Emotions and Motivation 2500-EN-PS-OB2Z-3
Wykład (WYK) Semestr zimowy 2023/24

Two major handbooks chosen for the course are:

1) Lewis, M., Haviland-Jones, J. M. & Feldman Barrett, L. (2010). Handbook of emotions (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

2) Gross, J. J. (2013). Handbook of emotion regulation (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Lecture 1. Emotions: An Introduction

Key reading:

Russell, J. A., & Barrett, L. F. (1999). Core affect, prototypical emotional episodes, and other things called emotion: dissecting the elephant. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(5), 805-819.

Lecture 2.

Key readings:

Frijda, N. H. (1988). The laws of emotion. American Psychologist, 43(5), 349-358.

Cacioppo, J. T., & Gardner, W. L. (1999). Emotion. Annual Review of Psychology, 50(1), 191-214.

Lecture 3.

Key reading:

Lindquist, K. A., Wager, T. D., Kober, H., Bliss-Moreau, E., & Barrett, L. F. (2012). The brain basis of emotion: a meta-analytic review. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(03), 121-143.

Lecture 4.

Key reading::

Zajonc, R. B. (1980). Feeling and thinking: Preferences need no inferences. American Psychologist, 35(2), 151-175.

Lecture 5.

Key reading:

Thayer, R. E. (2003). Calm energy: How people regulate mood with food and exercise. Oxford University Press.

Lecture 6.

Key reading:

Ekman, P. (1993). Facial expression and emotion. American Psychologist,48(4), 384-392.

Lecture 7.

Key reading:

Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348-362.

Lecture 8.

Key reading:

Jarymowicz, M. T., & Imbir, K. K. (2015). Toward a human emotions taxonomy (based on their automatic vs. reflective origin). Emotion Review, 7(2), 183-188.

Lecture 9.

Key reading:

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717.

Lecture 10.

Key reading:

Buss, D. M. (2009). The great struggles of life: Darwin and the emergence of evolutionary psychology. American Psychologist, 64(2), 140-148.

Lecture 11.

Key Readings:

Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle?. Psychological Bulletin,126(2), 247-259.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68.

Lecture 12.

Key readings:

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529.

Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93(2), 119-135.

Lecture 13.

Emotional Intelligence

Key reading:

Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2008). Emotional intelligence: new ability or eclectic traits? American Psychologist, 63(6), 503-517.

Lecture 14.

Key reading:

Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224-253.

Lecture 15.

Key reading:

Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5-14.

A final grade will be assigned based on one’s number of points gained in the final exam (a multiple-choice test; weight .60) and their aggregate score from 12 entry tests (single-choice; weight .40). There will be no entry test during the first lecture, and from the remaining 14 classes two worst scores will not be taken into account (absence counts as 0 points).

Up to two absences.

In the case of more than two absences students will be asked to complete additional work (e.g., to prepare a short Power-point presentation on a given topic).

Lecture 1. Emotions: An Introduction

What are emotions?

Do we need emotions?

Basic concepts of emotion

Lecture 2. Key theories of emotion

Classic theories of emotion:

• James-Lange

• Cannon-Bard

• Lazarus & Schacter

Frijda’s laws of emotions

Functions of emotion

Lecture 3. Biology of emotions

The case of Phineas Gage

Evolution of affective brain systems

Locationist vs. psychological constructionist hypotheses

LeDoux: “low” and “high” pathway

Lateralization

Lecture 4. Emotion and Cognition

Lazarus vs. Zajonc: the dispute on the primacy

Separate or indivisible? A reflection on the interplay between affect and intellect

Subliminal stimuli and affective reactions: the main insights for psychology of emotion

Friend or foe? How emotions foster and disrupt our cognitions

Assimilating emotion to facilitate thought: (how) is it possible?

Lecture 5. Mood: Models, origins, consequences

Key models of mood:

• Thayer

• Watson & Tellegen

• Matthews et al.

Origins of mood: What determines our affective states?

Individual variations in mood: the role of external and internal factors

Consequences of mood

Key reading:

Lecture 6. Expression and perception of emotion

Facial affective expression

Microexpressions

Lie to me: Can we detect emotional lies?

Beyond the face: emotional expression in gesture, voice and posture

Empathy

Reading others’ emotion: the role of mirror neurons

Lecture 7. Regulation of emotion

Regulative role of emotion

How to manage own emotions?

Automatic vs. reflective emotion regulation

Influencing emotions of others: the issue of affective manipulation

Lecture 8. From animal to human: automatic and reflective affective systems

Taxonomies of emotion

• Plutchik

• Ekman

• Jarymowicz and Imbir

Evaluative standards: a bridge between emotion and motivation

Are there any types of emotions or motivations that are specifically human?

Lecture 9. Key concepts of human motivation

What is motivation?

Classic concepts of motivation (Yerkes-Dodson, Skinner, Maslow)

Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations

Approach vs. avoidant motivations

Homeostasis vs. growth motivations

Achievement motivation

Goal-setting

Procrastination

Lecture 10. Human motivation in the light of evolutionary psychology

The selfish gene as an explanation for human motivation

The key ideas in evolutionary psychology

Basic emotions in evolutionary strives: anger, envy, love and jealousy

Pros and cons of evolutionary psychology of motivation

Lecture 11. Self-control and self-directedness

Self-control as a motivational mechanism

Marshmallow experiment: the power of will

Self-control as a muscle: Ego depletion

Self-Determination Theory

Lecture 12. Higher-level emotions and motivations: Love, belongingness and altruism

Complex needs as a source of motivation

Transgressive motivations (Kozielecki)

Love as a basic human need

Values as a source of motivation (Schwartz)

Prosocial behavior: Why do we help each other?

Two types of altruism: endo- and exocentric

Lecture 13. Individual differences in affective and motivational processes

The Big Two affective traits: Extraversion and Neuroticism

Who is motivated by their nature? Conscientiousness as a trait for endogenous motivation

Spielberger’s trait and state dimensions: Anxiety, Depression, Anger and Curiosity

Time Perspective as a cognitive-emotional mechanism for motivation induction

Emotional Intelligence

Lecture 14. Culture, emotion and motivation:

Human emotions: universal of culture-specific?

The role of culture in shaping individual affectivity

Emotions and happiness: World Maps

Country-level predictors of happiness

Lecture 15. Positive psychology of emotion: from affect to happiness

Key assumptions of positive psychology

What makes us truly happy: Hedonic vs. eudaimonic visions of happiness

Main theories of happiness

Happiness: an outcome or a cause (Lyubomirsky, King & Diener, 2005)

Each class (excluding the first one) will comprise four parts:

1) A short test (10 single-choice questions) aiming to check whether students have read and understood a main reading given for a particular lecture (app. 15 minutes)

2) A discussion on the text (app. 10 minutes)

3) Lecturer’s presentation (app. 50 minutes)

4) Intuitions: a short preview of the forthcoming lecture topic, including a brief discussion on student’s intuitions/earlier knowledge regarding given thematic area (app. 10 minutes)

Class meetings will include a mixture of lectures, discussions and demonstrations. Not all important ideas in the readings will be covered in class meetings, and not all important ideas from class meetings will be covered in the readings.