Psychological Phenomenon of Scrutiny of Emotions - Research Paper Example

24 October The Scrutiny of Emotions: Social and Psychological Phenomenon Let it be the in-house influence or external swaying of a human being’s state of mind, it is a fact that emotions when aroused are hard to handle. One cannot really remain poker faced with no emotions what so ever in this society which is spontaneously being evolved through human behavior. Therefore, it is necessary for us human beings to understand the characterization of this perplex psycho physiological state through which all human beings go through. We do not really like sitting in the examination hall sweating with the air conditioning on, wondering what’s sweating the fear out of us. Do we? Hence, we rather put forth the classification of what emotions are. The term emotions have been verified as “Reactions or experiences towards various personal, social and psychological events or changes which may or may not be of a short duration.” These experiences can be of any sort i.e. affection, abhorrence, annoyance, faith, delight, fright, fear, and anguish etc, as Frijda has specified that “Emotions in humans are human phenomena; that is, human emotions may be expected to present typically human aspects.” (5) Not only in the life of an individual emotional play an essential part but also in the field of these disciplines as both of them analyze the functioning of the human being in the society. If it weren’t for their sake people would rather have been talking and walking unsocial and impolite puppets, which is why O'Meara believes that “To a great extent emotions add to your life, social structure and connection with others. Life would be rather boring without the resource of our emotions.” (34) Various disciplinary cultures elaborate emotions in ways which are poles apart. Some link the arousal of emotions to psychological aspects where as other associate it to the social aspects of the life of a human being. Hence, to understand further what emotions are provided below is the brief detail of this term with reference to the two disciplines namely Sociology and Psychology. The former discipline studies the structural and functional basis of a human being with reference to the society and its institutions, which is why Elias believes that Sociology is all about a human being looking at himself amongst other human beings (13) Whereas the latter discipline as viewed by Colman is our reasoning of the working of our minds (2) as it studies the mental processes of human beings with reference to general principles of functioning and specified cases study. These two disciplines have been selected because both of them deal with the process of the influences caused on human beings through various means of the atmosphere and the body, also how emotions are formulated and caused. If we study both the disciplines with reference to the term ‘emotion’ and how it is characterized we can see that the field of Psychology verifies the arousal of emotions to a complete different source whereas sociology refers to a completely converse reference. Psychologists believe that emotions refer to a state that involves thoughts, psychological changes and outward expressions. But various theories have been constructed on the formulation of these above mentioned stages and how they differ in occurrence. Amongst many of these theories are James-Lange theory, Cannon-Bard theory, Schachter-Singer theory, Lazarus theory and the facial feedback theory. All of these theories present the above belief in various ways. But, the important factor that is to learn which is put forth us is ‘What are emotions? How are they formulated and aroused’ with reference to Psychology. What if someone tells you that as soon as your brain receives a stimulus, it releases hormones, which secrete enzymes, which are responsible for the sudden rush of happiness that you feel; on getting that iPad for which your parents paid? I know, ill at ease. But that’s a feeling too right? Why did it happen? Only because our cognitive thinking process was affected, according to which we feel happy because our wish came true! But when we study emotions in Psychology, the reasoning is totally different. When an individual confronts triggering situations, emotions according to Cosmides & Tooby of the University of California (Santa Barbara) play a vital role in the activation and deactivation of other functions to adjust variable strictures. (n. pag.) Hence, while studying the Psychology of emotions researchers have verified emotions from a scientific perspective. Why so? This is due to the fact that the brain which is made up of complex components plays a vital role in formulating all the behavioral actions and symptoms. They believe that emotions are as mental processes and behaviors which can be studied through various empirical, physiological and neurological processes. In the process of the formulation of emotions Pettinelli believes adrenaline and physical actions are majorly involved. (3) On the other hand in Sociology the concept and view of the emotions is not only limited to the individual but to the society as well. As Barbalet stated that emotion “indicates what might be called an experience of involvement. A person may be negatively or positively involved with something, profoundly involved or only slightly involved.” (1) This provides that the human beings are emotionally affected by the functioning of various institutions of a society similarly an individual can caste a large number of emotional changes on other members of a society. In order to understand better what these two disciplines have to offer regarding emotions, we rather select one emotion specifically, which is happiness. This emotion is very common and can help us easily formulate what each discipline has to theorize. According to Hershberger of the Department of Family Medicine (Wright State University), mental health problems affect human emotions, specifically happiness in a direct way. He further has verified that human beings need to “satis?ce” by aiming at obtaining an outcome that is good enough instead of trying to “maximize,” which aims at getting hold of the unsurpassed possible product. (631) The emotion of happiness is mostly directed to in the field of Positive Psychology, through which the above verification provides that happiness is directly affected by our mental state of aiming and aspiration. In Psychology the responses of happiness have been easily studied as specific tools have been developed. Similar internal responses to the same emotions are noticed to be sown by people. On the other hand with reference to the study of the emotion of ‘Happiness’ in Sociology we can put forth Phillips’ ideas as he clarifies that social participation affects the self happiness in a major way. It is believed that the positive and negative effects of the participation as mentioned by Phillips in the society influences the stat of happiness of the individual. (479) Hence it can be verified that both the above disciplines provide separate ideas about the causes of the emotion of happiness and their affects. If studied with reference to neuropsychology it can be viewed that when an individual reacts or responds; Neuro-chemicals intensify or lessen the brain's activity level due to which either agreeable or disagreeable mental state is prearranged in the limbic structure of the mammalian brain. These ups and downs are then interpreted into body engagements, gestures, and postures. Denes and Pizzamiglio have put forth the characteristics of the emotional and cognitive systems of the brain as they elucidated that happiness can be controlled by a human being in accordance to his/her mental stability. (613-622) Whereas, with brief Sociological view of happiness, Luo examined and verified how overall happiness of an individual was affected by social support and positive events which were spontaneously evolving in the society. (80-88) It is believed that no matter what the state of the mind or a society is, any individual’s emotions are affected by many various determinants. These include environmental determinants, self-appraisal, somatic phenomenology, affective phenomenology, social appraisal, self-management and communication. Hence, it is necessary for us to understand how the state of happiness s being affected by the above determinants with reference to both the disciplines. Amongst the above mentioned determinants of happiness with reference to Psychology we can elucidate that the state of happiness can be different for different people according to their state of mind and mentality. Just because you like standing in the rain getting and getting wet doesn’t mean that every other person would rush out of their house to get wet when it rains. In Psychology the challenge that lies for the researchers is to identify what the basic concepts of this state of emotion are. Whereas, according to sociologists these concepts are challenged in a different way. Sociologists believe that no matter how happy an individual’s mind is if the society is being affected by a conflict the individual will automatically be targeted. The various environmental determinants of emotions in Psychology are weather, atmosphere, sounds, smells and contacts. One example that can be put forth is by the study conducted by Richard and Eric in which they formulated how music (sound) effected the emotional arousal (happiness, eagerness for shopping) at a retail store. The more familiar the music the less the emotions were aroused where the less the familiar the music the more emotions were aroused. (n. pag.) Weiten has explicated that “Eating behavior, sexual behavior and the experience and the experience of emotion all depend on complicated interactions between biological and environmental determinants.” (326) Whereas, in Sociology the environmental determinants of happiness are related to the groups around which an individual lives in a society such as family, friends and organizations. Werner believes of the determinants of marriage and health of an individual to be concrete in an individual’s life. (7) Self appraisal and self management refer to figuring out what the strengths and weaknesses of an individual are and to have control on them. Psychologists measure happiness by an individual’s reports of self satisfaction and management in life, as suggested in Woolfolk’s book by Slater that “We rethink self-esteem and move toward honest self-appraisal that will lead to self control.” (108) Life is like a puzzle, in which various pieces need to be put together in the correct manner. If any of these pieces is missing we cannot succeed in becoming contented and gaining happiness. Whereas, when we study sociology we can understand how competence makes a man surrender to self assessment and administration in a society. As Rynko elaborates this point in his research by quoting ‘Mill’ that “Men do not desire to be rich, but richer than other men”. (2) Other than the above mentioned determinants, the methods which affect our emotions and state of specified happiness include the two phenomenology i.e. somatic and affective phenomenology. Psychologists believe that the state of emotions is greatly affected through what we call the somatic phenomena. When the mental status of an individual is not stable or he or she goes through some problematic situations the mind formulates such enzymes which result in the changes and interpretations of human emotions. Seligman, Parks and Steen stated that during the WW II the major objectives of American Psychology were the cure of mental illness and specifically making distressed people better-off. (1379). Whereas, the sociological study of the state of determinant of happiness verifies that the theory of affective phenomena is much more valid as it specifies that human emotions are aroused and created due to the social conditions and changes. These emotions result in specified behaviors which can be classified further. Velasquez believes that there are two components of these behaviors namely; Expressive or Motor. (4) Another important factor which determines the state of emotion which is specifically being discussed i.e. happiness is social appraisal. Social appraisal plays a vital role in both the verifications of the two disciplines. This factor directly affects the individual both psychologically as well as socially. How would you feel when you wear that gorgeous scarf and people tell you that you beautiful in it? Or how would you feel if you wear that awesome tie that you bought and say it makes you look handsome? The answer is (psychologically) blood will flush towards your cheeks as your brain receives a stimulus. On the other hand you (sociologically) you will feel like the centre of attention and a motivation of dressing well amongst the people will be produced. It is believed by Craig that social appraisal can transform archives into a locus for social action. (69) Social appraisal can directly or indirectly affect the behavior of an individual and can bring a significant positive change in his or her emotions. Whereas, in Psychology this belief is not much different from that of the above one that social appraisal can help change the state of the mind of an individual which inurn can increase the quality of his performance in various social activities which can relate to any aspect; personal or social. In the end I will support Magai, as she says “If we ask why people are sometimes so unhappy, the common sense answer is that they have encountered adversities.” (370) and not due to our assumptions of them being either cold or emotionless. Anything that we are surrounded by affects our mind and behavior which in turn affects the society. Therefore, the above determinants of the human state of happiness can also affect other states of emotion as well. Also, the importance of human emotions in life has been brought forth. Now, no one would really like to be called cold or emotionless, because that would mean you are no more than a tomato rotting in the refrigerator. Matrix Journal Article (“Article Title,” Name of Journal) Environmental determinants Self-appraisal Somatic phenomenology Affective phenomenology Social appraisal Self-management Design Analysis Psychology Cosmides & Tooby X X Comparative Qual Psychology Pettinelli X Comparative Qual Psychology Hershberger X X Comparative Qual Psychology Denes and Pizzamiglio X X X Comparative Qual Psychology Richard and Eric X Comparative Qual Psychology Seligman, Parks and Steen X Comparative Qual Sociology Phillips X X Comparative Qual Sociology Luo X X X Comparative Qual Sociology Werner X Comparative Qual Sociology Velasquez X Comparative Qual Works Cited Barbalet, J. M. Emotions and sociology. Oxford: Blackwell. 2002. Print. Colman, Andrew M. What is psychology? 3rd ed. New York: Routledge. 1999. Print Cosmides, Leda and Tooby, John. “Evolutionary Psychology and the Emotions.” Center for Evolutionary Psychology. 2nd edn (2000): n. pag. Web. Craig, Barbara Lazenby. Archival Appraisal: Theory and Practice. Germany: Die Deutsche Bibliothek. 2004. Print. Denes, Gianfranco and Pizzamiglio, Luigi. “Neuropsychology of emotions. Handbook of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology.” Handbook of Clinical And Experimental Neuropsychology. (1999): 613-633. Web. Elias, Norbert. What is sociology? West Sussex: Columbia University Press, 1978. Print. Frijda, Nico H. The emotions. New York: Press Syndicate, 1986. Print. Hershberger, Paul J. “Prescribing Happiness: Positive Psychology and Family Medicine.” Obesity Surgery. 17 (2007): 667-672. Web. Luo, L. “Personal or Environmental Causes of Happiness: A Longitudinal Analysis.” Journal of Social Psychology. 139.1 (1999): 79-90. Web. Magai, Carol. Handbook Of Emotion, Adult Development, And Aging. California: Academic Press, 1996. Print. O'Meara, Mark Linden. The Feeling Soul a Roadmap to Healing and Living. Canada: Soul Care, 2005. Print. Pettinelli, Mark. The Psychology of Emotions, Feelings and Thoughts? 4th ed. North Carolina: Mark Pettinelli, 2008. Print. Phillips, Derek L. “Social Participation and Happiness.” American Journal of Sociology. 72.5 (1967): 479-488. Web. Richard, F. Yalcha and Eric, R. Spangenbergb. “The Effects of Music in a Retail Setting on Real and Perceived Shopping Times.” Journal of Business Research. 49.2 (2000): 139-147. Web. Rynko, Maja. “Income, relative social status and the determinants of happiness in Europe.” European University Institute. (2009): 1-34. Web. Seligman, Martin E. P., Parks, Acacia C. and Steen, Tracy. “A balanced psychology and a full life.” The Royal Society. 359 (2004): 1379–1381. Web. Velasquez, Juan D. “Modeling Emotions and Other Motivations in Synthetic Agents.” American Association for Artificial Intelligence. 1997. PDF. Weiten, Wayne. Psychology: Themes and Variations. Belmont: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Werner, Katharina. The Impact of Children and Marital Status on Happiness: A Logistic Econometric Analysis of Factors Determining Social Well-Being. Germany: Grin, 2011. Print. Woolfolk, Anita. Educational Psychology. New Delhi: Pearson, 2004. Print. Read More