Emotion is a complicated subject which is often accompanied by behavioral and even biological changes. Further, emotion involves thinking, behavioral changes such as the facial expression, feeling and also the activation of the nervous system. Also, there are various theories which exist explaining the existence of emotions. For example, there is the evolution theory which was suggested by Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century. In his opinion, Charles indicated that emotions evolved since they had adaptive issues. For example, he concluded that the feeling of fear developed since it assisted individuals in act I specific ways which improved their chances of survival. Further, Charles Darwin suggested that facial expressions were quite vital in aiding evolution theorists have concluded that emotions are innate and they are as a result of a response to stimuli (Eldesouky et al, 2018). These theorists believe that all human beings share certain emotions such as joy, anger, disgust and many others.
Also, there is the James Lange theory which was suggested in the 1880's by William James and Carl Lange. According to these theorists, people can experience emotion because they perceive their bodies' psychological responses to certain degrees. For instance, individuals do not sob because they are in a state of sadness but rather they are sad because they cry. The James Lange theory indicates that psychological state corresponds to different states of emotions. Further, there is the cannon bard theory of evolution which clearly states that an emotion which triggers stimuli is transmitted to the stimulus which in turn triggers an emotion and moves further to the sympathetic nervous system prompting psychological arousal. Walter cannon who came up with the theory disagreed severely with the James Lange theory (Lewis et al., 2008) Firstly Walter suggested that people can experience psychological reactions connected to emotion without necessarily experiencing those emotions. For example, an individual's heart might beat fast because he has been exercising but not because of fear. Further, Walter cannon suggested that are as a result of the thalamus sending a message to the brain as a reply to an inducement and in turn, a psychological reaction occurs. Explicitly, the theory declares that physical and mental experiences of emotions arise at the same time and one does not have to trigger the other.
Comparison between the James Lange theory and the cannon bard theory
The James Lange theory proposed by James and Lange clearly states that a stimulus results in arousal which in turn causes an emotion. For example, the sound of a gun leads to a rapid heartbeat which in turn trigger s fear. However, the canon brad theory suggests that a stimulus triggers both an arousal and an emotion. For example, the sound of a gunshot causes a rapid heartbeat and also the experience of fear. Nonetheless, the two theories have some similarities because they both involve stimuli, arousal and emotions. The two only differ due to the timing of when the arousal and feelings take place (Otto et al., 2018).Nevertheless, they differ from the cognitive theories in that the two do not recognize the functions of cognition.
Emotion Regulation
Emotion regulation can be distinct as the method through which human being influence the emotions they have, the periods they experience them and the way they express them. Feelings occur over a specified duration of time. Therefore, the regulations of emotions involve the change of emotional dynamics. No one likes experiencing negative emotions, and therefore people try very hard to minimize the negative experiences. Besides, people make conscious choices to regulate emotions. For example, one may decide to change a topic which is not interesting (J Gross, 2002). Further, the Process Model is one of the theories which is used to explain the process of emotion regulation. This model is based on the modal model of emotion. Further, the modal model of sentiment suggests that the method of generating excitement occurs in a specific sequence. The sequence of the model begins with the selection of a situation which is relevant to the emotions. Secondly, all attention is then directed to the condition identified. Farther, the sentiment identified is further evaluated and then interpreted. As a result, an emotional response is triggered (J James, 1998).In the process model, the emotion regulation strategies are further separated into two groups, the antecedent focused and the response focused strategies.
Further, there is the appraisal theory of emotion regulation which states that emotions arise due to the interaction of things which we find significant in our lives and the happenings which occur in our environments. According to the appraisal theorists, emotion is a process but not a mental state. Additionally, these theorists agree that the emotional processes occur as a result of changes in several components. Also, the theory declares that motions are recursive meaning that the result of a psychological process can affect the emotional state of an individual. James Gross agrees with the appraisal theories of the definition and also on the significance of the appraisal process. For instance, James concurs that without appraisal emotions cannot be triggered. As explained in the appraisal theory, Gross admits that feelings are recursive. However, as gross emphasizes that passion can be regulated, regulation is not part of the appraisal theory. The Process theory is compatible with the Appraisal theory (Quiñones-Camacho et al., 2018).This indicates that Gross' approach is based on general assumptions similar to those in the appraisal theory.
Methodological challenges in studying Emotion Regulation.
In a research study conducted by Amelia Aldao and her colleagues, they were faced by several challenges which in turn affected the result of their findings. Although the researchers experimented with the emotion regulation using their self-reported data, examining one domain might be challenging since biases directed towards that domain might not be corrected. Further, the relationship between emotion regulation strategies and the study of psychopathology might inflate due to item overlap (Aldao et al., 2009). Additionally, researchers have had a hard time defining emotion and emotion regulation. For instance, some researchers have had to declare that the two terms are inherently regulatory and therefore they cannot be distinguished. To further research on the concept of emotion regulations, examinations must be I a position to tackle these challenges of defining and separating these two terminologies.
Further, scientists conducting studies are yet to discover the developmental evidence of emotion regulation due to technical challenges. However, some of these researchers do not exhaust their creative possibilities which might significantly aid in the advancement of the study of emotion regulation (Nasso et al., 2018) For example, these researchers might employ tactics such as the comparison of emotion and regulatory phenomena's through comparison of the two. Also, they may conduct independent assessments on feelings and emotion regulation strategies.
Importance of these constructs in studying Psychopathology
There are many ways through which individuals can regulate their emotions. However, some emotion regulation strategies are more effective than others, and they have consequences. Gross and his colleagues conducted several experiments to identify whether reappraisal and suppression strategies had affective, cognitive and also the social impacts. In these set of operations, option and Lazarus were the first researchers to prove that these two strategies had significant effects on individuals. In their experiment, they presented a film to people who showed a circumcision ritual.
The film was however accompanied by a soundtrack which was explicitly designed to minimize the adverse emotional effect of the film. Some people were influenced by the soundtrack while others never heard it all. The results of the experiment revealed that individual who listened to the soundtrack had more pleasant mood rating as compared to those who never listened to the soundtrack. Additionally, theorist has proven that expressive emotion behavior plays a significant role in ensuring social interactions. Based on the experiments conducted by James gross on affective consequences, suppression has determined to play a significant role in reducing both the negative and positive expressive behaviour. Emotion regulation also has impacts on the field of psychopathology. It is evident that more than half of the non-substance related axis I disorders and even the axis II personality disorders occurs due to emotion deregulations. However, the connection between effective science and clinical science are in the early stages, and therefore research is yet to prove how emotion regulation is disrupted in psychopathology (Naragon-Gainey et al., 2017)
References
Aldao, Amelia " Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan " Schweizer, Susanne. (2009). Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical psychology review. 30. 217-37.
Eldesouky, L., " English, T. (2018). Another year older, another year wiser? Emotion regulation strategy selection and flexibility across adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 33(4), 572-585
J. Gross, James. (1998). The Emerging Field of Emotion Regulation: An Integrative Review. Review of General Psychology. 2. 271-299.
J Gross, James. (2002). Emotion Regulation: Affective, Cognitive, and Social Consequences. Psychophysiology. 39. 281-91.
Lewis, M., Haviland-Jones, Jeannette M. " Barrett, Lisa F. (2008). Handbook of Emotions, Third Edition. Guilford Press. 31. 497-512.
Naragon-Gainey, K., McMahon, T. P., " Chacko, T. P. (2017). The structure of common emotion regulation strategies: A meta-analytic examination. Psychological Bulletin, 143(4), 384-427.
Nasso, S., Vanderhasselt, M., Demeyer, I., " De Raedt, R. (2018). Autonomic regulation in response to stress: The influence of anticipatory emotion regulation strategies and trait rumination.
Otto, L. R., Sin, N. L., Almeida, D. M., " Sloan, R. P. (2018). Trait emotion regulation strategies and diurnal cortisol profiles in healthy adults. Health Psychology, 37(3), 301-305.
Quiñones-Camacho, L. E., " Davis, E. L. (2018). Discrete emotion regulation strategy repertoires and parasympathetic physiology characterize psychopathology symptoms in childhood. Developmental Psychology, 54(4), 718-730.
Schirda, B., Valentine, T. R., Aldao, A., " Prakash, R. S. (2016). Age-related differences in emotion regulation strategies: Examining the role of contextual factors. Developmental Psychology, 52(9), 1370-1380.
