WHAT IS AN EMOTION?
WHAT IS AN EMOTION?Emotions are complex states involving both physical and psychological changes that, in turn, influence our mood and behavior. An emotion is sparked by a particular event or object, which causes a physiological response in the body – both happiness and sadness can make us cry, fear makes our heart race, anger makes us feel hot. Then we change our behavior in accordance with the emotion. We might hug someone, run away or yell and fight. The behavior stage is the point at which emotional mastery plays a role. When you know how to master your emotions, you can catch them before they affect your behavior.
This is the straightforward answer to the question, “What is an emotion?” Beyond this definition, there are many theories of what causes emotion and why we respond to certain experiences the way we do. One thing is certain: Human emotion is a powerful force to be reckoned with.
WHAT IS EMOTIONAL MASTERY? PSYCHOLOGY’S ANSWER
As reported by Psychology Today, the definition of emotional mastery has evolved over the last century. Early American psychology embraced the James-Lange Theory, which held that emotions are strictly the product of physiology (a neurological response to some external stimuli). This view evolved when the Cannon-Bard Theory asserted that the brain’s thalamus mediates between external stimuli and subjective emotional experience.
The concept of emotional mastery wasn’t introduced until the 1960s with the Schachter-Singer experiment, where researchers gave participants a dose of a placebo vitamin. Participants then watched colleagues complete a set of questionnaires. When the colleagues responded angrily to the questionnaires, the participants felt angry in turn. But when the colleagues responded happily, the participants also felt happy. The study’s results implied a connection between peer influence and the felt experience of emotion.
The idea that emotions are influenced by outer as well as inner stimuli was furthered by psychiatrist Allen Beck, who demonstrated that thoughts, peer influence and circumstance shape emotions. Beck’s research formed the foundation of modern-day cognitive behavioral therapy, the gold standard of emotional mastery as it’s understood today.
GET CONFIDENT
The quickest and most powerful route to emotional mastery over any feeling is to remember a time
when you felt a similar emotion and handled it successfully.
Since you managed the emotion in the past,
surely you can handle it today.
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