Difficulty: Intermediate | Prerequisites: Chapter 4 (amygdala, prefrontal cortex, hypothalamus, autonomic nervous system).
This chapter ties together emotions, stress, and physical health. Emotions are adaptive, serving cognitive functions (guiding decisions, strengthening memory), interpersonal functions (guilt, embarrassment, jealousy), and survival functions (fear, fight-or-flight). Stress has measurable effects on the immune system, heart disease risk, and health behaviours. Understanding emotional regulation, coping strategies, and the biopsychosocial model is essential for health psychology and connects to mental disorders in Chapter 13.
Emotions involve subjective experience, physical changes, and cognitive appraisal. They are adaptive, guiding behaviour and strengthening social bonds. Stress triggers the fight-or-flight response and the HPA axis; chronic stress weakens the immune system and increases disease risk. Coping can be emotion-focused (short-term relief) or problem-focused (directly addressing the stressor). Health behaviours (obesity, smoking, exercise) are shaped by biological predispositions and environmental factors.
Emotion
Feelings involving subjective evaluation, physiological processes, and cognitive beliefs. Immediate responses to environmental events.
Mood
A diffuse, long-lasting emotional state that influences (rather than interrupts) thought and behaviour. People often do not know why they are in a particular mood.
Stress
A pattern of behavioural and psychological responses to events that match or exceed an organism's abilities.
Health psychology
The field concerned with events affecting physical well-being, how people stay healthy, when they become ill, and what they can do to recover.
Display rules
Culturally learned rules governing how and when emotions are expressed.
Primary emotions
Evolutionarily adaptive, cross-cultural, biologically based: anger, fear, sadness, disgust, happiness.
Secondary emotions
Blends of primary emotions: remorse, guilt, submission, anticipation.
Circumplex model
Arranges emotions in a circle around two dimensions: pleasantness/unpleasantness and level of activation.
Alexithymia
Inability to experience the subjective aspect of emotion. Caused by damage to certain brain regions.
James-Lange theory
Emotion is elicited by a physiological response to a stimulus (the situation makes you cry, therefore you feel sad).
Facial feedback hypothesis
Facial expressions trigger the experience of emotion. Some support but also significant criticism.
Cannon-Bard theory
An emotion-producing stimulus causes physical and emotional reactions simultaneously. More widely supported by scientists.
Schachter-Singer two-factor theory
A situation evokes both a physiological response and a cognitive interpretation, which together produce the emotion.
Misattribution of arousal
Deriving an emotion label from the wrong source (e.g. arousal from a scary bridge attributed to attraction to an interviewer).
Excitation transfer
Residual physiological arousal from one event is transferred to a new stimulus.
Somatic markers
Bodily reactions ("gut feelings") arising from emotional evaluation of an action's consequences. Damage to the frontal lobe (as in patient Eliot) can eliminate them, impairing decision-making.
Thought suppression
Trying not to feel an emotion; can cause a rebound effect (thinking more about it afterwards).
Rumination
Thinking about, elaborating, and focusing on undesired thoughts or feelings. Prolongs negative mood.
Cerebral asymmetry
Unequal activation of left and right frontal lobes associated with different emotional patterns (left = positive/approach; right = negative/withdrawal).
Fight-or-flight response
Physiological preparedness to deal with danger: increased heart rate, contracted spleen, redistributed blood supply, dilated pupils, more glucose released from liver.
Tend-and-befriend response
Females may be more likely to protect offspring and form social alliances in response to threat. Linked to oxytocin release.
General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
Selye's three-stage stress response: alarm (boost physical readiness), resistance (sustained defence, increased immunity), exhaustion (immune and physiological systems fail).
HPA axis
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. Hypothalamus triggers pituitary to release a hormone causing cortisol release from adrenal glands. Too much cortisol shuts the system down via feedback loop. Cortisol also releases norepinephrine and epinephrine.
Type A behaviour pattern
Competitive, aggressive, hostile, restless, impatient. Associated with higher heart disease risk; hostility is the most predictive attribute.
Type B behaviour pattern
Relaxed, non-competitive, easygoing, accommodating.
Lymphocytes
Specialised white blood cells: B cells (produce antibodies), T cells (attack intruders; targeted by HIV), natural killer cells (kill viruses, attack tumours).
Primary appraisal
Deciding whether a stimulus is stressful, benign, or irrelevant.
Secondary appraisal
Evaluating options and choosing coping behaviour.
Emotion-focused coping
Preventing an emotional response to a stressor (avoidance, minimising, distancing). Necessary for high stress; effective only short-term.
Problem-focused coping
Taking direct steps to solve the problem. More manageable at lower stress levels.
Positive reappraisal
Focusing on possible good things in a bad situation (downward comparison, creating small positive events).
Hardiness
A personality trait enabling people to perceive stressors as controllable challenges. Characterised by commitment, challenge, and control.
Buffering hypothesis
Others can provide direct support that helps individuals cope with stressful events.
BMI (Body Mass Index)
Ratio of body weight to height, used to measure obesity.
Restrained eating
Relying on cognitive rules (time, calories, food type) rather than hunger cues. The "what the hell" effect: eating a small treat leads to abandoning the diet entirely.
Anorexia nervosa
Excessive fear of becoming fat and refusal to eat. 15-20% mortality rate.
Bulimia nervosa
Dieting, binge eating, and purging. More common than anorexia; rarely fatal but causes dental and cardiac problems.
Emotions prepare and guide behaviours; emotional expressions signal intentions to others (approach happy people, comfort upset people, avoid angry ones)
Facial expressions are key: eyes are the single most determinant feature; infants rely on them
Darwin argued facial communication of emotion is universal and biologically based; research largely supports this, though some cultures identify expressions differently
Display rules are culturally learned (loud Americans, reserved Brits, snobby French stereotypes); gender differences exist (women express emotions more readily except dominance, though intensity may not differ)
Instantaneous emotional evaluations guide decision-making, memory, and behaviour
Good moods facilitate creative responses and heuristic thinking
Emotions provide feedback for quick decisions; risk judgements are strongly influenced by current feelings
Affect-as-information theory: people use current emotional state to make judgements, even without knowing the mood's source; awareness of the mood's source neutralises this effect
Somatic markers: gut feelings from emotional evaluation of consequences; frontal lobe damage (patient Eliot) eliminates them, impairing decision-making
Emotions capture attention (emotional Stroop task); emotional words break through the attentional blink
Emotions aid memory: people remember highly negative photos better; norepinephrine enhances memory; beta blockers reduce emotional memory formation
Anxiety: an alarm motivating adherence to group norms to avoid rejection
Guilt: strengthens social bonds by preventing harmful behaviour, signalling care, and serving as an influence tactic; socialisation is the predominant influence on guilt; parental warmth is associated with greater guilt in children
Embarrassment: rectifies social awkwardness, eliciting amusement, sympathy, and forgiveness
Jealousy: may serve an adaptive function keeping mates together, but can also cause abuse and homicide
Subjective experience (phenomenological; alexithymia = inability to experience it)
Physical changes (skin temperature, heart rate, brain activation)
Cognitive appraisal (understanding and beliefs about why you feel a certain way)
James-Lange: physiological response comes first, then emotion (you cry, therefore you feel sad)
Cannon-Bard: physical and emotional reactions occur simultaneously (more widely supported)
Schachter-Singer two-factor: physiological response + cognitive interpretation = emotion; adrenaline experiment showed both components are needed
Misattribution of arousal: scary bridge study (arousal attributed to attraction); excitation transfer: residual arousal from one event transferred to a new stimulus
Situation selection, distraction, reappraisal (cognitively reframing an event)
Humour: increases positive affect, stimulates endocrine secretion, beneficial for immune system
Thought suppression: can cause rebound effect (thinking more about it)
Rumination: dwelling on negative feelings; prolongs negative mood; distraction is better unless the distraction reminds you of the problem
Amygdala: processes emotional stimuli, generates immediate reactions; critical for fear conditioning (Kluver-Bucy syndrome without it); involved in perceiving social stimuli and fearful faces
Prefrontal cortex: assesses reward value, processes emotional cues in relationships; damage leads to inappropriate behaviour and poor emotional control
Cerebral asymmetry: left frontal = positive affect, approach motivation; right frontal = negative affect, withdrawal; right hemisphere better at interpreting emotional material; left better for semantic content
Stressor = threatening event; coping response = any response to avoid or minimise it
Fight-or-flight: increased heart rate, pupil dilation, glucose release, blood redistribution
Tend-and-befriend: females may protect offspring and form alliances; oxytocin may promote nurturing during stress
General adaptation syndrome: alarm (boost readiness) then resistance (sustained defence, increased immunity) then exhaustion (systems fail)
HPA axis: hypothalamus triggers pituitary, which triggers cortisol from adrenal glands; cortisol also releases norepinephrine and epinephrine; feedback loop shuts system down when cortisol is too high
Daily hassles can be as damaging as major life changes
Causes high blood pressure, cardiac disease, diabetes, declining sexual interest
Heart disease: plaque buildup; cortisol increases fatty acid levels; Type A (competitive, hostile) at higher risk; hostility is the most predictive attribute; optimism and absence of depression are protective
Immune system: B cells (antibodies), T cells (attack intruders, targeted by HIV), natural killer cells (kill viruses, attack tumours); short-term stress boosts immunity, chronic stress weakens it
Changes in social role (divorce, job loss) have the greatest immune impact
Primary appraisal: is it stressful? Secondary appraisal: what can I do about it?
Emotion-focused coping: avoidance, minimising, distancing; necessary for high stress, effective short-term
Problem-focused coping: direct steps to confront the stressor; more manageable at lower stress
Positive reappraisal: downward comparison, creating positive events
Hardiness: commitment, challenge, control; enables people to perceive stressors as controllable
Social support: reduces stress; the buffering hypothesis says others provide direct support in coping
Biopsychosocial perspective: biological processes, individual factors (stress, personality), social influences (friends, family, society)
Obesity: genetics account for ~50% of variability; genetics determine potential, environment determines expression; culturally variable (sign of wealth in some African cultures)
Restrained eating: cognitive control of food intake; "what the hell" effect; disordered eating from repeated dieting failures
Anorexia nervosa: 15-20% mortality; mainly upper/middle-class Caucasian girls; severe bone density loss
Bulimia nervosa: more common than anorexia; dental and cardiac disorders; rarely fatal
Smoking: peer pressure, self-image enhancement; nicotine activates dopamine; people with dopamine deficits more likely to become addicted
Exercise: benefits everything (mind, body, appetite, metabolism, learning, neurogenesis, depression, addiction, mood)
Understanding the HPA axis and cortisol explains why chronic workplace stress contributes to heart disease and immune suppression. Cognitive reappraisal techniques are used in therapy for anxiety and depression. The biopsychosocial model guides modern public health interventions, recognising that health is shaped by biology, psychology, and social context.
Students think stress is always bad. Short-term stress boosts the immune system; only chronic stress is harmful.
Students confuse the James-Lange and Cannon-Bard theories. James-Lange says the body reacts first and emotion follows. Cannon-Bard says both happen simultaneously.
Students think Type A personality as a whole predicts heart disease. Hostility is the most predictive specific attribute.
Students assume emotion-focused coping is inferior. It is necessary and appropriate for high-stress situations where the problem cannot be immediately solved.
⚠️ Know all three theories of emotion (James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter-Singer) and be able to compare them.
⚠️ The three stages of the general adaptation syndrome (alarm, resistance, exhaustion) are frequently tested.
⚠️ Understand the HPA axis: hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal glands, cortisol, feedback loop.
⚠️ Distinguish emotion-focused from problem-focused coping and know when each is appropriate.
⚠️ Be able to explain misattribution of arousal with the scary bridge example.
⚠️ Know the role of the amygdala in fear conditioning and emotional memory.
Fill in the blank: The __________ theory states that physiological responses come before the emotional experience. (James-Lange)
True or False: Chronic stress strengthens the immune system. (False. Chronic stress weakens it; short-term stress boosts it.)
Fill in the blank: The three stages of the general adaptation syndrome are __________, __________, and __________. (Alarm, resistance, exhaustion)
True or False: The Schachter-Singer two-factor theory says emotion requires only a physiological response. (False. It requires both a physiological response and a cognitive interpretation.)
Fill in the blank: __________ coping involves taking direct steps to solve the problem. (Problem-focused)
Q: Compare and contrast the James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and Schachter-Singer theories of emotion.
A: James-Lange says the body reacts first (you cry, then feel sad). Cannon-Bard says the physical and emotional responses occur simultaneously. Schachter-Singer says emotion requires both a physiological response and a cognitive interpretation of that response. The Schachter-Singer model explains phenomena like misattribution of arousal, where the same physical arousal can be labelled as different emotions depending on context.
Q: Explain the general adaptation syndrome and the role of the HPA axis in the stress response.
A: The general adaptation syndrome has three stages: alarm (body prepares to fight or flee), resistance (sustained defence with increased immunity), and exhaustion (physiological and immune systems fail). The HPA axis mediates this: the hypothalamus signals the pituitary, which triggers cortisol release from the adrenal glands. Cortisol also causes norepinephrine and epinephrine release, activating the sympathetic nervous system. A feedback loop shuts the system down when cortisol is too high, but chronic stress can overwhelm this mechanism.
Q: How do Type A and Type B behaviour patterns relate to heart disease risk, and which specific attribute is most predictive?
A: Type A individuals are competitive, aggressive, hostile, restless, and impatient. Type B individuals are relaxed and easygoing. Type A is associated with higher heart disease risk, but the most predictive specific attribute is hostility, not the pattern as a whole. Optimism and absence of depression are also protective factors.
The amygdala's role in emotion connects directly to Chapters 4 (brain anatomy) and 7 (emotional memory). Stress and coping link to mental disorders in Chapter 13 (depression, anxiety, the diathesis-stress model). Classical conditioning of fear (Ch. 6) is the basis for phobias and systematic desensitisation discussed here. Health behaviours connect to operant conditioning principles (Ch. 6) and decision-making biases (Ch. 8).
emotions, mood, stress, health psychology, display rules, primary emotions, secondary emotions, circumplex model, alexithymia, James-Lange theory, Cannon-Bard theory, Schachter-Singer two-factor theory, facial feedback hypothesis, misattribution of arousal, excitation transfer, somatic markers, thought suppression, rumination, cerebral asymmetry, fight-or-flight, tend-and-befriend, general adaptation syndrome, HPA axis, cortisol, Type A, Type B, hostility, heart disease, immune system, lymphocytes, B cells, T cells, natural killer cells, primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping, positive reappraisal, hardiness, social support, buffering hypothesis, biopsychosocial model, obesity, BMI, restrained eating, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, smoking, exercise, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, PSY 320