. The relationship between emotions and thoughts can be
illustrated by considering how thinking about a close friend elicits a different
emotional reaction than contemplating someone you dislike. Emotional experiences
typically emerge within a social context, though they can also occur in solitude.
Generally, emotions serve the purpose of social communication.
Therefore, emotions represent a synthesis of all these functions, although the
balance among them shifts over time. Ignoring any one of these elements diminishes
the richness of emotions. Consequently, any comprehensive definition of emotion
must reflect this complexity. Emotion is a multifaceted interaction between subjective
and objective factors, mediated by neurological and hormonal systems, capable
of producing affective experiences such as feelings of excitement, pleasure or
displeasure, generating cognitively significant perceptions, evaluations, and labels,
activating widespread physiological adjustments to arousing conditions, and leading
to behaviors that are frequently active and adaptive.
States of need, such as desire, are also reflected through emotional experiences.
According to P.V. Simonov's information theory, the intensity and nature of an
emerging emotion depend on the underlying need and the appraisal of its likelihood
of being satisfied within a particular context. Based on the actual prospects of
fulfillment, the same need can provoke either positive or negative emotions.
Emotions represent a mental reflection of need-satisfaction processes, fitting
into the broader framework of a comprehensive mental image that embodies
a subjective stance toward the perceived. Unlike cognitive processes, which mirror
the substance of objects, emotions reflect the condition of the subject and their
relationship to the object.
An emotion is a complex psychological state evoked by stimuli — a way
humans respond to meaningful or impactful situations. For instance, a smiling face is
typically interpreted as expressing happiness. Each emotion constitutes a process
initiated by a stimulus, triggering an internal reaction, and culminating in observable
expression.
To illustrate the centrality of emotions in human existence, William James,
author of the first scientific treatise on emotions, compares our emotional landscape
to the world stripped bare: "Imagine losing every emotion evoked by the surrounding
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environment, then attempt to envision this world devoid of any favorability or
aversion, hope or fear instilled by those emotions. Such a detached, lifeless spectacle
would be nearly inconceivable. The universe of things and events would lack
meaning, character, expression, or perspective".
Emotional manifestations are commonly categorized into emotions, feelings,
and affects. Additionally, there exist specialized emotional states, such as
disappointment. Emotions convey attitudes toward current or anticipated scenarios;
they can emerge in real-time contexts or in relation to contemplated or imagined
ones. Over the course of human evolution, so-called higher emotions, known as
feelings, developed. Feelings denote enduring emotional connections to aspects of
social reality, formed through interpersonal interactions, possessing stable
motivational significance and markedly objective qualities. Distinct categories of
feelings include practical (linked to action), intellectual, moral, aesthetic, and
spiritual forms.
The key parameters of emotions typically include:
– valence (positive or negative);
– degree of awareness and corresponding voluntary control;
– dynamic properties (intensity, duration, depth, and flexibility);
– orientation and modes of self-expression;
– developmental stages (basic vs. advanced emotions);
– relationship with needs, actions, and other mental processes.
A critical distinction between feelings and emotions lies in their level of
consciousness: feelings are consciously experienced, whereas emotions can occur
at both conscious and subconscious levels. Some individuals may spend years, or
even a lifetime, unaware of the depths of their emotional states.
Terminology includes:
– feeling: a subjective experience tied to emotion;
– mood: a prolonged, generalized emotional state;
– affect: encompasses feelings, moods, and emotional categories (e.g., positive
or negative affect).
Affects are powerful, short-lived emotional states characterized by pronounced
physical and autonomic reactions. One hallmark of affect is its situational origin.
Behavioral disorganization and diminished awareness during affective episodes can
be treated as mitigating factors in legal contexts.
Emotions fulfill several crucial roles:
– modulating arousal (increasing, decreasing, or regulating it);
– guiding perception and attention;
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– impacting learning and memory;
– structuring and motivating behavior;
– facilitating interpersonal communication.
Primary functions of emotions, widely acknowledged by researchers, encompass:
– Evaluation: emotions serve as broad assessments of situations;
– Signaling: emotions signal the relevance of events to the individual, with
greater significance prompting stronger emotional responses;
– Anticipation (Intuition, per Jung): аnticipatory emotions relate to guesses or
ideas regarding unarticulated solutions;
– Expression (Nonverbal Communication): emotions manifest externally
through facial cues, posture, and movement, providing insight into a person’s state
and mood;
– Regulation (Organization/Disruption of Activities): emotions modulate
individual mental processes and overall human behavior. Positive emotional
backgrounds enhance task performance, while fear can either paralyze or galvanize
individuals based on personal traits. Strong emotions generally disrupt efficient
functioning.
Brain Systems Involved in Emotions
Multiple interconnected brain structures participate in recognizing and
experiencing diverse emotions, collectively referred to as the limbic system (Calder
et al., 2001). Key subcortical structures include:
– Amygdala: damages impair recognition and expression of fear, anger, and
happiness;
– Basal Ganglia: lesions hinder recognition and expression of disgust;
– Cerebral Cortex Areas: prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and
insula also play pivotal roles.
1. Basic Emotions. Humans exhibit several foundational emotions, commonly
identified as anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and interest. Additional
candidates include contempt and surprise.
– Anger: characterized by hostility directed at persons or situations deemed
harmful. It facilitates venting negative sentiments or problem-solving motivation but
can become problematic if excessive;
– Disgust: rejection or revulsion triggered by potentially infectious or offensive
entities;
– Fear: extremely unpleasant sensation resulting from perceived dangers or
threats. Physiological shifts induced by fear can catalyze behavioral responses, such
as aggression or escape. Fear arises from immediate stimuli or anticipated risks;
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– Happiness: defined by feelings of joy, contentment, and self-actualization;
– Sadness: emotional distress linked to heaviness, loss, despair, grief,
helplessness, or disappointment.
II. Self-Awareness and Social Emotions. Social emotions, such as shame,
guilt, contempt, pride, envy, and empathy, emerge later than basic emotions because
they rely on cognitive maturation.
III. Refined Emotions. Refined emotions constitute a novel conceptual
category addressing facets of emotional experience requiring advanced mental
operations, such as meta-cognition (Frida & Sundararajan, 2007). These emotions
result from deliberate efforts to harmonize and intensify emotional experiences,
displaying minimal outward expression.
General Characteristics of Emotions
Emotions are inherently bipolar, exhibiting opposing pairs:
– Pleasure vs. Displeasure;
– Joy vs. Sadness, etc.
Complex human feelings often entangle these polarities, creating intricate,
paradoxical states. For instance, jealousy fuses passionate love with hatred.
Simultaneous, conflicting emotional experiences are termed ambivalence.
Additionally, emotions vary in:
– Intensity (strong vs. weak);
– Duration (short-term vs. long-term);
– Impact (mobilizing vs. disorganizing).
Each individual possesses unique patterns of emotional reactivity, restraint, and
expression mechanisms.
IMPORTANCE OF EMPATHY AND EMOTIONAL STABILITY
FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
Developing empathy — the capacity to share another's emotional experiences —
is professionally vital for healthcare workers. Equally critical is maintaining
emotional stability and balance, which enables quick recognition and management of
emotional reactions. In daily life, emotional steadfastness is reflected in consistent
moods. Mood represents a steady, moderately intense emotional state serving as
the backdrop of mental life. Control over mood indicates emotional maturity.
Conversely, erratic, groundless mood fluctuations (outside clinical abnormalities),
alongside persistent negative emotions (like anxiety, melancholy, anger, or fear),
suggest emotional distress warranting intervention. Individuals lacking adequate
emotional regulation may derive benefits from behavioral disruptions, using verbal or
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non-verbal aggression to manipulate others' conduct. Habitual emotional responses
evolve into established personality traits over time.
Factors influencing emotional control include:
– neurotype, genetic makeup, and temperamental attributes;
– personality maturity, self-regulatory skills, and volitional oversight of
emotional behavior;
– cultural and familial upbringing.
Understanding Empathy
Empathy encompasses affective resonance with another's emotional state.
Different types of empathy exist:
– shared emotions: observer mirrors the target's feelings (e.g., fear in response
to witnessing another's fright);
– corresponding emotions: observer's feelings correspond to the target's state
(e.g., pity for another's sorrow);
– contrasting empathy: deriving pleasure from another's pain (Stotland,
Sherman, & Shaver, 1971).
Cognitive perspectives highlight empathy as involving comprehension of
another's feelings (Köhler, 1929). Role-taking and attention-shifting further
characterize empathy. By the mid-20th century, terms like "social acuity" were
introduced to describe similar concepts (Chapin, 1942; Diamond, 1950;
Kerr & Speroff, 1954).
Sympathy differs from empathy in that it entails responding to another's
emotions without mirroring them. For instance, observing a distressed child might
inspire sadness (empathy) or concern prompting assistance (sympathy). Individuals
exhibit varying degrees of empathetic tendencies.
Concept of Frustration
Psychologist Saul Rosenzweig (1907–2004) coined the term "frustration",
referring to emotional reactions stemming from obstructed intentions or goals.
Frustration manifests as anger, irritation, or discouragement. Obstacles may arise
internally (due to deficiencies in skill, confidence, or competing desires) or externally
(from environmental challenges or unexpected difficulties). Preemptive expectations
of difficulty tend to mitigate ensuing disappointment.
Blocking Needs: Internal and External Factors
Needs can be thwarted via two pathways: internally and externally. Internal
blockades originate within an individual’s psyche, often stemming from inadequate
skills, wavering self-assurance, clashing aspirations, or lingering fears. Conversely,
external barriers lie beyond personal control, such as physical impediments,
challenging assignments, or perceived squandered effort, particularly when
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unforeseen or when initial expectations forecast ease. Predicting adversity beforehand
tends to soften subsequent disappointment.
Tolerating frustration hinges on one’s resilience amidst daunting tasks. Some
individuals harbor innate susceptibility to disappointment. Low frustration thresholds
correlate with heightened anger, whereas elevated tolerance fosters patience and
perseverance through arduous endeavors. For instance, children with robust
frustration resistance persist despite repeated setbacks, while those with weaker
resolve succumb rapidly to frustration when tackling moderately demanding tasks.
Responses to frustration mirror defense mechanisms, shielding individuals from the
psychological repercussions of stymied objectives.
Emotion as Arousal
Physiological alterations inherent to emotional experiences are deeply
ingrained. Even fleeting emotional episodes entail discernible bodily changes.
Whether elated, saddened, terrified, enraged, jealous, or repulsed, somatic symptoms
abound — "butterflies" flutter in the stomach, or a sinking sensation overwhelms.
Flushed cheeks, accelerated heartbeats upon near misses, and debilitating weakness
accompanying despondency exemplify these corporeal shifts.
While attuned to peripheral nervous system sensations (e.g., perspiration,
muscle tension), central nervous system processes (hypothalamic signaling) remain
imperceptible, although their outcomes are palpable. The autonomic nervous system
primes the body for action and orchestrates recovery afterward, encapsulating the
essence of arousal modulation.
For decades, psychologists hypothesized distinct physiological signatures for
discrete emotions. For example, fear, anger, sadness, and joy were theorized to elicit
divergent patterns. Early validation emerged from Wolf and Wolff's (1947)
examination of a patient with a gastric fistula, revealing contrasting gastric responses
to anxiety versus rage. However, subsequent substantiation lagged.
In 1970, Lacey and Lacey detected preliminary cardiovascular distinctions
among emotions. Comprehensive corroboration arrived in 1990 through Levenson,
Ekman, and Friesen’s investigation. Participants instructed to mimic emotional
expressions for ten seconds exhibited variances in heart rates across happiness,
surprise, disgust, anger, fear, and sadness. Furthermore, fear-induced skin temperatures
dipped below those of anger.
LIST OF QUESTIONS:
1. What does William James compare losing all emotions to?
2. How do emotions begin and end?
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3. What are the three main categories of emotional manifestations mentioned
in the text?
4. What is the difference between emotions and feelings?
5. Name two examples of higher emotions mentioned in the text.
6. Which parameters of emotions are considered the most important?
7. Explain the term "affect".
8. Why might disorganized behavior during an affective state be considered
a mitigating factor in legal cases?
9. List five functions of emotions as described in the text.
LABORATORY WORK
HOSPITAL ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SCALE (HADS)
Purpose. Determine the level of anxiety and depression.
Work progress: Tick the box beside the reply that is closest to how you
have been feeling in the past week. Don′t take too long over you replies: your
immediate is best.
D A D A
I feel tense or "wound up"
I feel as I am slowed down
3 Most of the time
3 Nearly all the time
2 A lot of the time
2 Very often
1 From time to time, occasionally
1 Sometimes
0 Not at all
0 Not at all
I still enjoy the things I used to
enjoy
I get a sort of frightened feeling like
butterflies in the stomach
0 Definitely as much
0 Not at ll
1 Not guite so much
1 Occasionally
2 Only a little
2 Quite often
3 Hardly at all
3 Very often
I get a sort of frightened feeling as
if something awful is about to
happen
I have lost interested in my
appearance
3 Very definitely and quite badly
3 Definitely
2 Yes, but not too badly
2 I don’t take as much care as
I should
1 A little, but it doesn′t worry me
1 I may not take quite as much care
0 Not at all
0 I take just as much care as ever
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D A D A
I can laugh and see the funny side
of things
I feel restless as I have to be on
the move
0 As much as I always could
3 Very much indeed
1 Not quite so much now
2 Quite a lot
2 Definitely not so much now
1 Not very much
3 Not at all
0 Not at all
Worrying thoughts go through my
mind
I look forward with enjoyment to
things
3 A great deal of the time
0 As much as I ever did
2 A lot of the time
1 Rather less than I used to
1 From time to time, but not too often
2 Definitely less than I used to
0 Only occasionally
3 Hardly at all
I feel cheerful
I get sudden feelings of panic
3 Not at all
3 Very often indeed
2 Not often
2 Quite often
1 Sometimes
1 Not very often
0 Most of the time
0 Not at all
I can sit at ease and feel relaxed:
I can enjoy a good book or radio or
TV program:
0 Definitely
0 Often
1 Usually
1 Sometimes
2 Not often
2 Not often
3 Not at all
3 Very seldom
Please check you have answered all the questions
Scoring
Total score Depression (D) _________ Anxiety (A)_______
0–7 = Normal
8–10 = Borderline abnormal borderline case
11–21 = Abnormal (case)
LABORATORY WORK
MOOD BAROMETER
Purpose. Determine the mood level.
Work progress. Determine your mood, mark its level on the line (Fig. 2).
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Fig. 2. Mood barometer
Introspection task. Answer the questions.
1. What factors determine your mood?
2. What techniques do you use to boost your mood.
LABORATORY WORK
THE EMPATHY QUOTIENT (EQ)
Purpose. Determine the empathy level.
Work progress. Answer the suggestions in four ways: Definitely agree,
Slightly agree, Definitely disagree, Slightly disagree.
№
Suggestion
Definitely
agree (2)
Slightly
agree (l)
Definitely
disagree (2)
Slightly
disagree (l)
1
I can easily tell if someone else wants to
enter a conversation.
2
I prefer animals to humans.
3
I to keep up with the current trends and
fashions.
4
I find it difficult to explain to others things
that I understand easily; when they don't
understand it the first time.
5
I dream most nights.
6
I really enjoy caring for other people.
7
I to solve my own problems rather than
discussing them with others.
8
I find it hard to know what to do in
a social situation.
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