WEEK 6 – EMOTIONAL SELF: Achieving my Emotions are feelings such as happiness, disappointment,

emotional competencies and sorrow that generally have both physiological and
cognitive elements that influence behavior. The word
emotion is derived from the Latin word 'Emover' which
means to ‘stir up or to excite'. Emotion can be
understood as an agitated or excited state of our mind and

"Emotion is a completely effective experience that

involves diffuse physiological changes and can be
expressed overtly in characteristic behavior patterns". -
Charles G Morris

"Emotion is an affective experience that accompanies body.

generalized linear adjustment and mental and
physiological stirred up states in the individual and that
shows itself in his overt behavior". - Crow and Crow On the basis of these definitions, emotions can be
understood as some sort of feelings or affective
experiences that are characterized by some physiological
"Emotion is a 'Moved or 'stirred up' state of an changes that generally lead them to perform some of the
organism. It is a stirred-up feeling, that is the way it other types of behavioral acts.
appears to the individual himself. It is a disturbing
muscular and glandular activity, that is the way it
appears to an external observer - Woodworth Characteristics of Emotion

"Emotion is an affective experience that one undergoes Some of the important characteristics of emotions are as
during an instinctive excitement. For example, when a follows:
child perceives a bull coming towards him (cognition)
he experiences an affective experience in the form of
the arousal of accompanied emotion of fear and
1. Emotional experiences are associated with some
consequently tries to run away. McDougall discovered
instincts:
14 basic instincts and concluded that each and every
emotion, whatever it is, is the product of some Every emotional experience is associated with one or the
instinctive behavior". – McDougall other innate instinct. An emotion is aroused under the
influence of instinctive excitement. One can experience the
emotion of anger only after riding on the instinctive waves
SEGMENT 1: Fundamentals of Emotion of pugnacity or combat.

Emotion plays a major role in influencing our behavior. 2. Emotions are the product of perception:
Life would be dreary without feelings like joy and Perception of a proper stimulus (object or situation) is
sorrow, excitement and needed to start an emotional experience. The organic
changes within the body (favorable or unfavorable) then,
may intensify the emotional experience.
disappointment, love and fear, hope, and dismay.
Emotion adds color and spice to life.
3. Emotions bring physiological changes:
 Every emotional experience involves many physical and
physiological changes in the organism.
Some of the changes which express themselves as overt
behavior are easily observable. For example, the heart Kinds of Emotions:
beating, reddened eyes, flushed cheeks, choke in the Emotions have both positive as well as negative effects.
voice, or an attack on an emotion arousing stimulus.

1. Negative emotions: - Unpleasant emotions like fear,

In addition to these easily observable changes, there are anger, and jealousy which are harmful to the
internal physiological changes, e.g. changes in the individual's development are termed negative
circulation of blood, impact on the digestive system, and emotions.
changes in the functioning of some glands like adrenal
glands.
2.

4. The core of an emotion is feeling:

Actually, every emotional experience, whatever it may be
involves feelings-a sense of response aroused in the heart.
Feeling and emotions both our affective experiences.
Positive emotions: The pleasant emotions like affection
There is only the difference between degrees. After
(love), amusement, curiosity, and happiness which are
perceiving a thing or a situation, pleasure or displeasure
very helpful and essential for normal development are
feelings can be aroused. There may be some intensity or
termed as positive emotions.
degree of strength in these feelings.
By their nature of being both positive and negative, it
should not be assumed that all the positive emotions are
Some Other Characteristics of Emotions: always good; and the negative emotions are bad. While
weighing their impact, other factors like frequency and
intensity, nature of situations and the stimuli aroused
1. Emotions are prevalent in every living organism. should also be considered. Excess of everything is bad.

2. They are present at all stages of development and can Emotions with too much intensity and frequency, whether
be aroused in young as well as in old. positive or negative, bring harmful effects. But the so-
called negative emotions are essential for human
3. One emotion can give rise to a number of similar welfare. The emotion of fear prepares an individual to
emotions. face the danger ahead. The child who has no emotions
of fear is sure to get affected because it does not learn to
4. Emotions are individualistic, and they differ from person
save itself against possible danger.
to person.
5. Emotions rise abruptly but subside slowly. An emotion
once aroused, tends to persist and leaves behind an
emotional need.
6. Some emotions can be aroused by a number of different
stimuli, objects, or situations. SEGMENT
2: Emotion
7. There is a negative connection between the upsurge of
emotions and intelligence. Reasoning and sharp intellect
can check sudden upsurge of emotions. Also under
emotional experiences, the reasoning and thinking powers
are decreased.
8. Emotions have the quality of displacement. The anger
aroused on account of one stimulus gets transferred to
another situation. The anger resulting from being rebuked
by the boss gets transferred to beat the children at home.

management strategies
 3. Mute
Our emotions influence practically every decision we If an interaction with another person turns emotional and
make leaving the situation is not an option, you might need to
put yourself on "Mute." In other words, stop speaking.
On the one hand, that's a very good thing. Instead of
leading a robotic existence, our feelings and emotions Hitting Mute is helpful because, often, sharing your point
motivate and inspire us. The problem is when we of view when your partner is emotional won't help the
become victims of those emotions. At times, all of us let situation. The best thing yo can do is let the other person
temporary feelings and moods rule the way we make express their feelings.
decisions. even when it leads to actions we later regret.
How to use it: Take a deep breath and remind yourself
Since most of the emotions you experience occur almost that both your mood and that of your communication
instinctively, you can't control how you feel at any given partner are temporary. Remember that much of what they
moment. But you can control how you react to those say at this point may be extreme or exaggerated; resist
feelings-by focusing on your thoughts. the urge to respond in kind. In many cases, once the
person has let everything out, they'll calm down. As you
In a book, EQ Applied: The Real-World Guide to
remain on mute, be sure to.....
Emotional Intelligence, the author compares your ability
to direct your thoughts to a set of controls on a media
player. Just like these controls can help you get the most
4. Record
out of a movie or song, these methods will help you
manage your emotional reactions. Recording is concentrated listening, with the intent to
learn more about another person's perspective. You're not
trying to figure out how to reply; instead, you're listening to
Here are, seven specific strategies to help manage understand.
emotions:
Through attentive listening, you often see things you didn't
see before, and can even discover basic
misunderstandings you didn't know existed.
1. Pause
When you hit pause, you take time to stop and think
before you speak or act. Doing so can prevent you from How to use it: As you tune into the other person, don't
saying or doing something you'll later regret-like sending judge or offer advice. Instead, focus on learning more
an angry email or posting something regrettable on about how the other person sees you, how they see
social media. themselves, and how they see the situation.
How to use it: If you feel your emotions are getting out of
control, take a pause. If possible, go for a short walk.
5. Rewind
Once you've had the chance to calm down, come back
and decide how you want to move forward. Emotionally charged discussions are often rooted in deep-
seated issues. If left alone, these problems will continue
springing up.
2. Volume Control
Have you ever noticed that when speaking with
That's why you can't just try to forget about the situation.
someone, the other person usually responds in the exact
Instead, use rewind to revisit the topic at a later time,
same style or tone as you? If you're calm and rational,
once everyone's had the chance to cool down.
they'll respond in kind. Yell or scream, and they'll do the
same. How to use it: Carefully think about where, when, and how
to reintroduce the subject.
Here is where your volume control comes in: If you need
to have an emotionally charged conversation, speak in a
way that's calm and collected.
For example, opening with an apology, an expression of
thanks, or by acknowledging where you and your
communication partner agree may lead the other person
How to use it: If a discussion begins to escalate, focus
to lower their guard and become more open to whatever
your efforts on "dialing it back" by softening your tone or
you have to say.
lowering your voice. You'll be surprised at how your
partner follows your lead.
6. Fast-Forward The ability to understand and interpret the emotional states
of others is very important in our social life. It is clear that
Fast-forwarding to the end may ruin a film, but it's
emotions play a major role in our behavior and in
extremely helpful when dealing with your emotions.
understanding others' behavior. Sometimes, emotions are
After you pause, step back and fast forward to think
beneficial and at other times they are harmful.
about the consequences of your actions-both short- and
long-term.
The key is not to take emotions out of the equation, but
rather to find balance. It's about learning to harmonize
How to use it: Forget about how you feel at the moment.
rational thought with deep emotions, balancing "brain" with
Ask yourself: How will this decision affect you in a
"heart."
month? A year? Five years?
Doing so can help you think clearly, see the big picture,
and make better decisions That way, you'll be sure to make emotions work for you,
instead of against you

7. Slow-Motion
"Negative" emotions like anger, frustration, fear, and
sadness can prove harmful if left unchecked. But those
same emotions can be useful-if you learn to harness
them effectively.
Much like putting a film or song into slow-motion can
help you see details you've never noticed, slowing down
to analyze your negative emotions can help you figure
out the underlying reasons behind your feelings and
lead you to potential solutions.
How to use it: The next time you're dealing with
negative feelings or a bad mood, slow down and ask
yourself why you feel the way you do. Can you take
action to change a situation or circumstance and make
things better? Or, can you ask someone for help?
Answering these questions can help put you in control
of your feelings instead of leaving them in control of
you. We are emotional creatures. That's not a bad thing,
as long as we know how to deal with our feelings and
moods in a positive way.

Synthesis

Emotions occupy a very important position in a person's

life, as they motivate in many ways. A person in love
makes sacrifices for the object of his love. The love of
their offspring spurs the parents to great sacrifices.

Emotions have a stimulating effect, for example, a

person who is in a happy state of mind invariably makes
others also happy and sees happiness around him.
Similarly, a person who is angry makes others angry.
Thus emotion is contagious. Emotions
also play a crucial role in creative and artistic activities.