Psychology Final -Essays

12/23/2005
Psychology Final -Essays

6. How do psychologists explain emotions?

While the term emotion has no universally excepted definition, it is generally viewed as an unintentional impulse that is often accompanied by a physical and psychological response, that will often motivate an organism or person to performing an action. Our emotions have a very large role in determining motivations. Our emotions can help give us insight on whether something is a good idea or not, thus helping us make better decisions. Our emotions provide an important role in displaying through body language our thoughts and feelings about a subject, to other people. By displaying our emotions other people are able to make relatively good decisions about how to act around each other. Emotions are more or less a survival mechanism, present in not just humans but also proven to also be present in many different animals. Suggesting that emotions play a significant role in the animal kingdom.

Psychologists believe emotional expressions evolved to communicate our feelings to others which aids survival. Emotions give hints what people will do next. A Recent study showed that people are able to detect angry and scheming faces faster than happy , sad or neutral faces.   It seems we are sensitive to threatening faces.  

Basic expressions appear to be fairly universal but many are affected by learning.   Anger is common in the Western culture and harmony is common in the Asian culture.

7. How does group membership effect individual behavior?

Group memberships have many different effects on an individual"s behavior. Sometimes these effects are beneficial and help expand our horizons, but some group influences on an individual can be a very dangerous. There are many reasons why a person might change the way they behave when they are in a group; whether the change is the result of the need to belong, The need to have some form of protection; or the desire to be popular. These changes...