Functions of Emotions
What are the two primary functions of emotions in social interactions?
Affiliation and social distancing functions.
What is emotion regulation?
The process of initiating, maintaining, and adjusting emotional responses.
How do gender differences affect emotion socialization?
Girls are encouraged to express sadness, while boys are socialized to externalize emotions like anger.
What is emotional contagion?
The process where emotions spread among group members, reinforcing cohesion.
How does anger contribute to social distancing?
It signals confrontation and can push others away.
How does the affiliation function of emotion support relationships?
It fosters cooperation, bonding, and supportive interactions.
How do parents contribute to emotion regulation in early childhood?
Through co-regulation, modeling, and reinforcement of emotional responses.
What is one negative effect of parental mental health on a child's ER development?
Parental depression can lead to less responsiveness and lower emotional attunement.
How do peers contribute to emotion socialization?
They provide social feedback, reinforce emotional norms, and shape regulation strategies.
What emotion is most associated with signaling inferiority or worthlessness in others?
Contempt.
How does the expression of emotions influence social perception and interpersonal interactions?
The way emotions are expressed shapes how others perceive and respond to an individual. Positive expressions (e.g., smiling) can enhance likability, trust, and cooperation, while negative expressions (e.g., anger or contempt) can create distance, assert dominance, or signal conflict. The social and cultural context also plays a role in how emotional expressions are interpreted.
How does emotion regulation change in adolescence?
Adolescents develop greater independence in ER and rely more on peers for emotion socialization.
How do parents’ emotional expressivity shape a child’s ER development?
High parental expressivity fosters ER skills.
Expressing positive emotions fosters better ER skills (Cumberland-Li et al., 2003).
Excessive negative expressivity can hinder ER development (Halberstadt et al., 1999).
How does emotion socialization shift from parents to peers in adolescence?
Peers become the primary source of validation, support, and feedback on emotional expression.
According to research, how do high-status individuals typically respond to negative outcomes?
With anger, rather than sadness or guilt.
What is an example of an emotion that serves both an affiliation and a distancing function?
Pride—when focused on self, it emphasizes high status (distancing); when directed at others, it fosters connection (affiliation).
What role does cognitive development play in emotion regulation?
It enables adolescents to use more complex strategies, such as reappraisal and problem-solving.
According to the Tripartite Model of emotion socialization, what are three ways family context shapes children's ER?
It includes observational learning, parenting practices, and family emotional climate.
What is the Social Identity Theory’s role in group-based emotions?
It suggests that identifying with a group influences emotional responses, such as national pride or fear of outsiders.
How can negative emotions serve a positive function?
They can signal social change, elicit support, or reinforce moral boundaries.
What is Functional Conflict Theory, and how does it explain emotional dysfunction in social interactions?
Functional Conflict Theory suggests that emotional dysfunction can arise when emotions serve different functions at different levels. For example, an emotion may be functional at an individual level but socially maladaptive if it disregards social impact (e.g., excessive jealousy or frequent anger may benefit self-preservation but harm relationships).
What are one key challenges in measuring emotion regulation?
Separating ER from emotional arousal.
How does parental discipline style impact ER?
Authoritative parenting supports ER, while harsh discipline can lead to maladaptive coping.
What is intergroup schadenfreude, and how does it relate to social hierarchy?
It is when a lower-status group takes pleasure in a high-status group’s misfortune, reinforcing social divisions.
What is the Stereotype Content Model, and how does it relate to group-based emotions?
It explains how perceptions of warmth and competence shape emotional responses, leading to admiration, envy, contempt, or pity.