The main problems of the psychology of emotions briefly. Coursework: Psychology of emotional states. Emotional states in behaviorism
As psychologists explain, the occurrence of various kinds of troubles is closely related to the negative emotions that people experience throughout their lives. It just so happens that earthly existence is filled with events that, unfortunately, do not always have a positive impact and bring joy. Problems are precisely events that provoke the emergence of negative feelings. Logical conclusion: . Then the experiences will disappear, and events will not be colored negatively and, accordingly, fall into the category of problems.
"Subcutaneous automatisms"
If a person carefully studies the processes that occur when choosing an action or making decisions, he will notice that the “control levers” located in the mind are perceived as one’s own motives. In them, people guess personal desires and dreams. The motives of others seem alien to us and seem to be divorced from the general personal program. It is thanks to the peculiarities of the flow that scientists call these processes “subcutaneous automatisms.”
Emotions cannot arise on their own!
People often make the mistake of thinking that feelings and emotions are synonymous. No. The difference is that feelings are something permanent, ingrained, such as a stable feeling of love for a partner or parents. Emotions arise spontaneously and can also unexpectedly be replaced by emotions of a completely opposite nature. This is something less stable and durable.
However, emotions can degenerate into feelings, but on condition that they drag on for some time. In addition to procrastination, two other conditions must be met: the presence of a goal and intentionality. From this, psychologists conclude that any emotion is initially neutral. After its appearance, it is painted in a certain “color” due to certain intentions.
"Internal Schism"
Emotions contribute to the emergence and increase of energy. They . And it would be good if people directed the resulting energy in the right direction. However, the shallowness of the mind does not allow us to correctly identify emotions. As a result, people are surprised and upset at how randomly emotions arise. They try to suppress them, not even knowing what consequences this could have.
The process described is the beginning of an “internal split,” the cause of which is inconsistency and the presence of conflict between internal experiences and the surface mind. What's the result? A person seems to strive with all his soul, but at the same time he fights against himself, losing his mental balance.
"Eternal Childhood"
In childhood, emotions are expressed passively, for example, in the form of crying or silent resentment. However, they are also intentions that the child is trying to fulfill. Every child from a very early age has an understanding that the Universe is not indifferent to human problems. After all, as soon as you cry, help immediately arrives. If she doesn’t come, you should cry even harder. Other ways to achieve goals are still unknown to children.
Growing up, people continue to unconsciously feel sorry for themselves. Of course, not everyone will cry in every situation, but the basis for expressing emotions remains the same as in childhood. Contrary to common sense and understanding of the essence of what is happening, adults can instantly turn into capricious children. And the purpose of capriciousness lies in some vague expectation of support from the outside.
Often the emotions that arise, if subjected to careful analysis, are completely inappropriate and even wild. However, the human mind is designed in such a way that it is capable of justifying any emotions, no matter how strange they may be. The intellect will find a lot of rational justifications and logical connections.
When a person experiences certain emotions, it is extremely difficult for him to understand how adequate it is at a particular moment. It is for this reason that people often follow their emotions. This means that they act thoughtlessly, without understanding their true intentions and without realizing the consequences that may occur in the future. And it’s all because of emotions charged with blind conviction and endowed with powerful power! Perhaps it's time to learn how to control them?
Throughout the centuries-long history of the study of emotions, they have received the closest attention of scientists. Emotions were given one of the central roles among the forces that determine a person’s inner strength and actions. . However, as V.V. Vilyunas notes, clear concepts and theories have not been formed in modern psychology of emotions. There is also a lack of continuity between theories created in different historical eras, unification into a single picture of everything that is established or affirmed in individual concepts or schools.
According to K.E. Izarda, Existing theories of personality and behavior for the most part do not provide a clear picture of the role that each emotion plays in a person’s life. Likewise, many popular theories of emotion pay little attention to the role of emotions in personality development and their influence on human thinking and behavior. As a rule, emotion researchers study only one component of the emotional process. Although some theories have attempted to study certain aspects of the relationship between emotions, cognitive processes, behavior and personality, this process requires research - theoretical and experimental. (K.E. Izard Psychology of Emotions)
The problem of the criterion of emotional phenomena. V.V. Vilyuna notes that the greatest confusion in the psychology of emotions is caused by the lack of signs that make it possible, at least to a first approximation, to distinguish emotional phenomena from non-emotional ones. The uncertainty of the criteria by which one could distinguish a range of phenomena, which is nothing more than an object of the psychology of emotions, is reflected in everyday language, which makes it possible to unite under the general name of feelings such diverse phenomena as pain and irony, beauty and confidence, touch and justice .
An example of differences in the designation of the phenomenon of emotions is the variability with which they are treated or not treated: pain (sometimes interpreted only as a type of sensation), a large and important class of desires, subjective correlates of exacerbation of needs, such as hunger, thirst, sometimes separated from emotions called “drives” (R. W. Leeper K. Izard).
F. Kruger writes, “... there are hardly two textbooks that are unanimous in where in our experience there is at least an approximate boundary between the emotional and the unemotional.”
The lack of reflection on one's own object of study makes it very difficult to compare concepts and mutual understanding of their authors. The entire range of mental phenomena classified by one theory or another as emotional represents its first and defining characteristic, on which many of its other features largely depend.
A variety of emotional phenomena. The question of the varieties of emotional phenomena and their classification is the most important component of the psychology of emotions, the elaboration of which in a certain concept serves as an indicator of its overall elaboration.
In Russian psychology (A. N. Leontiev; S. L. Rubinstein), the traditional classification scheme, dating back to I. Kant, is widespread, distinguishing affects, emotions, feelings, moods. Foreign psychology has not gone further. The title of the chapter, in which the question of the diversity of emotional phenomena is discussed as a fundamental problem, is indicative: “What distinguishes emotions from moods, temperament and other affective formations?” (Ekman, Davidson). It indicates that the classes most often studied and discussed in modern literature are emotions and moods themselves. In discussing the issue, some authors add feelings to them as stable emotional relationships of a person .
It should be noted that the traditional classification scheme, like a number of others, does not have a single basis, replacing it with a listing of the specific differences of the distinguished classes. It represents an attempt at a systematic description rather than an actual classification of emotions. Thus, L. I. Petrazhitsky called the traditional distinction between actual emotions, affects, etc. an ugly classification, comparing it with a series: “1) water is simple, 2) sudden and strong pressure of water, 3) weak and calm flow of water, 4 ) a strong and constant flow of water along one deep channel.”
It is not possible to count on a simple linear classification of emotions because of their versatility, manifestation at various levels of reflection and activity, complex relationships with subject content, ability to merge, form combinations, etc.
Today, psychology has a number of independent or partially overlapping features and grounds for dividing emotional phenomena, and existing classification schemes either emphasize one or another of these divisions, or introduce them step by step in one or another combination and sequence. Even the list of the most famous bases looks impressive.
Emotions vary according to modality (quality), in particular - sign, in terms of intensity, duration, depth, awareness, genetic origin, complexity, conditions of occurrence, functions performed, effects on the body (sthenic-asthenic), form of its development, levels of manifestation in the structure of the mental ( higher-lower), according to the mental processes with which they are associated, needs (instincts), according to the subject content and focus (for example, on oneself and others, on the past, present and future), according to the characteristics of their expression, nervous substrate, etc. Obviously, this motley list can serve only for a very general acquaintance with the situation existing in the problem of classification of emotions.
To describe the diversity of emotional experiences, there is a tendency to highlight a certain list basic emotions, sometimes called primary or prototypical. True, their existence is not generally accepted. U B. Spinoza there are three of them, R. Descartes has six, more modern authors have from two to eleven, the title of one of the articles states: “All emotions are basic” (Ekman).
Conditions for the emergence of emotions. The question of under what conditions emotions arise has received increased attention in the history of their study, and sometimes on its basis an explanation has been given for “what an emotion is.” ( W. James ; Simonov). This issue is considered as one of the central ones (often along with the question of the functions of emotions) in the concepts AND.-P. Sartre, E. Claparede, P.K. Anokhin, P.V. Simonov, cognitive theory of S. Shakhter, etc.
For V. Wundtail or N. Groth, any perceived event is emotional due to the fact that at the moment of perception it is part of the individual’s life, which does not know an impartial state and is capable of finding at least a slight shade of interesting, unexpected, unpleasant in everything.
According to R.S. Lazarus emotions arise in those exceptional cases when, on the basis of cognitive processes, a conclusion is made about the presence, on the one hand, of some threat, and on the other, the impossibility of avoiding it.
The emergence of expressed emotions is represented in a very similar way E. Claparede , however, his concept states that a preliminary assessment of the threat is not produced by intellectual processes, as Lazarus believes, but by a special class of emotional phenomena - feelings.
Thus, the solution to the question of the conditions for the emergence of emotions clearly illustrates the above-mentioned fact of the dependence of the content of concepts on the initially accepted emotional criterion. With a broad interpretation of emotions, their occurrence is associated with the usual conditions of existence, with the fact of reflection of an influence or object (emotions express their subjective meaning), with an aggravation of needs (emotions signal this to the subject), etc.
With a narrow understanding of emotions, they are considered as a reaction to more specific conditions, such as frustration of a need, the impossibility of adequate behavior, a conflict situation, an unforeseen development of events, etc.
Emotions and motivation processes. This question is the main one for determining the place of emotions in the mental system. His decision is most directly related to the initial postulate about the scope of the class of phenomena classified as emotional, and depends on whether specific experiences of a motivating nature are added to it - desires, drives, aspirations, etc.
V.V. Viliunas notes that the question of the relationship between emotion and motivation receives a consistent interpretation... in the context of the position according to which subjective experiences are a necessary and autonomous link in the regulation of behavior. This interpretation is conveyed extremely succinctly by the wording S. L. Rubinstein, defining emotions as a subjective form of existence needs (motivation). This means that motivation is revealed to the subject in the form of emotional phenomena that signal to him about the need-based significance of objects and encourage him to direct activity towards them. With this understanding, emotions appear as a necessary final link of motivation, through which the subject is encouraged to be active, but in which other links that preceded and prepared him are not represented. In other words, being a subjective form of existence of motivation, emotions represent the final form of its existence, which does not reflect the processes due to which they arise (V.V. Vilyunas).
And, according to the views of R. W. Leeper or K. E. Izard, emotions are only one form of motivation, responsible for inducing behavior along with such “physiologically determined” motives as hunger or physical pain.
D. Bindra, after a critical analysis of existing theories of emotions, came to the conclusion that it is impossible to draw a strict distinction between emotion and motivation, between the corresponding typically specific actions. There is no evidence that emotions are caused only by stimuli from the external environment, and motivation - only by changes in the internal environment of the body. There is no reason to accept the existence of any single specific cerebral process as the “emotional process” postulated by a number of theories. Emotion does not exist either as a single process or as a separate class of behavioral reactions, and it cannot be completely separated from other phenomena - sensations, perceptions, motivation, etc.
Related information.
In 1872, Charles Darwin published the book “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals,” which was a turning point in understanding the connection between biological and psychological phenomena, in particular, the body and emotions. It was proven that the evolutionary principle is applicable not only to the biophysical, but also to the psychological and behavioral development of living things, that there is no impassable gap between the behavior of animals and humans. Darwin showed that anthropoids and children born blind have much in common in the external expression of different emotional states and in expressive bodily movements. These observations formed the basis of the theory of emotions, which was called evolutionary. Emotions, according to this theory, appeared in the process of evolution of living beings as vital adaptive mechanisms that contribute to the adaptation of the organism to the conditions and situations of its life. Its authors were W. James and K. Lange.
W. James believed that certain physical states are characteristic of different emotions - curiosity, delight, fear, anger and excitement. The corresponding bodily changes were called organic manifestations of emotions. According to the James-Lange theory, it is organic changes that are the root causes of emotions. Reflected in a person’s head through a feedback system, they generate an emotional experience of the corresponding modality. First, under the influence of external stimuli, changes characteristic of emotions occur in the body, and only then, as a consequence, does the emotion itself arise.
An alternative point of view on the relationship between organic and emotional processes was proposed by W. Cannon. He was one of the first to note the fact that the bodily changes observed during the occurrence of different emotional states are very similar to each other and are insufficient in diversity to completely satisfactorily explain the qualitative differences in the highest emotional experiences of a person. Internal organs, with changes in the states of which James and Lange associated the emergence of emotional states, in addition. They are rather insensitive structures that very slowly come into a state of excitation. Emotions usually arise and develop quite quickly.
Cannon's strongest counterargument to the James-Lange theory was the following: artificially induced cessation of the flow of organic signals into the brain does not prevent the occurrence of emotions.
Cannon's provisions were developed by P. Bard, who showed that in fact both bodily changes and the emotional experiences associated with them arise almost simultaneously.
In later studies, it was discovered that of all the brain structures, the most functionally connected with emotions is not even the thalamus itself, but the hypothalamus and the central parts of the limbic system. In experiments conducted on animals, it was found that electrical influences on these structures can control emotional states, such as anger, fear (X. Delgado).
The psychoorganic theory of emotions (as the concepts of James-Lange and Cannon-Bard can be conventionally called) was further developed under the influence of electrophysiological studies of the brain. On its basis, the Lindsay-Hebb activation theory arose. According to this theory, emotional states are determined by the influence of the reticular formation of the lower part of the brain stem. Emotions arise as a result of disruption and restoration of balance in the corresponding structures of the central nervous system. Activation theory is based on the following basic principles:
- 1. The electroencephalographic picture of the brain that occurs during emotions is an expression of the so-called “activation complex” associated with the activity of the reticular formation.
- 2. The work of the reticular formation determines many dynamic parameters of emotional states, their strength, duration, variability and a number of others.
In humans, in the dynamics of emotional processes and states, cognitive-psychological factors play no less a role than organic and physical influences (cognitive means related to knowledge). In this regard, new concepts have been proposed that explain human emotions by the dynamic features of cognitive processes.
One of the first such theories was the theory of cognitive dissonance by L. Festinger. According to it, a positive emotional experience occurs in a person when his expectations are confirmed and cognitive ideas come true, i.e. when the real results of activity correspond to the intended ones, are consistent with them, or, what is the same, are in consonance. Negative emotions arise and intensify in cases where there is a discrepancy, inconsistency or dissonance between the expected and actual results of activity.
Subjectively, a person usually experiences a state of cognitive dissonance as discomfort, and he strives to get rid of it as soon as possible. The way out of the state of cognitive dissonance can be twofold: either change cognitive expectations and plans so that they correspond to the actual result obtained, or try to get a new result that would be consistent with previous expectations.
In modern psychology, the theory of cognitive dissonance is often used to explain a person’s actions and actions in various social situations. Emotions are considered as the main motive for corresponding actions and deeds. The underlying cognitive factors are given a much greater role in determining human behavior than organic changes.
The dominant cognitivist orientation of modern psychological research has led to the fact that conscious assessments that a person gives to a situation are also considered as emotional factors. It is believed that such assessments directly influence the nature of the emotional experience.
S. Schechter contributed to what was said about the conditions and factors for the emergence of emotions and their dynamics by W. James, K. Lange, W. Cannon, P. Bard, D. Hebb and L. Festinger. He showed that a person’s memory and motivation make a significant contribution to emotional processes. The concept of emotions proposed by S. Schechter is called cognitive-physiological.
According to this theory, the emerging emotional state, in addition to the perceived stimuli and the bodily changes generated by them, is influenced by a person’s past experience and his assessment of the current situation from the point of view of his current interests and needs. Indirect confirmation of the validity of the cognitive theory of emotions is the influence on a person’s experiences of verbal instructions, as well as that additional emotional information that is intended to change a person’s assessment of the situation that has arisen.
In one of the experiments aimed at proving the stated provisions of the cognitive theory of emotions, people were given a physiologically neutral solution as a “medicine”, accompanied by various instructions. In one case, they were told that this “medicine” would cause them to experience a state of euphoria, and in the other, a state of anger. After taking the corresponding “medicine,” the subjects were asked after some time, when according to the instructions it should have started to act, how they felt. It turned out that the emotional experiences they described corresponded to those expected from the instructions given to them.
Domestic physiologist P.V. Simonov tried to present in a brief symbolic form his set of factors influencing the occurrence and nature of emotion. He proposed the following formula for this.
E=P(P,(In,-Is,...)),
where E is emotion, its strength and quality, P is the magnitude and specificity of the current need, (In, - D.) is an assessment of the likelihood (possibility) of satisfying a given need based on innate and lifetime experience, In is information about the means that are prognostically necessary to satisfy an existing need, IS - information about the means available to a person at a given time. According to the formula proposed by P.V. Simonov (his concept has a special name - informational), the strength and quality of the emotion that arises in a person is ultimately determined by the strength of the need and the assessment of the ability to satisfy it in the current situation.
And the last theory of emotions that we will focus on is psychoanalytic. Its founder is Sigmund Freud and his theory occupies a special place in psychology. He analyzed the functioning of the individual and touched on the topic of emotions. The core of classical psychoanalytic theory is instinctual influences. The most recognized statements in this theory are Rapaport's statements, so they will become the source for the presentation of further information. Rapaport believes that instinctive influence is based on four characteristics:
a) unconditionality; b) cyclicality; c) selectivity; d) substitutability.
It follows from this that drives vary in degree.
It is very difficult to imagine Freud’s holistic definition of emotions, because this concept in his theory is considered quite broadly, and various roles are attributed to him in the process of development of this theory. In his early works, emotions for Freud were only a motivating force in a person’s mental life, and only in his later works did he note that they give impetus to fantasies and dreams.
Rapaport gave the following conclusions to emotions: “the perceived object serves as the initiator of an unconscious process that mobilizes unconscious instinctive energy, if there are no open free ways for this energy to manifest itself, it finds discharge through channels other than voluntary actions. “Emotional expression” - one thing can arise after another, or these are single emotional discharges of varying intensity that constantly happen, since open manifestations of instincts are rare in our culture."
Discharge is seen as an expression of emotion. First of all, Freud's theory dealt with negative emotions. This explains the predominant role of suppression as a defense mechanism. If such suppression is unsuccessful, then a conflict occurs between the conscious and unconscious, and emotions can surface in consciousness. Another Freudian concept is desires. He showed that they are the basis of dreams. Because these instincts manifest themselves in our dreams as fantasies with emotions.
At the present stage, many theorists have continued Freud's theory.
At this point, we focused on the theories of emotions by W. James, K. Lange, W. Cannon, P. Bard, D. Hebb and L. Festinger, S. Schechter, P.V. Simonov and Z. Freud.
1. Functions of emotions
The task of studying the functional meaning of emotions was clearly posed by E. Claparède, who, as a result of its implementation, showed the one-sidedness of both the classical and “peripheral” interpretation of the conditions for the emergence of the emotional process and proposed a scheme that reconciles them. However, the attention paid to the question of the functions of emotions in earlier concepts indicates that Claparède recorded as a methodological principle a trend that has been manifesting itself in the psychology of emotions virtually from the moment of its inception.
The question of functions is key and permeates the entire psychology of emotions, therefore the main and most general functional characteristics of emotions could not help but emerge during the discussion of previous questions. Within this section, we will outline these general functions of emotions with a little additional commentary, focusing on more specific manifestations of emotions.
A thorough analysis of views on the nature of emotions carried out by N. Groth in the historical part of his work, as well as the provisions of modern concepts, allows us to conclude that emotions are fairly unanimously recognized as performing the function of evaluation. However, taking this position as a generalized point of view, one must not lose sight of the fact that when specifying it - when clarifying what exactly, how exactly, on what basis, etc. evaluate emotions - different opinions are expressed. It should be noted that the ability of emotions to make an assessment is in good agreement with their characteristics discussed above: their occurrence in significant situations, objectivity, dependence on needs, etc. The main conclusion following from the combined analysis of all these characteristics is that emotions are not an indirect product of the motivational significance of the reflected objects, by them this significance is directly assessed and expressed, they signal about it to the subject. In other words, emotions are the language, the system of signals through which the subject learns about the need-based significance of what is happening.
Long and ongoing debates around the issue of the motivating role of emotions and the motivational function they perform were discussed separately above. To what has been said, we add that the complete removal of emotions from the function of motivation largely makes sense of the evaluation function they produce. Can anything more expedient, from a biological point of view, follow from an assessment of what is happening than the immediate urge to appropriate, acquire what is useful and get rid of what is harmful? There is therefore a fundamental difference between denying the emotional nature of motivating experiences and refusing to acknowledge any involvement of emotions in the development of these experiences. The latter means the recognition of a significant and hardly explainable imperfection in the nature of the psyche.
The ability of emotions to motivate actions is indicated by their other, more specific functions. Thus, in critical conditions, when the subject is unable to find an adequate way out of dangerous, traumatic, and most often unexpected situations, a special type of emotional processes develops - the so-called affects. One of the functional manifestations of affect is that it imposes on the subject stereotypical actions, which represent a certain way of “emergency” resolution of situations fixed in evolution: flight, numbness, aggression, etc. It is known that other situational emotions, such as indignation, pride, resentment, jealousy, are also capable of “imposing” certain actions on a person, even when they are undesirable for him. This allows us to assert that not only affects lead to emotional resolution of situations and that this function is characteristic of a wider class of emotional phenomena. A clear example of such a manifestation of emotions is provided by the study of T. Dembo. However, the same stereotypical actions cannot be equally suitable for all situations, therefore the affective reactions that have developed in evolution to resolve the most frequently encountered difficulties justify themselves only in typical biological conditions. This is precisely what explains the often observed meaninglessness or even harmfulness of actions driven by affect. Thus, the efforts of a bird beating indoors against a window glass are meaningless, but under natural conditions it would be light that would mean freedom for it. Similarly, an operator leaving a non-threatening control panel during an accident could obviously choose a more correct course of action if the emotion that gripped him did not force him to act according to the rule that has developed over millions of years: immediately move away from what causes fear.
The ability of emotions to disrupt goal-directed activity has formed the basis of theories emphasizing the disorganizational function of emotions. However, this characteristic of emotions can only be accepted with certain reservations. As the above examples show, emotions primarily organize some activity, diverting energy and attention to it, which, naturally, can interfere with the normal flow of other activity being carried out at the same moment. Emotion itself does not have a disorganizing function; it all depends on the conditions in which it manifests itself. Even such a crude biological reaction as affect, which usually disorganizes a person’s activity, can be useful under certain conditions, for example, when he has to escape from serious danger, relying solely on physical strength and endurance. This means that disruption of activity is not a direct, but a side manifestation of emotions, in other words, that there is as much truth in the statement about the disorganizing function of emotions as, for example, in the statement that a festive demonstration functions as a delay for vehicles. On the same basis, the alternative opposition between the usefulness and harmfulness of emotions, which originated in the discussions of the Stoics and Epicureans and is reproduced in modern psychology, cannot be justified. contrasting “motivational” and “disorganizational” theories.
The literature identifies two complementary functions performed by emotions in relation to certain mental processes, i.e. representing special cases of their general regulatory influence. We are talking about the influence of emotions on the accumulation and actualization of individual experience. The first function, discussed under different names: consolidation - inhibition, trace formation, reinforcement, indicates the ability of emotions to leave traces in the individual’s experience, consolidating those in him. influences and successful failed actions that aroused them. The trace-forming function is especially pronounced in cases of extreme emotional states. But the trail itself would have no meaning if there was no way to use it in the future. Emotions also play a significant role in the actualization of fixed experience, and this is emphasized by the second of the identified functions. Since the actualization of traces usually precedes the development of events and the resulting emotions signal a possible pleasant or unpleasant outcome, the anticipatory function of emotions is distinguished. Since anticipation of events significantly reduces the search for the right way out of a situation, a heuristic function is distinguished. In relation to these functions of emotions, however, as in relation to others, it is important to emphasize that, noting a certain manifestation of emotions, they urgently pose the task of clarifying how exactly emotions do this, clarifying the psychological mechanism underlying these manifestations.
Of great theoretical interest is the function of emotions, clearly outlined in the works of W. Wundt and revealing the role of emotional experiences in the formation and organization of the subjective image. According to Wundt, the emotional tone of sensations perceived simultaneously or immediately after each other merges according to certain laws into more and more general resultant experiences, accordingly organizing these “units” themselves in perception. Only due to this fusion of senses do we perceive not a set of spots or sounds, but a landscape and a melody, not a set of introceptive impressions, but our body. Thus, emotional experiences act as a synthesizing basis for the image, providing the possibility of a holistic and structured reflection of the mosaic diversity of actual stimuli.
Integrity is not only a clearly visible feature, but also one of the mysterious features of the psyche. Many authors who tried to comprehend it stopped, unable to find a way to get rid of the obsessive image of the homunculus. Even Gestalt psychology, which saw this feature as the central problem of psychology and gave its most subtle phenomenological description, was forced to turn to speculative constructions to explain it, referring, in particular, to the interaction of electric fields. Therefore, Wundt’s teaching about the fusion of feelings that underlies cognitive syntheses is of interest as one of the few attempts to reveal the psychological mechanism of the structure and integrity of reflection.
A striking example of emotional syntheses that manifest themselves at the level of more complex cognitive formations are the so-called affective complexes, the experimental study of which, begun by K.G. Jung, in Soviet psychology it was developed by A.R. Luria. These studies have shown that a set of images, directly or accidentally associated with a situation that gave rise to a strong emotional experience, forms a strong complex in memory, the actualization of one of the elements of which entails, even against the will of the subject, the immediate “introduction” of its other elements into consciousness. One cannot deny the persuasiveness of the many examples that Wundt gives. There are also certain theoretical conclusions that allow us to speak about the justification of the search for the synthesizing basis of the image precisely in the emotional sphere.
Modern psychology considers the sensory tissue of reflection as a formation of a cognitive nature. This causes significant difficulties when trying to understand the fusion in the mental image of the influences of different modalities. The idea of the synthesizing role of emotions allows us to equip the image with a common foundation onto which cognitive formations of different levels and modalities can be projected and interact. However, speaking about the advantages of the doctrine of the emotional “foundation” of the image, it should be noted that it requires an assumption that most modern authors do not accept, namely, the acceptance of the principle of pan-emotionality, according to which the holistic act of reflection, according to S.L. Rubinstein, “...always, to one degree or another, includes the unity of two opposing components - knowledge and attitude, intellectual and “affective”... of which either one or the other acts as the predominant one.”
Wundt’s teaching about the emotional “fabric” of the psyche is consonant with the ideas of F. Kruger, whose work also advocates a direct connection between emotions and the integrity of reflection. However, being a principled opponent of the “atomism” characteristic of Wundt, who strives at all costs to put together all kinds of mental formations from elementary units, this author develops his theory in the direction opposite to Wundt’s - from the whole to the part. According to Kruger, emotional experiences are the original and only carrier of integrity, retaining this feature even when diffuse complexes and more strictly organized gestalts are separated from the total integrity of experience. It is emotions, as if representing integrity in these isolated formations and being a measure of this integrity, that prevent their isolation and allow them to remain parts of the individual’s unified worldview.
Thus, defending the same idea about the emotional basis of the integrity of reflection, Kruger contrasts Wundt’s synthesis with differentiation as the basic principle of the development of emotional processes. However, in this case, both points of view are not alternative. There is reason to assert that Kruger’s ideas are more consistent with the genetic, while Wundt’s, with the functional aspect of the relationship between emotional and cognitive processes. Unfortunately, the assimilation of Kruger’s interesting and promising ideas is hampered by the extremely complex and difficult-to-understand language of their presentation.
Emotions are not only a psychological event, and their functional purpose is not limited to diverse influences at the level of subjective reflection. As R. Descartes argued, “the main effect of all human passions is that they motivate and tune the human soul to desire what these passions prepare his body for.” Since emotions signal the significance of what is happening, preparation in the emotional state of the body for better perception and possible actions is so expedient that it would be surprising if it was not fixed in evolution and did not become one of the characteristic features of emotional processes. The diverse influence of emotions on the body is also reflected in the identification of a number of their functional characteristics.
Many authors emphasize the activation of nerve centers, and ultimately the entire organism, that occurs in an emotional state, carried out by nonspecific structures of the brain stem and transmitted by nonspecific excitation pathways, etc.). According to “activation” theories, emotions provide an optimal level of excitation of the central nervous system and its individual substructures, which can range from a coma and deep sleep to extreme tension in a state of ecstasy.
Activation of the nervous system, and primarily its autonomic department, leads to numerous changes in the condition of internal organs and the body as a whole. The nature of these changes shows that emotional states cause either the mobilization of the organs of action, energy resources and protective processes of the body, or, in favorable situations, its demobilization, adjustment to internal processes and accumulation of energy. It is obvious that the functions of activation and mobilization-demobilization are closely related and the latter can be considered as one of the effective manifestations of the former.
Along with the general preparation of the body for action, individual emotional states are accompanied by specific changes in pantomime, facial expressions, and sound reactions. Whatever the original origin and purpose of these reactions, in evolution they developed and were consolidated as a means of alerting about the emotional state of the individual in intraspecific and interspecific communication. With the increasing role of communication in higher animals, expressive movements become a finely differentiated language with the help of which individuals exchange information both about their state and about what is happening in the environment. The expressive function of emotions did not lose its significance even after a more advanced form of information exchange—articulate speech—was formed in the historical development of man. Having improved itself due to the fact that rough innate forms of expression began to be supplemented by more subtle conventional norms acquired in ontogenesis, emotional expression remained one of the main factors providing so-called non-verbal communication.
For a more complete acquaintance with the functional purpose of emotions, it would be necessary, along with their relatively general manifestations, to become acquainted with the specific functional characteristics of individual emotional states. However, it would greatly enhance our discussion of this issue. The specific features of such emotional states as laughter, fear of action, sadness, grief are highlighted in the works of L. Bergson, P. Janet, Z. Freud, E. Lindemann. By the way, the works of the last 2 authors, as well as the work of J.-P. Sartre, reveal another general characteristic of emotions, a certain aspect of which was designated by A.N. Leontiev as the ability of emotions to “set a task for meaning.” Emotions, especially when they signal something exceptional, cannot leave a person indifferent, sometimes causing complex and detailed “work of consciousness” to explain it, approve it, reconcile with it or condemn it, and even repress it. However, placing this manifestation of emotions next to others does not allow the fact that they act in it not as a directly active force, but as a reason in connection with which the entire complex system of forces of personality and consciousness comes into motion.
2. Classification of emotions
The existence of fundamentally different classes of emotional phenomena is clearly demonstrated by comparing, for example, such experiences as physical pain and pride, panic fear and aesthetic pleasure. Therefore, it is not a sign of historical progress that many modern concepts consider it sufficient to discuss a certain emotion in general. The discussion of the previous questions should have convinced us that with such a limitation we can count on only the very first step in clarifying when, how and why emotions arise, and that the question of classification is the most important component of the psychological theory of emotions, the development of which in some concept can be be considered an indicator of its overall development.
The versatility of emotions, their manifestation at various levels of reflection and activity, complex relationships with subject content, the ability to merge and form combinations exclude the possibility of a simple linear classification. In any case, today psychology has a number of independent or partially overlapping signs and grounds for dividing emotional phenomena, and existing classification schemes either emphasize one or another of these divisions, or introduce them step by step in one or another combination and sequence. Even the list of the most famous bases looks impressive.
Emotions differ in modality, in particular sign, in intensity, duration, depth, awareness, genetic origin, complexity, conditions of occurrence, functions performed, impact on the body, form of their development, levels of manifestation in the structure of the mental, mental processes, with with which they are connected, needs, in terms of subject content and focus, for example, on oneself and others, on the past, present and future, according to the peculiarities of their expression, nervous substrate, etc. It is obvious that this is a motley list, which does not reveal the significance of the characteristics used and the grounds, nor the heuristic nature of the divisions being made, can only serve for a very general acquaintance with the situation existing in the problem of classification of emotions. Below we will try to outline individual trends and difficulties characteristic of this problem.
Existing classification schemes differ in the ratio of their theoretical and empirical validity, and the possibility of their acceptance and evaluation primarily depends on this. Thus, without sharing K. Bühler’s ideas about the three stages of genetic development of the psyche, we can be skeptical about his attempt to connect with them three different relations of pleasure and displeasure to activity. But in justifying the fact that emotions can be caused by the final results of activity, accompany the process of activity itself, or precede it, anticipating its results, Buhler also provides factual material and considerations about the appropriateness of such relationships. These arguments allow us to accept his classification scheme, but only as empirical and in need of theoretical justification.
Empirical classification schemes sometimes do not have a single basis, replacing it with a listing of the specific differences of the distinguished classes or conditions. Such schemes are attempts at systematic description rather than actual classification of emotions. Is not it. Petrazycki called the widespread “academic” distinction between actual emotions, affects, moods, feelings, passions an ugly classification, comparing it with a series: “1) simple water, 2) sudden and strong pressure of water, 3) weak and calm flow of water, 4) strong and a constant flow of water along one deep channel.” Of course, this fair comparison does not reject the expediency of identifying certain subclasses of emotional phenomena and is directed solely against attempts to consider them as a classification in the strict sense of the word.
Separately, we can highlight classification schemes based on ideas about genetic development and the interaction of emotions. Such schemes are characterized by the desire to identify a certain number of basic, initial emotions and then to trace, one after another, the conditions and patterns according to which certain combinations and varieties of them develop. Although such “narrative” classification schemes are usually not strict from a formal point of view, their undoubted advantage is that, along with distinction, they carry an even greater burden of explanation, since the origin of a thing makes perhaps the greatest contribution to the vision of it that we call understanding. By the way, genetic classifications also contain some explanation for their logical lack of rigor. We are talking about the ability of emotions recognized in them to merge and form combinations, the diversity of which, according to Spinoza, “cannot be determined by any number.”
The gradual introduction of grounds for distinguishing emotions, characteristic of genetic classifications, allows us to avoid confusion between the classification of emotions according to their internal characteristics and classifications according to the spheres of their manifestation, subject content and other external characteristics. It seems obvious that in both cases different phenomena are classified: in the first - emotional experiences themselves, considered regardless of what they are aimed at, in the second - holistic emotional phenomena, which include emotional experiences along with the objective content “colored” by them. Joy as an emotional experience is always identical to itself and can be contrasted with sadness, anger, fear, etc., but considered together with the objective content, it can be combined with sadness in the category of, for example, ethical emotions and contrasted with joy as an aesthetic or parental emotion.
Perhaps the most difficulties and misunderstandings in the history of this problem are associated with the insufficiently clear distinction between “internal” and “external” bases for the classification of emotions. This is partly explained by the fact that, with the exception of the obvious difference in emotional experiences by sign, the modality of emotions, considered in itself, does not reveal other equally obvious signs of order. The original explanation for this fact was given by W. Wundt, who proposed to consider modality as a gradient composite property, determined by the relationship of its three bipolar components: pleasure-displeasure, arousal-calming and tension-resolution. However, although W. Wundt’s “factorial” interpretation of the modality of emotions subsequently received serious support in the experimental study of the expression and semantics of emotions by Arkhipkin, 1981; in Soviet psychology, Wundt’s idea was supported by S.L. Rubinstein, it did not receive noticeable distribution in psychology.
Unable to rely on internal signs, most authors, when systematically describing the modality of emotions, use grounds external to it. The basic modalities mentioned above are introduced postulates or justified by a complex context of theoretical concepts. An example of an empirical classification is the distinction between ten “fundamental” emotions, identified on the basis of a complex criterion covering their neural substrate, expression and subjective quality. Despite their objective validity, empirical classifications do not answer the question of why exactly the modalities identified in them emerged and became entrenched in the development of the psyche. This issue could be illuminated by attempts to connect the modality of emotions with needs or, in older terminology, instincts, but these attempts leave without explanation emotions that are determined by the conditions of activity, regardless of what needs it meets.
One attempt to resolve these difficulties is to combine needs and operating conditions into a common basis for classifying emotions. The second, less artificial method, proposed by W. McDougall, is to fundamentally distinguish between emotions that meet needs and feelings that depend on the conditions of activity. A similar distinction between the same, only interchangeable, terms was proposed by E. Klapagred; According to this author, emotions that develop under conditions that make adaptation difficult should be distinguished from feelings expressing an individual’s adaptive attitudes. The same idea can be seen in M. Arnold’s and J. Gasson’s distinction between impulsive and “overcoming” emotions, which arise, respectively, in the absence and presence of obstacles to achieving a goal, in P.V.’s distinction. Simonov of the emotional tone of sensations and emotions themselves, B.I. Dodonov – specific and nonspecific emotions.
The very fact of using a similar, and not at all obvious, idea in various concepts that had no influence on each other, indicates that it meets some urgent need in the psychology of emotions. And indeed, in a generalized form, these distinctions indicate a peculiar structure of the emotional sphere of reflection, in which there is a system of emotions that present the subject’s needs and are directed at their objects, and another system, common to all needs, that helps the subject in achieving these objects. Naturally, these emotions should differ significantly in their characteristics, so we can agree with W. McDougall, who argued that if we stop confusing these classes of emotions, “scientific research will become much clearer and more accurate.” We tried to generalize the foundations and theoretical consequences of this classification division of emotions and develop them in a proposal to distinguish between leading and derivative emotional phenomena.
3. Dynamics of emotions
In this subsection we will talk about ideas relating to the internal patterns of the flow and development of the emotional process. This aspect of the problem of emotions is practically not covered in modern concepts, which tend to consider the emotional sphere as a system of independent reactions to certain conditions and situations. In the concepts of the past, which emphasized the interaction and interdependence of emotional experiences in their genetic and situational development, the question of the dynamics of emotions, as a rule, occupies a very important place. Several trends can be identified that are characteristic of depicting the dynamics of emotions in psychological theory.
Even if we consider emotions as isolated reactions to certain influences, the question naturally arises as to whether these reactions show some temporary development or remain unchanged. This issue was considered by W. Wundt, but only in relation to a specific class of emotions, which in his concept were called affects. Wundt believes that this development consists of both a quantitative and qualitative change in emotional experience and that the specific nature, “form” of this change actually distinguishes one affect from another. Having reached the stage of affect, the emotional process is no longer subject to external influences, but rather to the “form” of this affect, which it must pass through, gradually fading away or leading to the formation of a volitional impulse.
The overwhelming majority of ordinary, “moderate” emotional experiences are not, according to Wundt, autonomous, since from the moment of their occurrence they flow into the general flow of other experiences, interacting with them and being modified. Thus, another position is clearly indicated in Wundt’s teaching, concerning the dynamics of emotions - the provision of connection, fusion, summation of individual emotions into more complex emotional formations. We talked about the meaning of this feature of emotions, discussing their manifestation as a synthesizing basis of the image. It is important to emphasize that it was precisely the ideas about the three-component composition of any emotion, which serves as a common basis for their fusion, that allowed Wundt to raise the question of the universal principles of this process. In particular, the existence of both spatial interaction and summation of emotional impressions experienced simultaneously, and temporal summation of experiences following each other, was shown.
For many theories, the possibility of connecting emotions is the most important principle that explains the emergence of complex emotions from simpler ones. According to X. Wolf, one of the definitions of emotions is the disclosure of its constituent elements. Thus, R. Descartes explains compassion as a combination of sadness and love; jealousy, according to B. Spinoza, is a complex affect consisting of both love and hatred for a loved one and envy for the one he loves.
In a complex of emotional experiences that combine into more complex formations, you can sometimes find elements connected by cause-and-effect relationships. This ability of emotions to generate and condition each other is another, and perhaps the most interesting, point characterizing their dynamics.
B. Spinoza did the most in identifying and describing specific patterns of the generation of some emotions by others. The material he provides shows that emotional relationships that develop under various circumstances from some initial emotion can, in some cases, be very complex and varied. Thus, a subject overwhelmed by love empathizes with the affects of the one he loves. As a result of such empathy, love can spread to another person: we will also love the one who causes the object of our love pleasure, and we will hate the one who causes him displeasure.
One of the consequences of love is that it creates a desire for reciprocity, which, if unsatisfied, causes displeasure. If a person believes that it is his own fault that he is not loved, he will be overcome by an affect of humiliation, but if he does not think so, he will experience hatred for the one whom he believes is the cause of the displeasure he receives from unrequited love. Such a reason may be the object of love itself or, for example, the one whom he loves. In the latter case, a special type of hatred arises - jealousy.
Regardless of whether we fully agree with the statements contained in this example, or whether we think that some amendments need to be made to it, it demonstrates that the study of individual emotional reactions cannot lead to an understanding of emotional behavior, the most important determinant of which is the interconnectedness of these reactions, their ability to change and generate each other as changing conditions require. In other words, in its full form, the emotional reaction is, as it were, branched, and each of these branches means the potential possibility of its further development, corresponding to one or another option for changing the situation.
In ideas about the conditionality of emotions with each other, a special place is occupied by the position of the mutual generation of evaluative and stimulating experiences. The significance of these simple natural provisions lies in the fact that their acceptance or rejection resolves, as we have already said, the question of the relationship between emotions and motivation, and ultimately, the “output” of emotions into action.
emotion clapared psychology
4. Physiological mechanisms of emotions
Along with the works for which the question of the physiological mechanisms of emotions is a natural continuation of the question of the conditions of their occurrence that set these mechanisms in motion, there is a number of theories for which this question is the main, and sometimes the only one. An important role in the emergence of these theories was played by the “peripheral” theory of W. James and K.G. Lange, who first formulated an explanation of the nature of emotions with reference to a certain physiological process. Having caused a lively and lengthy discussion, the “peripheral” theory became a kind of model for a large number of alternative theories, differing only in what kind of physiological process was considered the main determinant of the emergence of emotions instead of the nervous excitation proposed by James-Lange, emanating from the visceral organs: thalamic.
Without delving into the content of these works, which made a great contribution to elucidating the physiological basis of emotional processes, as their general drawback we note their characteristic undifferentiated attitude to emotions. As E. Claparède showed, it is only because of the biased and unjustified unified interpretation of emotions that the classical and “peripheral” theories of emotions seem irreconcilable. It is enough to abandon the attitude to emotions as processes occurring according to some single pattern, and we get the opportunity to carry out an elementary classification division of them, allowing us to explain one class of emotions according to classical ideas, and another - according to the “peripheral” theory. In Soviet psychology, the idea that organic changes play a role in the development of certain emotional states was defended by S.L. Rubinstein.
The question of the physiological mechanisms of emotions is directly related to the problem of expressing emotions in facial expressions, pantomime, autonomic functions of the body, etc. This problem, intensively studied experimentally, is the subject of extensive discussion also in individual theoretical works. For example, the great work of Charles Darwin is dedicated exclusively to it. One cannot help but see some significance in the fact that the publication of this particular work, as one-sided as the “peripheral” theory, usually dates back to the beginning of the modern stage in the study of emotions. Among modern authors, K. Izard pays relatively great attention to the issue of expressing emotions.
Concluding the review of the main problems of the psychology of emotions, we emphasize that it touched only on traditional issues discussed in classical and modern concepts. This means that the list of questions presented introduces how emotions are studied, but not how they should or could be studied in psychology. It is no secret that in the field of emotions there is still a lot of subtle factual material that psychological theory is not able to systematically comprehend and explain. What is striking, for example, is the fact that theories of emotions chronically ignore the question of their ontogenetic development. Of course, the lack of coverage of such issues cannot be accidental. Some explanation for this is provided by data, also not theoretically sufficiently meaningful, on pathological changes and individual differences in emotional life, in particular data on a possible sharp change in the basic characteristics of emotional life under the influence of a pathogenic factor. Indeed, how can one portray as a product of prolonged development something that can disappear in the shortest possible time, giving way to something else, new, completely different and even contradictory to what has disappeared? There can be no doubt that behind this lies one of the many secrets so characteristic of the psychology of emotions.
One can express the hope that this book will contribute both to familiarization with the secrets of emotions and to an increase in the number of people interested in solving them. Its editors and compilers are grateful to A.A. Buzyrey, who compiled biographical information about the authors, E.Yu. Patyaeva, A.A. Bubble, E.E. Nasinovskaya, F.E. Vasilyuk, O.S. Kopina, who prepared a number of translated texts, as well as many employees of the Faculty of Psychology of Moscow State University and friends who helped in preparing this book for publication.
Bibliography
1. Arkhipkina O.S. Reconstruction of the subjective semantic space signifying emotional states. - News. Moscow un-ta. Ser. Psychology. 2008, No. 2.
2. Buhler K. Spiritual development of the child. M., 2009.
3. Vasiliev I.A., Popluzhny V.L., Tikhomirov O.K. Emotions and thinking. M., 2010.
4. Vilyunas V.K. Psychology of emotional phenomena. M., 2009.
5. Woodworth R. Experimental psychology. M., 2008
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Introduction
Chapter 1. Emotional States
1 Definition of the concept “emotional state”
2 Types of emotional states
3 The importance of emotional states in human life
Chapter 2. Basic approaches to the problem of emotional states in foreign psychology
1 The problem of emotional states in foreign psychology
1.1 Emotional states in psychoanalysis
1.2 Emotional states in behaviorism
1.3 Emotional states in humanistic psychology
1.4 Emotional states in Gestalt psychology
1.5 Emotional states in cognitive psychology
2 Comparative analysis of approaches to the problem of emotional states of some foreign psychological schools
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
The significance of the problem of emotional states hardly needs justification. Whatever conditions and determinants determine a person’s life and activity, they become psychologically effective only if they manage to penetrate the sphere of his emotional relations, refract and gain a foothold in it. Emotional states take over the entire personality for some time and are reflected in a person’s activities and behavior.
Throughout the centuries-long history of the study of emotional states, they have enjoyed the closest attention; they have been assigned one of the central roles among the forces that determine a person’s inner life and actions. Psychologists of the last century, such as W. Wundt, V. K. Viliunas, W. James, W. McDougall, F. Kruger, were involved in the development of approaches to the study of emotional states. Interest in this problem continues to this day. On the contrary, the study of the mechanisms of the emergence of emotional states remains very relevant for the psychological science of our time, since a person’s mental state has a huge impact on various types of his activities and on the quality of life in general.
Thus, the relevance of this study is emphasized by the fact that emotional states, being one of the fundamental properties of the human psyche, are studied both in psychological and physiological aspects, i.e. emotional states that arise in a person during any activity influence both his mental state and the general condition of the body.
In foreign psychology, several points of view have been formed on the problem of emotional states, which should be reflected, their main distinctive features noted and a comparative analysis carried out. This is necessary for a better and more in-depth understanding of the problem of emotional states and their impact on human life and activity.
The purpose of the study is to study the main approaches to the problem of emotional states in foreign psychology.
The object of research is emotional states.
The subject of this course work is the main approaches to the problem of emotional states in foreign psychology.
Achieving this goal required solving a number of problems:
1.Conduct an analysis of popular scientific literature on the problem of emotional states in foreign psychology.
2.Study the main types of emotional states.
.To study the influence of emotional states on the quality of human activity.
.Conduct a comparative analysis of approaches to the problem of emotional states among some foreign psychological schools.
Methodological basis.
In preparing this course work, materials taken from scientific articles by the following authors were used: V. K. Viliunas, B. Spinoza, W. Wundt, N. Groth, F. Kruger, A. Bergson, Z. Freud, E. Lindemann and etc.
Practical significance.
This work can be used as teaching material in preparation for seminars or exams in general psychology.
The structure of the course work.
The course work consists of an introduction, two chapters, chapter-by-chapter conclusions, a conclusion and a list of references.
Chapter 1. Emotional States
.1 Definition of the concept “emotional state”
There are many definitions of the concept “emotional state”. Various authors identify emotional states either as a separate group or as a type of mental state.
Emotions often color a person’s behavior in a special sensitive tone, creating more or less long-lasting, very stable experiences. Sometimes feelings arise suddenly, proceed violently and pass relatively quickly. These long-term or short-term experiences are called mental or emotional states.
According to one source, an emotional state is a single emotional process of limited duration. Emotional states can last from a few seconds to several hours and be more or less intense. In exceptional cases, an intense emotional state may persist longer than the specified periods, but in this case this may be evidence of mental disorders.
According to another source, emotional states are mental states that arise during the life of a subject and determine not only the level of information and energy exchange, but also the direction of behavior. If we define mental states as a psychological category that characterizes the mental activity of an individual over a certain period of time, then we can say that emotional states, as a type of mental states, reflect the individual’s subjective attitude to the reflected phenomena of reality. Emotional states have a beginning and an end and change over time, but they are holistic, relatively constant and stable.
It is often impossible to give an exact definition of the experienced state, since, firstly, emotional states are multidimensional and characterize reality from different sides, and secondly, they are continuous, that is, the boundaries of the transition of one state to another are not clearly marked and are smooth. “Pure” states practically do not exist.
If we consider the emotional state as one of the components of the mental state, it can be noted that in this structure it occupies a fairly significant position.
Emotional states reflect the dominance of a particular emotion, its intensity, and polarity in a given mental state. These are euphoria, joy, satisfaction, sadness, anxiety, fear, panic, etc. In addition to emotional states, the structure of mental states includes activation, tonic, tension and other states.
States arise in the process of activity, depend on it and determine the specificity of experiences. Each mental state is experienced by the individual holistically, as a unity of spiritual, mental and physical (bodily) structures. Changes in mental state affect all these levels.
Sometimes emotional states are considered as a type of emotion. But in our opinion, emotional states differ from emotions and emotional reactions in that the former are more stable and less objective (everything is happy, sad). Emotional states, like mental states in general, largely characterize activity and influence it.
If we consider emotional states as a separate process, we should highlight some of its features. Firstly, this is a limited period of action of an emotional state on a person. This feature is expressed in the instability and variability of emotional states over time, i.e. they have a beginning, development and end. Secondly, a person’s emotional state depends on external factors and on his internal (subjective) attitude towards them. For example, people with different types of temperament react differently to external influences: if you say an abusive or indecent word to a melancholic person, he will most likely be offended, while a choleric person will get angry in this case. The duration of the emotional state also depends on a person’s subjective attitude to the situation. For example, grief continues to engulf a person until he, so to speak, decides that he has already grieved enough, i.e. until the intensity of the emotional state decreases to a certain level. Thirdly, the intensity of the emotional state depends on a person’s subjective attitude to the situation. The more significant the event is for a person, the more intense the emotional state.
Thus, emotional states are distinguished either as an independent group of emotional processes, or as a type of mental state. However, their main features are largely similar.
emotional behaviorism psychoanalysis
1.2 Types of emotional states
There are many classifications of emotional states. They are divided on various grounds. Depending on the time of action - long-term and short-term. Depending on the degree of intensity - intense and non-intense. Positive and negative emotional states are also distinguished. If we classify them in accordance with the emotions experienced by a person, we can distinguish joy, euphoria, tension, stress, affect, etc.
All these states, like emotions, have a sign, a certain degree of intensity, and a certain duration of action. For example, mood - This is a relatively weakly expressed emotional state that captures the entire personality for some time and is reflected in a person’s activity and behavior. One mood can last for weeks and sometimes months. The mood can be sthenic and asthenic - joyful and sad, angry and good-natured. It is caused by various events, circumstances, as well as physical well-being. The reasons that determined the mood are not always realized by a person. Mood can be transferred from one person to another during communication.
The main features of moods are: weak intensity, significant duration, vagueness, and a peculiar diffuse nature. Moods leave their mark on all thoughts, relationships, and actions of a person at the moment.
In contrast to mood, as an emotional state that is more extended in time, affect (from Lat. emotional excitement, excitement) is a rapidly and violently occurring, the most powerful emotional state of an explosive nature, not controlled by consciousness.
Affects are usually accompanied by motor overexcitation, but can, on the contrary, cause numbness, speech inhibition and complete indifference (despair). Affects are caused by strong stimuli (words, behavior of other people, certain circumstances). Persons with an unbalanced type of nervous system are more prone to affects. In a state of affect, a narrowing of consciousness occurs: it is aimed at a limited range of perceived objects and ideas associated with the experience.
Distinctive features of affects are: very high, sometimes excessive intensity and violent external expression of emotional experience, short duration, lack of accountability, and a pronounced diffuse nature.
Affects have a positive significance for the full development of the human personality. Positive affective manifestations should be considered necessary and useful for the development and normal functioning of a person. Their suppression, the constant restraint of their external manifestations, has a very harmful effect, both on the development of a person’s character and on the normal course of organic processes.
In our opinion, one of the main types of emotional states is also stress. Tension or stress is a mental state caused by extreme conditions for a given individual and manifests itself in stiffness of movements and uncertainty when performing new actions that threaten any danger.
According to the degree of severity, the following levels of tension are distinguished: slight tension, pronounced tension, long-term, pronounced tension.
The causes of tension may be such individual psychological characteristics as increased emotional excitability and impressionability, poor self-control, and limited attention span.
Tension can be eliminated by identifying the specific reasons that determined it, and this presupposes, first of all, an individual approach and a comprehensive analysis of the student’s activities. Behavior in a stressful situation depends largely on the experience of behavior in similar situations.
Another common type of emotional state is frustration. This is a psychological state of disorganization of consciousness and personal activity, caused by objectively or subjectively insurmountable obstacles on the way to the desired goal. This is a conflict between the internal orientation of the individual and the objective possibilities associated with achieving the goal. Frustration occurs when the degree of dissatisfaction is above the frustration threshold.
The threshold of frustration is determined not only by the temperament and degree of emotional arousal of a given person, but also by the presence of a distant, dominant goal of activity, which helps to calmly react to obstacles that are insignificant for it, although significant for everyday purposes. In a state of frustration, a person experiences a particularly strong neuropsychic shock. It reveals itself as extreme annoyance, embitterment, depression, complete indifference to oneself and the environment.
Thus, there are a huge number of different emotional states that have a huge impact on various types of human activities, on his health and on the quality of his life in general. Only a few of them have been described in this paragraph.
1.3 The importance of emotional states in human life
Emotional states affect many aspects of a person’s activity, his health, and the quality of life in general. They also influence cognitive processes and affect the human body and mind. We can also note the influence of emotional states on the process of personal development and on his consciousness.
Emotional states are associated with cognitive processes, such as perception, memory, attention, etc. They are capable of performing a motivating function in cognitive activity, since they accompany, “color” the cognitively reflected content, evaluate and express its subjective meaning. This feature is central to characterizing the relationship of emotional states to cognitive processes.
Emotional states affect a person's body and mind, they affect almost every aspect of his existence. In a person experiencing an emotional state, a change in the electrical activity of the facial muscles can be recorded. Some changes are also observed in the electrical activity of the brain, in the functioning of the circulatory and respiratory systems. The pulse of an angry or frightened person can be 40-60 beats per minute higher than normal. Such sharp changes in somatic indicators when a person experiences a strong emotional state indicate that almost all neurophysiological and somatic systems of the body are involved in this process. Emotional states activate the autonomic nervous system, which, in turn, affects the endocrine and neurohumoral systems.
Whatever the emotional state experienced by a person - powerful or barely expressed - it always causes physiological changes in his body. In indistinct emotional states, somatic changes are not so pronounced: without reaching the threshold of awareness, they often go unnoticed. But we should not underestimate the importance of such unconscious, subliminal processes for the body. A prolonged negative emotional state, even of moderate intensity, can be extremely dangerous and ultimately lead to physical or mental illness. The results of recent research in the field of neurophysiology suggest that mood even affects the immune system, reducing resistance to disease.
The emotional states experienced by a person have a direct impact on the quality of the activity he performs - his work, study, play. For example, one student is passionate about a subject and is full of a passionate desire to study it thoroughly, to comprehend it to its subtleties. Another person is disgusted by the subject being studied and, naturally, looks for a reason not to study it. It is easy to imagine what emotions the educational process will evoke in each of these two students: for the first it will bring joy and happiness of learning, for the second - the eternal fear of failure in the exam.
The success of interaction with the people around him, and therefore the success of his social development and socialization, depends on the emotional states that a child most often experiences and displays.
Two types of factors are important when considering the relationship between emotions and personality development. The first is the genetic inclinations of the subject in the sphere of emotional states. An individual's genetic makeup appears to play an important role in the acquisition of emotional traits (or thresholds) for various emotional states. The second factor is the individual's personal experience and learning related to the emotional sphere and, in particular, socialized ways of expressing emotions and emotion-driven behavior.
However, when a child has a low threshold in relation to a particular emotional state, when he often experiences and expresses it, this inevitably causes a special kind of reaction from other children and surrounding adults. Such forced interaction inevitably leads to the formation of special personal characteristics. Individual emotional traits are also significantly influenced by social experiences, especially during childhood and infancy.
Emotional states influence not only the child's personality and social development, but also their intellectual development. A child with severe experiences is significantly less likely to explore the environment than a child with a low threshold for interest and joy.
Sexual attraction is almost always accompanied by one or another emotional state. When combined with anger and contempt, it degenerates into sadism or sexual violence. The combination of sexual desire and guilt can lead to masochism or impotence. In love and in marriage, sexual attraction causes joyful excitement in partners, an acute experience of sensual pleasure and leaves behind the most vivid impressions.
Individual ways of expressing emotions and emotional responses are a definite factor in courtship and choosing a life partner. Unfortunately, the role of emotional traits in courtship and marriage has not been sufficiently studied. However, research in other areas indicates that a subject either chooses a mate whose emotional experiences and expressions complement his own, or selects a partner who has a similar emotional profile - the same thresholds for experiencing various emotions and the same ways of expressing them.
Thus, the importance of emotional states in human life is very great. They are caused both by internal organic processes and by the influence of external objects, objects or situations. They are organically connected with human needs. Emotional states play an important role in human activity in its most diverse forms. Not a single type of human activity can proceed without emotions, which leave a unique imprint on these types of activities. Emotional states permeate the relationships between people and constitute an essential aspect of the characteristic properties of a person’s personality. They are associated not only with direct stimuli from the external environment, but also with ideas reproduced from memory, constituting an essential aspect of the imagination process. Emotional states are organically included in the motives of behavior, and a person often acts under their influence.
Chapter 1 Conclusion
An emotional state is:
A single emotional process of limited duration, which can last from a few seconds to several hours and be more or less intense.
A mental state that arises during the life of a subject and determines not only the level of information and energy exchange, but also the direction of behavior.
There are a huge number of types of emotional states, varying in intensity, duration and nature of the impact on a person (affect, frustration, stress, mood, etc.).
Emotional states have a great impact on the human body: his body, mind, behavior. They play an important role in all spheres of life, permeate people’s relationships, and influence the development of the individual as a whole. Emotional states are also closely related to cognitive processes and the consciousness of the individual.
Chapter 2. Basic approaches to the problem of emotional states in foreign psychology
.1 The problem of emotional states in foreign psychology
In foreign psychology, the most popular areas that study emotional states are psychoanalysis, behaviorism, Gestalt psychology, cognitive and humanistic psychology.
In our opinion, first it is necessary to describe the general principles and ideas of each of the above areas. Then find out what importance representatives of these directions attached to emotional states and how they studied them. That is, we need to determine approaches to the problem of emotional states in psychoanalysis, behaviorism and other foreign psychological schools.
2.1.1 Emotional states in psychoanalysis
In the most general sense, psychoanalysis is the desire to identify the hidden motives of actions, opinions, and the origins of a person’s moral and psychological attitudes. Representatives of this direction tend to believe that consciousness is not the whole psyche and not even a large part of it. Beyond consciousness there is a powerful mental apparatus, which has been formed over many millennia and whose activity is inaccessible to introspection. However, it is in this hidden, unconscious part of the psyche that the primary sources of many of our feelings and thoughts are located. Here, completely unreflected, unreacted experiences accumulate, a synthesis of individual impressions takes place and the decomposition of holistic, but random images that a person perceives while awake, in a specific situation.
In the sphere of the unconscious, the mental and somatic are intertwined. Mental abnormalities develop into physical illness. Here, deep-seated sympathies and antipathies for people are formed, the causes of conflicts that can be difficult to understand. In the unconscious, “fatal decisions” are prepared, impulses for heroic or criminal actions mature, which neither the person committing the actions nor his environment expects. All social, interpersonal relationships, mass psychology are permeated with unconscious motives.
For psychoanalysis, emotional states are, so to speak, an object of study. The task of psychoanalysis is to decipher, interpret, and comprehend everything new, unexpected, and contradictory that arises in consciousness and human relationships. Obviously, all people with normal and deviant psyches engage in psychoanalysis when they encounter something that personally affects them. If one of our old acquaintances suddenly changes his attitude towards us, we try to find an explanation for this in his character and biography. The way a person reacts to the events that happen to him can tell a lot about him.
Emotional states and experiences that arise in a person in the process of activity play an important role in his life. They have a significant impact on his mental and physical health. Within the framework of psychoanalysis, emotional states are considered as certain states of the subject that arise in response to external influences of the environment. That is, stress or euphoria cannot arise on their own, without any outside intervention. Emotional states cannot be “subjugated” to oneself, unlike emotions and emotional manifestations. The latter can pass unnoticed, latently. A person is able to restrain suddenly surging emotions, both negative and positive.
Emotional states are beyond human control. And often they are not aware of it. A person is able to cope with some of them: the subject can easily overcome stress, frustration, and bad mood on his own. But, as the practice of psychoanalysis shows, sometimes a person has emotional experiences of a deeper nature, which he cannot cope with on his own.
We can say that psychoanalysis has always been present in culture as a necessary and natural component of it, sometimes taking the form of a friendly dialogue, an instructive conversation, a declaration of love, a church confession, spectator participation in a play, or a reader’s reflection on the fate of the hero. The emergence of psychoanalysis into a special and targeted discourse, as a form of therapeutic communication between a doctor and a patient, occurred in the twentieth century - probably because deep and unusual changes in people’s relationships led to various kinds of mental discomfort. Under the influence of urbanization, increased social mobility, accelerated development of culture and other factors, the usual psychological connections between people have been disrupted. A feeling of loss of meaning in life, an insurmountable barrier between generations, loneliness and alienation, and the impossibility of self-realization arose that had no analogues in the past. Because of this, the number of diseases of various kinds, crimes, suicides has increased, and ideological conflicts have intensified.
This led to the fact that the emotional states that arise in a person began to acquire a deeper meaning and became more extended in time. Now it is becoming increasingly difficult for a person to manage his general internal state. Stress and frustration with prolonged exposure can have a detrimental effect on health, both mental and physical.
Thus, in the psychoanalytic direction, emotional states are considered as some states of the subject that manifest themselves in response to external influences. These states have a certain impact on a person, sometimes prompting him to various rash actions. This approach to the problem of emotional states is characterized by the fact that the subject takes an active part in the analysis of his mental state, in overcoming the difficulties associated with experiencing various emotions.
2.1.2 Emotional states in behaviorism
Psychology, as behaviorists see it, is an objective branch of the natural sciences. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. The behaviorist, trying to obtain a unified response pattern, does not recognize the boundary between man and animal. Human behavior forms the main part of the general scheme of research in this area.
The motto of the behaviorists is: “Psychology must abandon all references to consciousness.” In their opinion, psychology should be defined as the science of behavior and “never use terms such as consciousness, mental state, mind, content, introspectively verifiable, imaginary, etc. Instead, one should operate in terms of stimulus and response, habit formation , habit integration, etc.
Those. psychology should be the study of adaptive behavior, not the content of consciousness. Description of behavior leads to prediction of behavior in terms of stimulus and response: “In a fully developed system of psychology, knowing the response can predict the stimulus, and knowing the stimulus can predict the response.”
Watson, one of the most famous representatives of behaviorism, applies his thesis to both mental images and experienced emotions - not a single section of psychology can fall out of the behaviorist scheme, since it is necessary to show that the mind is behavior; Behaviorists should not cede the subject to mentalists.
In the emotional realm, behaviorists believed that humans are born with only a few instincts—fear, rage, and sex—and emotions are conditioned versions of these innate reflexes. As an example, we will describe an experiment aimed at confirming this thesis. In the experiment conducted by Watson, as an unconditioned stimulus that generates fear (an unconditioned reflex), he chose a loud noise - the sound that a metal beam made when hitting it with a hammer; it was found that this stimulus was one of the few that frightened the little boy (the subject). Watson accompanied the noise with a conditioned stimulus, a rat, with which the boy liked to play. But now, when the subject touched the rat, Watson hit the beam; after seven such combinations, the child showed fear as soon as he saw the rat.
Watson claimed to have created a "conditioned emotional response" and argued that the setting of his experiment was a prototype of the emotional learning of a normal person in a normal environment. Watson believed that he had demonstrated that the rich emotional life of an adult is simply a large number of conditioned reflexes developed over many years of development.
Thus, emotional states in line with behaviorism were understood as certain instinctive reactions to the influence of external stimuli, as a special type of conditioned reflexes that are developed and accumulated in a person throughout life.
2.1.3 Emotional states in humanistic psychology
At one time, the authors of humanistic psychology called it the third force (after psychoanalysis and behaviorism). But this is not entirely accurate. This approach does not deny the achievements of either psychoanalysis or behaviorism, but only asks to remember that “psychology is for man, not man for psychology,” and there is no need to fit it into psychoanalytic or behavioral schemes, but on the contrary, psychological approaches and “schemes " adapt to the unique uniqueness of each individual. Now, without a humanistic approach, any psychological direction is unthinkable.
The humanistic approach in psychology is an indication of the active role of man, the study of the human personality in the dynamics not of the past (although this is also taken into account), but of the future - the disclosure of reserves, the expansion of consciousness, in general, personal growth. This is faith in a person’s reserve capabilities, the awakening of his own activity.
The approaches of humanistic psychology are widely used in medicine, pedagogy, social work, politics, business and management, law enforcement, and self-education.
The basis of the humanistic approach is love not for people in general, but for each specific person, accepting him as he is, but at the same time believing in his capabilities for self-improvement, personal growth and solving problems that seem insurmountable to him.
According to the principles of humanistic psychology, an emotional state is nothing more than an experience, an acquisition of experience. It is a sensory rather than a cognitive or verbal process, occurring in the immediate present, which is subjective and imperceptible (to others), as well as unconditionally significant (though not necessarily so later) and serving as a means for conceptualization. Representatives of humanistic psychology consider it incorrect to study individual mental and psychophysiological processes and functions in isolation, which are in constant interaction and mutual influence. for example, in their opinion, it is impossible to consider a person’s attention and memory without taking into account his motivation and emotional state.
Humanistic psychology emphasizes such values as faith, the possibility of human improvement, personal self-realization, orientation to the present moment in life, hedonism (the desire for sensual pleasures as the main content of life), the tendency to maximum self-disclosure of a person, to the free expression of the inner world and experiences.
“Humanists” focused on the study of mental health and positive mental qualities. In their opinion, the individual has a desire to unite with others like himself, the need for love, friendship and emotional empathy.
The founders of humanistic psychology are considered to be Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Rogers writes: "A person can behave harshly, immaturely, destructively under the influence of fear and defense mechanisms. But in my experience, there is goodness in everyone. The only important thing is to liberate these tendencies and create an atmosphere of security and safety for their natural expression."
Humanistic psychology studies various aspects of emotional states and their representation in the physical body. Representatives of the humanistic movement tend to see man as a being who is innately active, struggling, self-affirming, increasing his capabilities, with an almost limitless capacity for positive growth. Psychotherapy in this direction involves abstraction from the patient’s experience - the emphasis on the “there and then” of the distant past is transferred to the “here and now” of the immediate present; intellectual knowledge and insight are replaced by emotions and experiences.
Thus, emotional states in humanistic psychology are understood as certain sensory experiences that have a significant impact on both the mental and physical state of the subject. Such experiences can be of varying degrees of intensity and can have different (positive or negative) effects on a person’s general condition. And most importantly, emotional states are strictly individual, i.e. the same emotional state (by definition: frustration, affect, mood, etc.) will occur differently in different people due to their individual characteristics.
2.1.4 Emotional states in Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology originated during the period of the appearance of the first works in the field of behaviorism and the beginning of the spread of psychoanalysis. The main concept of this direction is gestalt. Gestalt is at the same time a structure, a holistic perception, and a holistic image (and the image of anything - from the image of an object, fantasy to a way of life). This can be a holistic structure in both temporal and spatial aspects.
The main idea of Gestalt is that the whole is not the sum of its parts, but a fundamentally new formation. Gestaltists believed that in the human psyche there are no independent elements, but there are certain integral states, integral perception, consisting of elements that do not exist separately and have meaning only in a holistic combination. According to Gestalt psychology, our perception is not objective, but selective, it largely depends on our experience. Gestalt can be considered a certain established way of life, including geographical and social environment, relationships, habits, etc. When some significant fragment falls out of our gestalt, it is an injury. It must be replaced by something. Gestalt is especially painfully disrupted when a loved one is lost; it takes time for him to “adjust” to the changed structure. Very often the “wound” formed in the gestalt never fully heals. The emotional experiences that accompany the process of a person’s accumulation of experience are also part of the general gestalt. The existing gestalt value systems and way of life prevent old people and young people from understanding each other’s habits.
Gestalt psychology studies thinking processes, hidden mechanisms of perception, various types of unconscious motivation. An important area of Gestalt psychology was the study of needs, will, and affects, mainly associated with the name of Kurt Lewin. Lewin proceeded from the fact that the basis of human activity in all its forms, be it action, thinking, emotional state, is need.
A need is a certain desire, a tendency to achieve some goal that is set by the subject himself. The body strives for discharge - satisfaction of needs. It is like a gap in the gestalt, and our body signals that the gestalt requires completion, and until this gap is filled, the torment continues. This can be creative, family and personal torment of an unfulfilled gestalt.
Emotional states in line with Gestalt psychology are understood as components of Gestalt, special experiences that usually accompany significant events for a person associated with the accumulation of life experience. They may arise in response to the desire to satisfy some need.
2.1.5 Emotional states in cognitive psychology
The discipline that studies the first, cognitive principle is today called cognitive psychology. How a person sees, hears, touches, what he remembers, what he pays attention to, how he thinks and makes decisions - all this is the subject of cognitive psychology.
It has long been known about the soul that it is inseparable. Therefore, cognitive processes cannot be separated from affective ones, and sooner or later the study of human cognition is intertwined with the analysis of the emotional sphere.
The main feature of the cognitive approach is that the mechanisms of knowledge processing are considered as a central link in the human psyche. This approach is a child of the information age of humanity. He understands the human psyche as the center of the sphere of information circulation. Computers, the Internet, mass information - all these phenomena within the framework of cognitive psychology are placed in the same circle of concepts with the human psyche.
The cognitive approach means bringing precision to psychology. Today's psychology, exploring the soul, something that seems ephemeral and imprecise, achieves great certainty in its models and interpretations. The cognitive approach goes beyond the field of cognitive psychology and extends to such branches as social psychology, psychology of personality and emotions, etc.
A person's emotional states influence his cognitive processes. Many of these facts are disparate in nature, as they were obtained in different theoretical contexts. However, a holistic picture is gradually emerging, showing that emotional states significantly interfere with the functioning of the cognitive sphere of the psyche and, moreover, are inextricably linked with it.
Emotional states are often viewed as readiness for action, i.e. as a state of the body that is expressed in the readiness to react in a certain way to biologically, personally or culturally significant stimuli. At the psychological level, this state manifests itself as a subjective experience of emotion, at the physiological level - in changes in the activity of the autonomic nervous system and associated somatic changes, at the behavioral level - in facial, pantomimic and other changes in motor activity.
Representatives of this direction believe that the emotional and cognitive spheres of the psyche are inextricably linked and should be studied in their unity. The response to the emotional meaning of a stimulus is automatic and occurs before the stimulus is perceived at a conscious level. As a result, the emotional coloring of the stimulus influences the characteristics of the emerging perceptual image.
Intuitive reasons suggest that people primarily perceive information whose emotional coloring corresponds to their emotional state. That is, emotional experiences influence our perception. We process first of all the information that is most important at the moment. A person's emotional state also influences what information a person remembers more successfully.
Thus, emotional states in cognitive psychology are considered as readiness for any action, that is, the body’s ability to respond to biologically and socially significant stimuli. In psychological terms, it is a process of subjective experience of emotions. In addition, emotional states have a huge impact on all cognitive processes: memory, perception, attention, etc.
2.2 Comparative analysis of approaches to the problem of emotional states of some foreign psychological schools
To begin, we would like to summarize the above findings regarding the main approaches to the problem of emotional states.
Emotional states in psychoanalysis are understood as certain states of the subject that appear in response to external influences. These states have a certain impact on a person, sometimes prompting him to various rash actions. This approach to the problem of emotional states is characterized by the fact that the subject takes an active part in the analysis of his mental state, in overcoming the difficulties associated with experiencing various emotions.
In line with behaviorism, emotional states were considered as certain instinctive reactions to the influence of external stimuli, as a special type of conditioned reflexes that are developed and accumulated in a person throughout life. The peculiarity of this approach is that human consciousness is not the object of study. All the attention of behaviorists is focused on behavior, on human reactions to the influence of the environment, to which they include emotional states.
Emotional states, according to humanists, are certain sensory experiences that have a significant impact on both the mental and physical state of the subject. Such experiences can be of varying degrees of intensity and can have different (positive or negative) effects on a person’s general condition. Emotional states are strictly individual, i.e. the same emotional state (by definition: frustration, affect, mood, etc.) will occur differently in different people due to their individual characteristics.
Emotional states from the point of view of Gestalt psychology are presented as components of Gestalt, special experiences that usually accompany significant events for a person associated with the accumulation of life experience. They may arise in response to the desire to satisfy some need. And needs, in turn, arise in a person due to gaps in the gestalt.
And finally, emotional states in cognitive psychology are considered as readiness for any action, that is, the body’s ability to respond to biologically and socially significant stimuli. In psychological terms, it is a process of subjective experience of emotions. In addition, emotional states have a huge impact on all cognitive processes: memory, perception, attention, etc.
The differences between these approaches to the problem of emotional states are mainly related to what is the object of study in them. For example, in behaviorism, this is behavior, therefore, emotional states are considered here as an external, behavioral reaction. In psychoanalysis, the object of study is consciousness. That is, in this approach, emotional experiences are internal, mental states, which can often be hidden by the subject and have no external manifestation.
The humanistic approach emphasizes the individuality of each person, and therefore the individual nature of emotional states. Gestalt psychology, on the contrary, reduces the course of emotional reactions in most people under one scheme: a need arises (a gap in the gestalt) and the body strives to satisfy it (fill the gap). This process is accompanied by various emotional experiences that are similar in all mentally healthy people.
Cognitive scientists view emotional states in relation to cognitive processes. They study how the emotional coloring of information affects perception, memory, attention and other cognitive processes.
Thus, analyzing the data obtained, it can be noted that what is common to all these directions is that in each of them emotional states are considered as a kind of response of the body to external influences. This is always associated with the experience of some kind of emotion.
Chapter 2 Conclusion
The main approaches to the problem of emotional states in foreign psychology are psychoanalysis, behaviorism, Gestalt psychology, cognitive psychology, and humanistic psychology.
Psychoanalysis considers emotional states as internal, “mental” experiences of the subject.
Within the framework of behaviorism, emotional experiences are the external, behavioral reactions of the body to the influence of the environment.
In humanistic psychology, emotional states are understood as certain sensory experiences that are strictly individual in nature.
Gestaltasts define emotional states as components of a gestalt, special experiences that usually accompany significant events for a person associated with the accumulation of life experience.
Cognitive psychology defines emotional experiences as readiness for any action, that is, the body’s ability to respond to biologically and socially significant stimuli. This is the process of subjectively experiencing emotions.
Conclusion
In the course of the work done, all the objectives of the study were completed.
An analysis of popular scientific literature on the problem of emotional states in foreign psychology was carried out. We studied various sources containing information about emotional states (their types, impact on human activity), as well as the approaches of some foreign psychological schools to the problem of emotional states.
Also, in accordance with the goals of the work, we studied the main types of emotional states and their impact on human life and activity.
An emotional state is most often considered either as a type of mental state or as a separate emotional process.
There are many types of emotional states that have different effects on the human body, its activity, development, and consciousness.
We have studied in detail the main approaches to the problem of emotional states in the following foreign psychological schools: psychoanalysis, behaviorism, cognitive psychology, humanistic psychology, Gestalt psychology.
Thus, the goal of this study, in our opinion, has been achieved.
A further prospect for the development of this topic is the study of the problem of emotional states in other psychological schools.
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