The Four Options and the Two
Bridges:
Annotated Bibliography
Raemie
Noelani Monces
February 26, 2002
See
Instructions For This Report
I. INTRODUCTION
III.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I.
Introduction
Everyday throughout our lives we are encountered with emotions. And by these emotions our lives are shaped. How we address and handle them define who we are as a person, how others see us and our environment surrounding us. In us are three basic functions (The Threefold Self) they are habits of feeling (affect), habits of thinking (cognitive) and habits of sensation and acting out (sensorimotor).
From the time we are born these functions are shaped by norms in which we were raised. By them we are able to see how one would react in a particular situation. If you think about your everyday to day, hour by hour emotions you will find that it boils down to two basic things: (1) others and the world and (2) self (private inner world). These two arenas can be broken down into negative and positive of the threefold self. The connections that drift us back and forth through the negative and positive zones are labeled as bridges.
A negative feeling against others and world under the “Four Options Model” would be rage. Opposite of this negative feeling would be the positive feeling of compassion. The bridge that connects between the negative about others and the world and positive about others and the world is called the red bridge. This is similar to the case for the negative about self and positive about self. How we feel about ourselves in a negative or positive way determines what option we choose and crossing from either side involves using the blue bridge.
All of this is put in to a simple and easy to follow diagram which Dr. James Leon developed called the “The Four Options Model”. It is called the four options because there are four choices in which you can function.
Example taken from “The Four Options Model” of Dr. Leon James
Negative About Others and The World Positive About Others and The World
red bridge feeling thinking acting out Supportive and Constructive Behavior Emotionally Intelligent Thinking Resolve With Compassion Aggressive or Destructive Behavior Emotionally Impaired Thinking Rage or Arrogance
blue bridge Enthusiasm and Self Confidence Optimistic and Realistic Thinking Self-Enhancing Behavior Depression or
Inadequacy Pessimistic or Cynical Thinking Self-Destructive Behavior acting out thinking feeling
Positive About Self
Negative About Self
This Four Option Model is what I will be focusing on for two of my reports. This report is the first half describing in detail what is involved with our emotional spin cycle, going over terms that intertwine with the Four Options. The second report will be a self-evaluation of what my emotional spin cycle focusing on one aspect of my life and creating a baseline observation in order to assess what type of intervention I would need to use in practicing the bridge technique. Both reports enhance each other and will help you get an overall understanding of the concept of emotional intelligence.
Terms:
- Cognitive Scripts are beliefs or knowledge that we develop from prior repeated experiences that we are exposed to. By these cognitive scripts we will be able to see what the potential outcome might be to a given situation.
- Behavioral Routines are habits that we acquire throughout our everyday life from the social environment, which surrounds us. From these routines of behavior that we are accustom to, we develop schemas for the situations that we are in, to help guide us in future scenarios.
- Cognitive Appraisal internal logical discussion that involves the your self cognitively appraising the situation, which will determine how it will effect your emotion. Using cognitive appraisal guides you to relevant, logical thinking corresponding with the positive red and blue, of the emotional spin cycle.
-
Emotional Intelligence The way in which you
handle your three fold self with other people and how you relate to others emotions
in an understanding way. Emotional
intelligence coincides with the positive red and blue zone.
How do these terms interrelate?
Examples derived from general instructions
Example of Blue Zone
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Suppose there is a boy in your class
and you like him but think, “He doesn’t like me.” This is because of your cognitive scripts of boys
that don’t like you (the way he might look at you, he might avoid you)
depending on your schema. You are in
the Negative Blue Zone, cynical thinking. Your Behavioral Routine would be to stay
away from him fearing rejection. You
then use Cognitive Appraisal for more rational, logical
thinking towards your situation and by doing this you cross the Blue
Bridge to the Positive About Self. You become optimistic towards the situation, realizing things
are not always how they seem. |
Example of Red Zone
|
Suppose there is a boy in your
class and you think, “I’m not going to get along with him.” This is because this boy fits the cognitive
schema of a bully you had gone to high school with. And in school your behavioral
routine was to ignore or bully and walk the other way. All of this leads you to condescending
thoughts about this boy. This has
already set you up in the Negative Red Zone which is not a good place
to be. However, through Emotional Intelligence you cross the Red Bridge into greener positive pastures (Positive Red Zone). |
(a) In this excerpt it explains about when schemas are wrong. Here it talks about police officers that killed an innocent man because of their previous cognitive scripts of criminals. The man later was found to be an innocent immigrant worker who was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
(b) This is relevant to the spin cycle project because, it falls under the negative about others and the world. By the policemen’s schemas, which they had acquired in their everyday activity as a cop, they developed a schema of criminals. It falls under this category because the whole scenario stayed in the negative about world and self. None of the policemen stopped to deny their schema, which would have then helped them cross the red bridge into a positive arena. As policemen they develop cognitive scripts from previous encounters with criminals and this was what in the end had killed Diallo, the innocent immigrant worker. Several cognitive scripts that played in to these circumstances were that Diallo appearance fell into the schema of a rapist or a robber. Diallo also walked into his entrance way as the police watched him, another schema the police had applied to criminals that flee when in plain sight of a cop. A schema that many policemen form is when a criminal sticks his hand into his pocket, because it is then the police draw out their guns in anticipation for a shoot out. These schemas played into the facts that helped them come up with the feeling (affect) that allowed them to be careless and negligent, wanting to discriminate against this person because of their schemas of previous criminals. This automatically led to the emotionally impaired thinking that Diallo must be some sort of criminal because his actions fit the description of one. Finally when Diallo reached for his wallet, police officers in fear for their lives, Acted Out and shot at Diallo, there was so much shooting that one officer thought he was shooting in defense from Diallo gun, which in fact was his wallet. Here we find the consequences of a cognitive script and how our emotional spin cycle when not examined and understood can lead to devastating consequences.
(c) The policemen’s development of the schema brought about horrible consequences but, here it talks about how the policemen use their schemas to help them in their job.
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Law enforcement officers are
trained to react to events that, based on previous encounters, are
potentially life-threatening. The way a suspect reaches into a jacket pocket
may indicate he is about to fire at the officer. A person who stops dead in
his tracks and runs the other way when he sees an officer approach may be
carrying contraband. |
Here it talks about the policemen’s misguided actions brought about by their schema.
|
Unfortunately, Amadou Diallo, the innocent immigrant who was killed
when hit by 19 of 41 bullets fired by New York City police officers in February
1999, was the victim of erroneous schemas. On February 14, 2000, Officer Sean
Carroll, testifying in defense of his and fellow officers' actions, described
the misperceptions that guided their conduct. Diallo looked like a serial
rapist who eluded them for months. That rationale quickly gave way to
suspicion that Diallo was, at that moment, involved in criminal conduct.
Because Diallo moved from the sidewalk in front of his dwelling into the
vestibule, Carroll thought he was acting as a lookout for a robbery in
progress. When Diallo reached into his pocket as the officers approached him,
Diallo must have been about to shoot them. |
Media Violence, Children and Aggressive Behavior
(a) This was a speech given by Margot Prior at the “Stories We Tell Our Children” conference. It talks about the dangers of media violence and aggression in children. She makes a point that aggression is learned and that children watching violence in their everyday lives are in some way translating such violence in to their cognitive scripts. Each video game, movie, cartoon, etc. is in some way affecting them and being exposed to such aggressive media shapes what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
(b) This ties in with the spin cycle, because how the child cognitive script develops plays a role in how their emotional spin cycle works. Most likely these aggressive exposed children will handle their emotions in the negative blue and red zones. Since our cognitive scripts is the knowledge that we develop when being exposed to repeated and familiar events watching shows that have actors dealing with their daily circumstances in a violent way, will help the child respond similarly in the same situation. Some who watch this type of violent media act out their cognitive scripts in real life circumstances. By having such negative cognitive scripts there is a less than likely chances that they will be able to bridge over to the positive red and blue zone. The child might use their cognitive scripts to deal with problems in an aggressive way.
(c) This excerpt explains about what role the cognitive scripts play in aggression
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This should not surprise us since
human behavior is multiply determined, and violence viewing is only one of a
myriad of influences which impinge on the growing child. There are important
moderating effects on this relationship between exposure to media violence
and aggressive behavior. These include parental attitudes and reactions to
aggression in their children and the individual predisposition's of the
child. There is also the way the material is translated by the child into
cognitive scripts about acceptable and unacceptable behavior, and here
parents have a particular influence in the ways that they talk to their
children about what they see. I am talking here about what it is that
children learn and internalize from what they see on the television |
The risk factor of having aggressive media absorbed in the children’s lives
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There are bidirectional effects here. Aggressive children prefer
violent media which then stimulates and feeds their aggression and provides
them with models of behaviour which they take out into the world and try.
Television is a powerful teacher. And nobody is providing them with
alternative ways of being |
Paternal Practices, Parental Occupation and Children's Aggression
(a)
This paper
written by Andrew L. Reaves suggest that children learned violence can be
influenced by their parents, depending on what parental practices, socio
economic level and parental occupation they might have. He says that cognitive scripts are developed
in the child through parent and child interactions and through observation of
the child; the parent’s behavior is a role model to how the child might respond
in future circumstances.
(b) The child’s cognitive scripts that develop interrelate with the emotional spin cycle because through their observation of the way their parent handles a particular situation the child will in turn; use their cognitive scripts when encountering a similar situation. The child learns to interact with individuals by the styles that their parents use to interact with others. The paper states, “antisocial behavior is largely determined by the cognitive scripts which are retrieved in response to frustrating situations.” If a child encounters a feeling of frustration in school when their friend picks on a classmate this falls under the negative red zone, the child might become antisocial (acting out) about the situation in his/her group of friends. But if they learn cognitive scripts from their parents to speak up when someone is being picked on (positive red zone), because it is wrong (thinking) the child might speak up (acting out) against their friend condemning them, because of the cognitive scripts that they have been exposed to. Helping them to become an emotionally intelligent individual.
(c) This paragraph gives a greater understanding of cognitive scripts and how it relates to the parent and child interactions:
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Social behavior is controlled to a great
extent by cognitive scripts
that are stored in a person's
memory and are used as guides for behavior and social problem solving. A
script suggests what events are to happen in the environment, how the person
should behave in response to these events, and what the likely outcome of
those behaviors would be. People appraise situations and decide which scripts are appropriate for the situation. Antisocial
behavior is largely determined by the cognitive scripts which are retrieved in response to frustrating
situations (Berkowitz, 1988; Huesmann, 1988). It seems reasonable to infer
that children learn cognitive schemas and scripts of interpersonal relations from parental behavior
in parent-child interactions; parental behavior is also an important role
model for children's future interactions. |
The way the parent runs the household at home is also a factor to which type of child they are raising their children to be.
|
A large body of research relates authoritative parenting with
children's academic achievement and prosocial
behavior. Dornbusch, et al. (1987) found that authoritative parenting is
positively correlated with adolescent school performance, whereas authoritarian
and permissive parenting are negatively related. These findings relate to
aggression because Eron (1987) has found that academic achievement and
antisocial aggression tend to be at opposite ends on a continuum. High
academic achievers tend to behave prosocially, whereas antisocially
aggressive children tend to be low academic achievers. |
How a parent with a job might influence the scripts that are used by their child:
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Parents who have complex jobs could be expected to
value self- direction for their children and to hold sophisticated and complex prosocial skills and conflict resolution scripts which they could teach to their children; consequently, the children would be more likely to use prosocial scripts. |
Violent Video Games and Aggression in Children: A review of the Literature
(a) ‘Does exposure to video games increase children’s aggressive behavior?’ This paper is mostly written from a scientific viewpoint it goes over the many theories that are involved in how video games and aggression coincide with one another. There are also many studies that reinforce the idea that video games have a high correlation with aggression and that in some studies they found no correlation at all. The paper incorporates the cognitive schema in the general arousal theory, stating that when children are aroused they are most likely to behave in a manner that they have recently observed. In the end there is no definitive answer to the question, but seems to agree with the fact that there is no correlation at all that video games co vary with aggression in children.
(b) The explanation for the general arousal theory is cognitive scripts. This coincides with the spin cycle because if a child is most likely to act in the same behavior as the one they most recently observed in that situation, the behavior that is negative would be the child’s initial response in a negative way and vice versa for the positive. Since it is our habits of feeling, thinking and acting out, the habits that the child is exposed to would most likely be the way he/she would relate to others/world and how they view themselves. If the exposure is aggressive (negative) one can only presume that the child being exposed to this would use their schemas of aggression to handle a situation he/she has become familiar with through violent video game exposure of the same scenario.
(c) There is a better explanation of the Generalized Arousal Theory which I found helpful in the paper:
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The general arousal theory suggests that when
children are aroused they will most likely behave in a manner most recently
observed, such as behaving aggressively after viewing aggressive activity
(Silvern and Williamson, 1987). Two explanations for this are “cognitive
priming," or “cognitive scripts.” During cognitive priming one thought inspired by engaging with
violent media, can "prime" other semantically related thoughts,
increasing the chances the viewers will have other aggressive ideas in this
period (Geen, 1994). Cognitive
scripting relies on the viewer encoding an observed event into a script that
the viewer then calls upon as a guide for future behavior (Geen, 1994). |
The conclusion to the paper briefly states what answer developed from the findings
|
The bulk of the evidence from the existing
literature overwhelmingly suggests that exposure to violent videogames
increases aggressive behavior, and other aggressive-related effects
(including reduced empathy, negative attribution, and reluctance to make
donations). In particular, through observing the free play of young children,
studies have demonstrated a strong link between the effects of exposure to
violent video games and increases in aggressive behavior. However, the
lack of empirical data, in conjunction with a mixture of methodological
problems and inconsistencies in the data, clearly demonstrate the need for
additional research (Dill, 1998). As the research exists today the
safest conclusion we can make is that video games are neither the menace that
many of their critics portray them to be nor without possible consequences
(Provenzo, 1991). |
ERP® - Exposure Response Prevention
(a) ERP or exposure response prevention is a treatment tool used to help drug abusers using operant and respondent learning. The idea of ERP is strange, but uses cognitive scripts to help these drug abusers get over their addictions. The argument they use is that in conventional treatment when the drug abuser is told to stay away from all or any type of stimuli that might cause the craving, it is nearly impossible to stay away from all stimuli, so they confront it. It is basically confronting any stimuli that might bring about the cravings for the drug and changing your schema, so that you will be able to confront the stimuli without having the response of craving for the drug.
(b) This ties in with the emotional spin cycle because a drug abusers schema has been formed and most likely indicates what will happen in a situation if the drug is presented before him/her. Their feelings, thoughts and actions will revolve around the drug. By changing their cognitive scripts towards the drug and encountering the problem head on, ERP believes that it then will help the drug abuser relate the stimuli to new schemas associated with the drug. By changing their cognitive scripts it would most likely mean that they would be able to cross the red and blue bridge easier, because of their new outlook on the drug.
(c) What is ERP – Exposure Response Prevention
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ERP is based on
principles of operant and respondent learning. Respondent learning takes
place when we associate a new stimulus with one that already has an effect on
us. Operant learning takes place when we associate rewards, punishments, success, and failure with individual patterns of behavior. |
The therapy session using ERP
|
A typical ERP session starts with about five minutes of
relaxation exercises. After relaxing the patient is asked to rate their
craving level before being exposed to their triggering stimuli. They use a 10
point scale to do this where 10 represents a desire to use immediately. The
patient's pulse is also measured (pulse rate generally increases as a
patient's craving level rises). Once baseline ratings are secured exposure to
the first level of stimulus begins. After looking, touching and smelling the
object and answering a few questions the patient is again asked to rate their
craving level. Their pulse is taken again as well. Generally, their craving
level is up as is their pulse. If they have become over stimulated then the
ERP stimuli are put away and they return to doing relaxation exercises.
Otherwise, they continue to look at the objects while repeating their
cognitive scripts. Cognitive scripts are motivating statements designed by
therapist and patient. They are associated with the triggering stimulus and
the impulse to use. Typical cognitive scripts include: "Remember the pain and hurt I caused myself and my
family." "I will be able to feel better about myself if I
walk away." "Remember the physical pain and consequences of withdrawal." |
(a) The article Violence and Education consisted of ways which is unacceptable in punishing children such as yelling, hitting, spanking etc. It talked about the detrimental consequences of a child who has been abused and what it does to the relationship of the parent and the child and also how it affects the child in the long run. This also gave alternative to punishing children and some ways in which teachers, parents and even babysitters can create an atmosphere where the children can learn positive behavioral routines and schemas in such situations. This article also addresses those parents that have already abused their children verbally and physically and explains what things they can do to reverse the damage already created. This article served a good example of the behavioral routines that children learn from their parents habits of dealing with frustrating situations.
(b) Since behavioral routines are attained through out our lives since we are children and shaped by the behavior in our upbringing. It is very important that children do get the idea that abuse is okay. By understanding what behavioral routine that was enforced in us as children there is a likely chance that we will see the same scenario being played out as adults. If the behavioral routine you learn as a child is that when someone misbehaves that person must be hit or yelled at, there is a habit that becomes part of the child’s routine that unconsciously makes them yell or hit when someone misbehaves. The danger in this is that since a behavioral routine are habits that are done when a certain situation is presented, it becomes almost molded in to our being. If it is then a part of us in the way we would react in a particular situation there is a less than likely chance that crossing the red or blue bridge is an option.
(c) This brief paragraph explains somewhat a behavioral routine that can be developed in the child through abuse, which will then shape how they handle episodes in their life.
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Violence flips
children out of the learning mode and into the obedience mode. When we are violent with children, we
often succeed in stimulating the behavior we seek, but we risk stunting the internal
growth that could permanently change the child and produce good behavior over
the long term. Since our children
will not accept what we have to teach unless they are in learning mode,
violence is educationally ineffective. |
This is a story told by a man about someone he had counseled
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They complain,
"My child does not share with me. He does not even speak to me. I do not know anything about his
life." I ask them if they struck
the child when he was young.
"Only for educational purposes," they answer. It is painful for me to tell them that
this is the price they must now pay for the blows given years earlier. Violence seethes in the child's
subconscious, often even without the child's awareness, until adolescence
reveals the deep emotional wounds.
The parents are heartbroken when they recognize the roots of this
unexpected rebellion. |
The National Family Violence Survey also revealed that parents who spank children are more likely to hit each other too. University of New Hampshire analysts responsible for the survey's design explained the data:
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We interpret this as
showing that corporal punishment provides a model for what to do when someone
misbehaves and persists in the misbehavior.
Unfortunately, sooner or later, almost all spouses misbehave, at least
as far as their partner sees it, and they often persist in the
misbehavior. Thus, the "Johnny
I've told you ten times" principle applied to children can also apply to
spouses, and that is what we found. |
|
Murray Straus,
"Each time a father or mother spanks a child for misbehaving, they are
practicing the idea that people who misbehave should be hit, and a certain
proportion of parents then apply this principle to their partner." |
UCLA Study Shows AIDS-Intervention Programs Curb Risky Sex and Drug Use by HIV Positive Youth
(a) An Aids intervention program decreased the high-risk sexual behaviors of teens infected with the HIV virus. The program was made so that these teens could modify their behavior routines in order to “Stay Healthy” in their lives.
(b) This article pertained to the emotional spin cycle because in these teenagers’ social lives they were exposed to other teenagers in their same predicament. Their behavioral routines evolved by their social interactions and therefore creating a habit of sexual promiscuity and drug abuse when encountering stimuli that triggered their schema of the situation. Behavioral routines that they had developed in a negative sense would then be changed so that they are able to have a new healthy behavioral routine that not only helps themselves, but also others.
(c) Excerpt
from part of the article
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During the study, researchers worked to assist participants maintain
emotional wellness, take responsibility for their health, and reduce their
high-risk behaviors. The "Stay Healthy" part of the program
involved 12 sessions aimed at helping participants change their behaviors. |
|
The teens were introduced to modified behavior routines designed to
keep them healthy, and they were educated about how to cope with their HIV
status, disclosure issues, and medical-decision making. |
To see more on the findings of the project: American Journal of Public Health (March Ed.)
(a) This article
is about behavioral routines in adaptive decision-making. There were two phases of experiments testing
the behavioral routine when put in a simulated experience on how they would
adapt to situational changes. Payoffs
were those who were manipulated so that they would have a higher frequency of
choosing one of the three options in decision making (expected
utility, elimination by aspects, lexicographic rule). They also decreased the
time in which the participant would have in making a decision. In the end payoffs would go usually not go
along with their behavior routine, but if they had increased the pressure from
the limited amount of time to make decisions, people would most likely opt for
routine.
(b) In decision making, behavioral routine is key. When making decisions the behavioral routine you are accustom to will guide what decision you will make in a real life circumstance. How does this tie in with our emotional cycle? Since the article found that only under manipulation would the participants change their routine and if not manipulated would use their behavioral routines to guide their decision making, we can see how this would tie in to the Four Options Model. As people with a specific behavioral routine it will guide what decision we choose in a certain circumstance. When stuck in a frustrating circumstance it will be your behavioral routine that will guide which of the four options you decide to choose.
(c) Excerpt of how the experiment was conducted
First Phase:
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In the first phase,
routines were induced by relying upon the human ability to adapt to
situational changes by changing decision strategies. To induce strategy
change, time pressure was varied as a within factor. Payoffs were manipulated
so that an adaptive change in strategy led participants to maximize choice
frequency for one out of three options (routine acquisition). After a one
week time lapse, participants worked on similar problems, containing the
previously preferred routine option |
Second Phase:
|
In this second phase,
payoffs favored deviation from the routine option. Results showed that choices
were almost perfectly calibrated to payoffs under low time pressure. However,
if time pressure increased, participants were more likely to prefer the
routine option, even though search strategies were still used adaptively and
evidence discouraged routine selection. |
Crisis Transition and Transformation
(a) There is no constant, there is always change that is why in an unchangeable environment there is are things that we use as humans keep stability in our lives. As humans it is helpful to maintain stability through what is called behavioral routines. The article mainly talks about how to effectively manage change through out our lives.
(b) With our emotional spin cycle, all the various situations that are brought about our way we tend to handle them almost unconsciously because of these developed behavioral routines. In a crisis situation the habits, which we acquire to handle an emotional situation, will determine the negative or positive zone we choose to handle the situation with. It will also determine if it is yourself you are frustrated with or others.
(c) This is an excerpt of the piece written part from introduction and from ending
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Change and transition
are facts of life. They are simultaneously the source and the outcome of all
interactions within a living system. In fact, it has been argued that, in a
dynamic system, “the only constant is change.” Change is at the basis of both
growth and destruction. Thus, change can be either a resource or a problem
depending upon the impact is has on the rest of the system. Too little change
can lead to stagnation and rigidity. Too much change can create chaos and
disorder. Effective adaptation and evolution are a result of balancing change
and stability |
|
When a person is in a changing environment, for example, it can be
helpful to establish stability through behavioral routines and habits.
Behavioral changes, however, are best managed through establishing consistent
mental strategies and plans. Having stable beliefs and values, on the other
hand, best supports developing new mental skills or capabilities. But if a
person is in a situation in which he or she is changing beliefs or needing to
shift or re-prioritize his or her values, it will make it easier if that
person has a stable sense of identity. So that even if the person does not
know what to believe anymore, the person still knows who he or she is.
Similarly, if a person’s identity is changing or unstable, it would be
important for that person to find a point of stability in terms of his or her
position within the larger system of which he or she is a part. The ability to effectively manage change and “flow through transitions” involves the development of both inner stability and flexibility at all of these different levels. This program presents strategies and skills which can be used for managing life change and transitions of all types. Participants will have the chance to develop the inner resources and wisdom in order to change and take charge of the things they can, and accept the things they cannot control. |
Cognitive
Appraisal(definition)
(a) Lazarus argues that cognitive appraisal must occur if a subject is to have an affective reaction to a stimulus. There are six components involved in cognitive appraisal and they are then split into “primary” and “secondary appraisal”. You then “reappraise” where the situational and coping strategies are monitored and then altered if necessary.
(b) This relates to the emotional spin cycle because it focuses on the positive blue zone. Cognitive appraisal helps you evaluate the situation in a positive way before it becomes a physiological and emotional response. It helps you evaluate the situation in deeper contexts and helps you to grow into an emotionally intelligent person, by evaluating the situation at hand. By doing this you can self-modify your own behaviors and start from the positive about self emotion or it can help you cross over the blue bridge at much faster and easier pace.
(c) The six
components which are involve that Smith and Lazarus (1993) say are
involved in the cognitive appraisal are:
|
1.
Motivational
relevance (is it related to my personal commitments?) 2.
Motivational
congruence (is it consistent with my goals?) 3.
Accountability
(who deserves the credit/blame?) 4.
Problem-focused
coping potential (can the situation be resolved?) 5.
Emotion-focused
coping potential (can the situation be handled psychologically?) 6. Future expectancy (will the situation change?). |
The first two are primary appraisals
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Part of Lazarus’ theory of cognitive
appraisal. This stage of appraisal of a phenomenon in the external world
involves judging the situation’s relevance to one’s own well-being |
The last four are called secondary appraisals
|
Part of Lazarus’
theory of cognitive appraisals. This
stage of appraisal of a phenomenon in the external world involves judging
what resources one has available to deal with it. |
Emotions result from cognitive interpretations (cognitive appraisals) of situations.
(a) This paper takes the idea of Lazarus and cognitive appraisal and backs up his argument that a cognitive appraisal must occur in order to have an emotional response. It explains that in order for an emotion to occur there must be a cognitive appraisal of the situation. When the cognitive appraisal takes place there can then be a ‘conscious experience of a particular emotion.” This can then be used to adapt to a situation or change a particular behavior.
(b) This also works in line with and was a good source in order to explain cognitive appraisal and its relevance to the emotional spin cycle. This relates more for the positive blue, because it is the person’s inner cognition and evaluation of the situation that is happening at the time that helps the individual to evaluate in a positive way his/her response (emotion) to the situation. When the person does cognitive appraisal he or she will be able to modify their thoughts and deal with the problem with realistic and optimistic thinking. Having cognitive appraisal adjusts the process of the three fold self in hopes of a positive outcome. By using cognitive appraisal you can, “monitor your own thinking process and to recognize what is pessimistic and cynical in it.” (Dr. Leon James – General Instructions)
(c) Cognition is needed for interpretation in order to have an emotional response
|
a)
provides the basis for the conscious
experience of a particular emotion, b) can be used
by the organism in an adaptive manner to initiate or alter a particular
behavior. |
Here is a story demonstrating the process
|
A stimulus is
detected, causing a state of bodily arousal, which in turn is interpreted by
the cognitive apparatus to generate an appraisal, which takes into account
the organism's goals, plans, and beliefs. This appraisal has certain
physiological consequences (e.g., autonomous system reactions), which in turn
have dispositional consequence (e.g., motivation for particular behavior) |
(a) This article uses cognitive appraisal as a helping tool to get us out of negative automatic and intrusive thoughts. Providing a more positive way to deal with intense emotions such as anger, depression, guilt and anxiety, which we experience in everyday to day situations. This article then goes on to help you identify you intrusive, automatic responses so you will be able to use cognitive appraisals in situations you encounter.
(b) There is no way to get into the positive blue of the emotional spin cycle if your inner intrusive thoughts are weighing you down in a negative way. It was helpful for the article to include that our automatic intrusive thoughts, are norms to our way of responding to a situation (behavioral routine) and that we may not recognize these intrusive thoughts at first. But, in order to use rational thinking by the way of cognitive appraisal you will need to recognize these automatic thoughts. When encountering situations that provoke a negative emotions you can deal with them when using cognitive appraisal so that it can start you off or cross in the positive blue zone, because you are using your own thinking process to get you there.
(c) How would you access these automatic thoughts?
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1) The individual first recounts their most recent
experience of an extreme emotion, such as anxiety or sadness. |
2) They are encouraged to consider the situation,
what they were feeling, and the sort of thoughts that entered their mind at
the time (often recorded in a thought-diary after the fact). The individual
is then taught to identify any irrational thoughts amongst these |
Relating cognitive appraisal to helping with emotional response
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Thought-challenging involves first identifying the thoughts the
individual has that perpetuate their negative feelings and/or unwanted
behaviours. These thoughts are known as "automatic thoughts". They
are hard to recognise because they are so familiar to us. Despite their familiarity these thoughts may be the cause of our anxiety or depression. Thought-challenging teaches individuals how to identify distorted thinking habits, and to replace these ideas with more rational interpretations. It is not simply 'positive' thinking, it is identifying those thoughts which are not helpful to our lives because they are erroneous |
(a) This article discusses conflict, stress and how one might go about dealing with this. There are several way in which someone can respond in a conflict and also in a stressor. Cognitive appraisal comes in as the sensible tool to use in order to deal with such situations. This way you will be able to deal with different types of stressors (significant life changes, daily hassles and environmental factors).
(b) Since having emotional intelligence involves dealing with emotions in a positive way in relation to others/world and self. Cognitive appraisal helps guide you to a more rational way of dealing with events that happen in your life on a daily basis. By doing this you would then have more positive life outcomes and be able to handle other stressors you might encounter in the same way by using cognitive appraisal. Cognitive appraisal not only works as a guide to help you achieve the positive blue zone. The article also has the primary and secondary appraisal discussed by Lazarus and the reappraisal which I find to be helpful in the self modification of your thoughts, because when you reevaluate your primary and secondary appraisals you can then decide if they are rational of irrational and change them.
and change them.
(c) Certain Types of Stressor:
|
- Significant life changes, any significant
change in one's life can produce stress, and the greater the change, the more
likely stress will occur. The stress is not limited to negative events.
Positive events can also create stress. - Daily
hassles, little things can be stressful. There are several different
categories of hassles: household, health, time pressure, inner concerns,
environmental, financial responsibility, work, and future security. More
hassles in a day is generally leads to a lower mood on that day. However,
more hassles on one day has also been linked to better than usual mood on the
following day. - Environmental factors, such as noise, crowding and heat, have been linked to increased aggression and stress. Noise is more stressful when it is unpredictable. |
Cognitive Appraisal and Stress
|
According to the cognitive appraisal model of stress, the amount
of stress an event will cause in an individual will depend on the way that
that individual thinks about (or appraises) the event. The cognitive appraisal model is a two process model. That is, people first go through a primary appraisal, which involves focussing on the event and interpreting it as either a harm/loss (damage already done), a threat (damage potential) or a challenge (growth or development potential), and then people engage in a secondary appraisal, which involves an assessment of the resources and options that they have available to deal with the event; essentially, people are asking themselves "what can I do?" |
Lazarus Cognitive Appraisal Model
(a) This provides visual and easy to follow diagrams based on the Lazarus idea of cognitive appraisal. It goes over primary, secondary and reappraisal. It also goes over some variables of life situations. Then combines it all in to one visual display of the cognitive model.
(b) This diagram shows cognitive appraisal in a more defined way. How situational and personal factors mold in to the cognitive appraisal process. By seeing this model you can understand how logical thinking can produce an emotional intelligent response to stress. All of it revolves around an individuals thinking process. By the diagram you can see that by using the cognitive appraisal you will be able to take out any negative blue and direct yourself in to the positive red.
(c) Here is a reminder of the six components of cognitive appraisal
|
Primary Appraisal |
1. Motivational
relevance (is it related to my personal commitments?) 2. Motivational congruence (is it consistent with my goals?) |
|
Secondary Appraisal |
3. Accountability (Who
deserves the credit or blame?) 4.
Problem-focused
coping potential (can the situation be resolved?) 5.
Emotion-focused
coping potential (can the situation be handled psychologically?) 6.
Future expectancy (will the situation change?). |
Here is a simple and first version of the cognitive appraisal model.
This is would be a much more detailed figure
Emotional Intelligence: What Is It? And Why It Matters?
(a) This
research paper was the most interesting to this point. It dives deep into the concept of emotional
intelligence stating who were the very first to have thought of the concept of
emotional intelligence (I’ll give you a hint, it wasn’t Goleman!) It talked about the importance of emotional
intelligence and some studies that reinforced the claim that emotional
intelligence does have importance in our world. The paper also goes over tests that are used for indicating
Emotional Intelligence. I recommend
reading of this paper I enjoyed it!
(b) This
has great significance to the positive red zone of the emotional spin
cycle. It related real well to others
and the world, because it discussed the correlation with success in life from
studies conducted previously, such as the marshmallow test conducted ten years
ago and results of children in the study.
Those who are emotionally intelligent are able to cross the red bridge
with much ease, because they are able to perceive, express, understand others
emotions and manage them effectively.
It is interesting to note that by having emotional intelligence which
coincides with the positive red zone, your relationships with family, friends,
lovers and co-workers will be enriched and at there best!
(c) Here
are some interesting studies that relate success with emotional intelligence
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An example of
this research on the limits of IQ as a predictor is the Sommerville study, a 40 year
longitudinal investigation of 450 boys who grew up in Sommerville,
Massachusetts. Two- thirds of the
boys were from welfare families, and one-third had IQ.s below 90. However, IQ had little
relation to how well they did at work or in the rest of their lives. What made the biggest difference
was childhood abilities such as being able to handle frustration, control
emotions, and get along with other people (Snarey & Vaillant, 1985).
|
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Another good
example is a study of 80 Ph.D..s in science who underwent a battery of personality
tests, IQ tests, and interviews in the 1950s when they were graduate students
at Berkeley. Forty years later, when they were in their
early seventies, they were tracked down and estimates
were made of their success based on resumes, evaluations by experts in their
own fields, and
sources like American Men and Women of Science. It turned out that social and emotional
abilities were four times more important than IQ in determining professional
success and prestige (Feist & Barron, 1996).
|
|
For instance,
in the famous. marshmallow studies. at Stanford University, four year olds
were asked to stay in a room alone with a marshmallow and wait for a
researcher to
return. They were told that if they
could wait until the researcher came back before eating the marshmallow,
they could have two. Ten years later
the researchers tracked down the kids who participated
in the study. They found that the
kids who were able to resist temptation had a total SAT score
that was 210 points higher than those kids who were unable to wait (Shoda,
Mischel, & Peake, 1990). |
Emotional Intelligence In
Schools
(a) This article deals with emotional intelligence in the schools, a much needed aspect missing from the lives of children today. The article talks about the school as a living organism and what skills children are learning in today’s schools. How we might implement emotional intelligence into the school curriculum and what it consists of.
(b) Emotional Intelligence at a young age can help children learn better ways of dealing with life events that come about their way involving others/world. By learning this in the schools they can then become productive students. Managing their emotions at such a young age when they are most impressionable will help it become more ingrained in their daily life and soon their relationships will become more rewarding and healthier, because they are able to process their threefold self in the positive red zone.
(c) Statement by the author about the importance school has in a child’s development in emotions
|
What would be the
consequences of introducing emotional intelligence in schools? Are schools
the right place for it? Is it even possible? Scientific research, in
particular on how the brain works, indicates that the formation of emotional
skills is much easier in the "formative" years from birth to the
late teens. Looking at existing structures, school is the major
activity in that age group. However, emotions rarely have a place in schools.
Beyond infants school and early primary school, almost all efforts are
concentrated on cognitive skills (reading, writing, mathematics,...). What's
more, there is little or nothing in the standard training of teachers that
prepares them from such a task. Yet there is no subject where the quality and
ability of teachers would be more crucial. |
What skills can be taught in the schools, quoted by Goleman from a book called Self Science: The Subject is Me (2nd edition) by Karen Stone McCown et al. [San Mateo, Six Seconds, 1998]
|
Ø Self
awareness Ø Managing
emotions Ø Empathy Ø Communicating Ø Co-operation Ø
Resolving
conflicts |
Human Resource
Management Trends and Issues:
Emotional Intelligence (EI) in the Workplace
(a) This paper addresses the issue of how emotional intelligent can be applied to human resource management. It also goes over some of Emotional intelligence history, definition and importance in workplace. Not only does it cover all this ground, but also it analyzes the EQ asking the question, “Is emotional intelligence as important as claimed? Can the concept be successfully applied to human resource management issues?” Just as the previous research paper Emotional Intelligence: What Is It? And Why It Matters? Talks about the testing used so also does this paper.
(b) The relevance deals with the relationship with others in the working environment, which falls under the red zone. However when you are relating with other individuals in your working environment in an emotionally intelligent way, it then falls under the positive red zone. If there is importance in relationships among working individuals emotional intelligence must be observed.
(c) Definition provided in paper by Mayer and Salovey
|
According to Mayer and Salovey (1993): Emotional Intelligence
allows us to think more creatively and to use our emotions to solve problems.
Emotional Intelligence probably overlaps to some extent with general
intelligence. The emotionally intelligent person is skilled in four areas: Identifying emotions, using emotions, understanding emotions, and regulating emotions. |
This excerpt is taken from the article and gives a diagram of emotional competence framework
|
In Working With Emotional Intelligence, Goleman applies the
emotional intelligence concept to the workplace setting. In this analysis, he
argues that the emotionally intelligent worker is skilled in two key areas he
presents in his emotional competence framework. These are "personal
competence" - how we manage ourselves, and "social competence
" - how we manage relationships. Each broad area consists of a number
specific competencies, as outlined in the table below. Examples and the complete
model (including sub-competencies) are available in Goleman's book, or at the
web-site for the Emotional
Intelligence Research Consortium, founded by Goleman.
|
The Author Talks About Emotions
Success depends on self-control, he says
(a) This was a news article interviewing Goleman and his views on the subject. It was rather interesting how he brought up the Marshmallow study with the four year old, but it did have insight to how important emotional intelligence is in the lives of children and adults. He talks about a recently discovered neuron, where the rational decisions are made and sent to the amygdala. He also stated the importance of emotional intelligence in schools.
(b) In the emotional spin cycle if you want to be in the positive red zone you need to have emotional intelligence. To be successful in life not only counts on your intelligence in school, but your intelligence of your emotions and being able to handle them in the midst of life events. And by being emotionally intelligent this will help you deal better with others which is much needed in being successful in your everyday life
(c) An excerpt of the article
|
The ones who had resisted the marshmallow were clearly more socially
competent than the others. ``They were less likely to go to pieces, freeze or
regress under stress, or become rattled and disorganized when pressured; they
embraced challenges and pursued them instead of giving up even in the face of
difficulties; they were self-reliant and confident, trustworthy and
dependable.'' The third or so who grabbed the marshmallow were ``more likely to be
seen as shying away from social contacts, to be stubborn and indecisive, to
be easily upset by frustrations, to think of themselves as unworthy, to
become immobilized by stress, to be mistrustful or prone to jealousy, to
overreact with a sharp temper,'' and so forth. And all because of a
lone marshmallow? In fact, Goleman explains, it's all because of a lone
neuron only recently discovered that bypasses the neocortex, where rational
decisions are made, and goes straight to the amygdala, or emotional center of
the brain, where quicker, more primitive ``fight or flight'' responses occur
-- and, tellingly, are stored for future use. The more that emotional
memories involving temper, frustration, anxiety, depression, impulse and fear
pile up in early adolescence, the more the amygdala can ``hijack the rest of
the brain,'' Goleman says, ``by flooding it with strong and inappropriate
emotions, causing us to wonder later, `Why did I overreact?' '' The good news,
however, involves another recent discovery -- that the amygdala takes a long
time to mature, around 15 or 16 years, which means to Goleman that
``emotional intelligence can be taught, not only in the home but perhaps more
importantly, in school.'' He points to two key programs in the Bay Area that
are ``miraculous'' -- the Nueva Learning Center in Hillsborough, where
classes such as ``Self Science'' show children how to identify, name and
monitor emotions -- ``your own and those that erupt in relationships''; and
the Child Development Project in Oakland, where lessons in ``emotional
literacy'' are ``woven into the fabric of existing school life.'' |
Skill with anger, sadness, and their brethren turns out to be a secret of high achievers
(a) This article written by Craig Lambert goes thoroughly over the importance of emotional intelligence and success in life. If it is a doctor relating to a patient or a soccer team wanting to win the championships they all need to have emotional intelligence to perform their job to the best of their ability. Of course it also mentions that IQ plays a role in the whole aspect of success, but it is emotional intelligence that makes a difference in the end. It also discusses the fallouts of some work forces in not putting emotional intelligence at a higher priority. For example doctors who gain the loyalty of their patient through emotional intelligence, will get far less recognition than a doctor who pushes out countless numbers of research papers. The paper also discussed that even in applications to Harvard Medical School are not solely wanted because of their academic achievement, but must also be well rounded containing EQ as well.
(b) This article related emotional intelligence to success in life not only in the work place, but also in school and sports. Basically success in the Red Zone. In order to have such success you must be able to manage your emotions in a positive way, unlike the soccer player Zinedine Zidane did, which almost cost him the World Cup. Handling our three fold self in an emotionally intelligent way opens us up to be a productive person accomplishing great things because there is hardly any negative red holding us back and disintegrating any kind of real relationship with co-workers, friends, family, fellow classmates etc. Emotional intelligence switches the way we see others example taken from general instructions, you either “See Red” pertaining to anger and rage or it can symbolize Love and Compassion.
(c) Here it talks about the importance of emotional intelligence and success
|
"The problem in
all these high-intellect fields--like law, medicine, and business
management--is that everybody has passed the same intellectual hurdles to get
in," he continues. "Practically all lawyers will have an IQ of at
least 110 to 120, good enough to handle law school and pass the bar.
Consequently the added advantage of being at the high end intellectually is
small compared to the benefit of having emotional intelligence--for which
there are almost no selection pressures! At least no systematic ones, which
means there's a much wider range of variation. 'Rainmakers' at law firms
bring in new clients not because of their LSAT scores, but because of the
kind of people they are--charismatic, likable, trustworthy. In all these
professions, intellect and technical expertise get you so far, but it's the
human qualities that make you a star." |
Failing to obtain or have emotional intelligence can lead to…
|
Failures of emotional
intelligence also have their price, says Goleman, citing a New England
Journal of Medicine study on malpractice cases. "About 1 percent of
all hospital patients have something happen that could be grounds for a
malpractice suit, but only a tiny percentage of these patients sue. Doctors
that patients don't like get sued more; although their medical skills may be
comparable to other doctors', the patient feels, 'He didn't care about me. He
didn't listen. He didn't let me ask questions.' If you were a medical school,
you'd want to prepare your students by cultivating qualities of
empathy." |
Emotional Intelligence importance in job hiring
|
Professor of law
Martha Minow, M.Ed. '76, adds, "Lawyers I know say they don't want to hire
anybody who can't talk to a client. By that, they mean understanding a
client's concerns and motivations, helping clients sort through their own
tangle of priorities and feelings. You need these skills not just in family
law but in corporate law, takeovers, complex tax issues. It's a fair
criticism of legal education that we don't spend much time cultivating these
capacities." |
When you are an emotionally intelligent person you not only look good, but change the lives of others as well
|
"Connections--doctor
with patient, doctor with family, patient with family--are powerful healing
phenomena," says clinical instructor in psychiatry Steve Bergman '66,
M.D. '73. "With post-surgical recovery, breast cancer, or even the
common cold, patients who have good connections with caregivers and others
have lower morbidity and mortality." |
Even when deciding on applicant to Harvard Law the one who has emotional intelligence will shine above the ordinary over achiever
|
Harvard Business
School fills the 880 places in its M.B.A. program from 8,000 applicants by a
process that emphasizes relational skills, according to Jill Fadule, M.B.A.
'89, managing director of M.B.A. admissions and financial aid. She notes that
Harvard's application form is "the longest one of any business school.
There are eight essay questions--like 'Tell us about a time you failed, and
what you learned from it.' We are very interested in how they have been able
to succeed with and through other people. Suppose someone tells us that he
was elected captain of the football team: 'I was the most talented player,
and we ended up winning the conference title.' He thinks that's excellent
evidence of leadership--and it may be--but he didn't show us how his success
arose through working with, and through, others. When we see people
succeeding by persuading, coordinating, motivating others--that helps
separate the wheat from the chaff." |
|
|
III.
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