Psychology of Affect- 3
What Is Emotion?
What is emotion? One thing we know
is that emotions define the way we picture our environment (Walsh, 2005). They
are responsible for creating a concept of understanding directed to our mind
through our senses (Walsh, 2005). Considering that emotions have been ingrained
into us to guard our survival, they take first consideration in the processing
of response from our brains (Walsh, 2005).
As we have all experienced repeatedly, although emotions are felt within
short time durations, their impact forever alters the chain of how we
understand the environment and our selves (Bower, 1992).
The
above is general way of understanding emotion. To specifically understand the
role that is played by emotion in learning, I will consider the theory of
development as has been advanced by many researchers including Bower. Here, It
is argued that emotions evolved in organisms as a way of enabling them to
detect both their internal and external environmental environments as being
either helpful or harmful to them (Bower, 1992). Since all humans have hope and
plans to achieve their hopes, an environment is measured against these hopes
and plans as either harmful or helpful to man (Bower, 1992). A dual taxonomy of
determining our actions exists. On the top hierarchy, our inherent needs as a
result of our biology and our determination to achieve these needs paint our
actions (Bower, 1992). On the second hierarchy, our social desires at well as
our cognitive desires and, our desire to achieve the same paint our actions
(Bower, 1992).
A
goal inspired organism therefore needs to be embedded with the following
components to survive. First, it needs not only to detect its needs but also
needs to evaluate how urgent such needs are need to be satisfied. Secondly, the
organism needs to have a system of ordering these needs in priority (Bower,
1992). Besides, It is very important for the organism to poses a program of
planning that can either use; a previous method that had been applied; or come
up with a new method of planning which will enable the organism to tackle its
urgent needs (Bower, 1992). Here, a system of controlling one’s attention is
desired to ensure that the most urgent desire that most requires one’s attention
receives minimal competition from other desires. A memory that is working is
also desired to enable the organism monitor the progress made in handling its
desires (Bower 1992). It is also important for the organism to possess a means
of detecting its internal as well as its external environment with an aim of
detecting important needs that may cause it to stop its current corrective
measures, to meet a more important need (Bower, 1992).
Let
me now move to interesting waters in an effort to explain how our emotions
result. As we have seen above, parameters in our environments determine our
reactions. A program of dealing with a most urgent priority is developed and
monitored. It is obvious that our environment keeps changing in a way that
cannot be predicted. New needs in turn arise and can be given priority over the
ones that are prevailing depending on how important they are to us (Bower,
1992). Our emotions develop from output signals that are fed to our knowledge
by a system that monitors the progress that has been made in meeting our needs
of most priority (Bower, 1992). For
example, emotions of anger may result; when a corrective plan is halted or is
threatened by an enemy (Bower, 1992). Likewise, emotions of sadness may result
when our corrective plans do not succeed in meeting goals (Bower, 1992).
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