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Emotional Mysteries

HDPS 351

Fall Quarter 2017

Meetings

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9:30 AM - 10:50 PM

Annenberg Hall Room 303

Instructor: Dr. Claudia M. Haase

E-Mail:

Office: Annenberg Hall 108

Office Hours: To schedule an appointment, please visit

Teaching Assistant: Emily Hittner

E-Mail:

Office: Annenberg Hall 106

Office Hours: By appointment

Overview

Classrooms, work settings, and family relations are hotbeds of emotion. But what is an emotion? What happens in our bodies when an emotion is triggered? How can emotions help us live productive, healthy, and connected lives? And can we ever truly understand what somebody else is feeling? These are some of the mysteries that we will seek to unravel in this course. We will read literature from Darwin to the latest scientific studies, combine lectures and small-group discussions, conduct research experiments, and engage in peer review and online collaboration.

Learning Goals

As a student in this course, you will:

  • Gain knowledge of major theoretical perspectives, concepts, and empirical findings in affective science (e.g., by reading, reflecting on, and discussing readings, videos, and course contents) [Emotion knowledge]
  • Understand, evaluate, and apply basic scientific methods (e.g., by writing a blog post about a favorite emotion study, developing an emotion intervention proposal) [Scientific knowledge]
  • Apply knowledge of emotional mysteries to real-world questions [Application]
  • Communicate effectively in a variety of formats (e.g., through questions, in-class discussions, blog posts, intervention proposals, peer review) [Communication]
  • Respect and use critical thinking [Critical thinking skills]

Course Materials

We will read excerpts from books listed below, which have been written by some of the most influential scholars in the field of affective science:

  • Textbook: Keltner, D., Oatley, K., & Jenkins, J. M. (2013). Understanding emotions (3rd ed.). Wiley. – Available for purchase [KOJ]
  • Readings – Available for download on CANVAS under Files
  • Online resources (e.g., YouTube clips; Ted Talks) – Available via links in this syllabus
  • Lecture slides – Available on Canvas after each class

Assignments and Grading

Class participation (10%). You want to participate actively in class – by showing up on time, listening, thinking, and discussing.

Reading & Video Questions(20%).You want to deeply engage with the readings and videos. First, submit 2 questions that address substantial issues regarding 2 (or more) different readings or videos for each class session by 5pm the day before class (via Canvas). Questions will be graded as pass (1 point) or fail (if you did not turn in your 2 questions on time or the questions you turned in did not address substantial issues regarding the readings or videos for that class session, 0 points).

Emotion study blog post (20%). You will write a blog post (at least 5 double-spaced pages) about one original empirical study, which has been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and which examines a research topic relevant to emotion. For your blog post, (1) summarize the theoretical and empirical background, research question(s), method, main findings, and implications of the study; (2) evaluate strengths and limitations of the study; and (3) discuss how findings from the study relate to what you have learned in this course. (4) Use APA style and include a title page and a reference page. (5) Tell us if we can publish your blog post (anonymously if you like) on CANVAS. Please submit your blog post on Tuesday, 10/24/2017 by 5pm (via Canvas).

Emotion intervention proposal (5% for topic and references; 5% for draft; 40% for final paper). You will write a proposal, which harnesses insights from affective science to propose and evaluate an emotion intervention.We will discuss details in class. There are three important dates for yourproposal. First, submit your proposal topic and at least 5 references byThursday, 11/9/2017, 5pm (on Canvas). Second, bring a printed draft of your proposal (2 double-spaced pages) to class on Tuesday, 11/21/2017 and submit it by11/21/2017, 9am (on Canvas). In class on 11/21/2017, you will engage in peer review by reading, commenting on, and discussing suggestions for revisions for each other’s drafts. Third, submit your final emotion intervention proposal (at least 15 double-spaced pages) byThursday, 12/7/2017, 5pm (on Canvas).

Late policy.Please submit all your assignments on time. If you turn in an assignment late, you will lose a half-letter grade (A -> A-) for each day the assignment is late.

How to Succeed in this Course

Before class:

  • Deeply engage with assigned readings and videos
  • Submit questions and vote

During class:

  • Listen, think, discuss

After class:

  • Review lecture slides
  • Start working on blog post and emotion intervention proposal early
  • Get in touch with me if you have questions, suggestions, need help or want feedback

Evaluation

There will be an anonymous course evaluation about halfway through the

course. This will give me an idea of what works for you in this course and what

you need to learn even better.

Academic Integrity

Students in this course are required to comply with the policies found in the booklet, "Academic Integrity at Northwestern University: A Basic guide". All papers submitted for credit in this course must be submitted electronically unless otherwise instructed by the professor. Your written work may be tested for plagiarized content. For details regarding academic integrity at Northwestern or to download the guide, visit:

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting accommodations related to a disability or other condition is required to register with AccessibleNU(; 847-467-5530) and provide professors with an accommodation notification from AccessibleNU,preferably within the first two weeks of class. All information will remain confidential.

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WEEK 1WELCOME

9/19/20171.1 Welcome

9/21/20171.2 Affective Science and Inside Out

WATCHInside Out(available on YouTube, iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play)

READKeltner, D., & Ekman, P. (2015). The science of 'Inside Out'. The New York Times, SR10.

WEEK 2WHAT IS AN EMOTION?

9/26/20172.1 Origins of Emotion

READDarwin, C. (1872). The expression of the emotions in man and animals. London: John Murray.(pp. 13-19)

READKOJ Chapter 1: Approaches to understanding emotions (pp. 3-30)

9/28/20172.2 Communication of Emotions

WATCHPaul Ekman: Inside the Psychologist's Studio

READKOJChapter 4: Communication of emotions (pp. 83-112)

WEEK 3EMOTIONS UNDER THE MAGNIFYING GLASS

10/3/20173.1 Emotions and the Body

WATCHJune Gruber: Psychophysiology I (Introduction)

READKOJChapter 4: Bodily changes and emotion (pp. 113-136)

READEkman, P., Levenson, R. W., & Friesen, W. V. (1983). Autonomic nervous system activity distinguishes among emotions. Science, 221, 1208-1210.

10/5/20173.2 Emotions and Experience

READKOJChapter 7: Appraisal, knowledge, and experience (pp. 161-182)

READ Feldman Barrett, L. (2009). Variety is the spice of life: A psychological construction approach to understanding variability in emotion.Cognition and Emotion, 23, 1284-1306.

WEEK 4EMOTIONAL FINGERPRINTS

10/10/20174.1 Emotion Generation and Emotion Regulation

WATCHJune Gruber: Emotion Elicitation I

WATCHJune Gruber: Emotion Elicitation II

READGross, J. J., & Thompson, R. A. (2007). Emotion regulation: Conceptual foundations. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 3-24). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

10/12/20174.2Empathy

WATCHFrans de Waal: Moral Behavior in Animals

READ Greater Good Science Center: Empathy

READPreston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. (2002). Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 25, 1-20.

WEEK 5EMOTION INTERVENTIONS

10/17/20175.1 Emotion Interventions 1

WATCHSherri Sandberg: UC Berkeley Commencement Speech

READAron, A., Melinat, E., Aron, E. N., Vallone, R. D., & Bator, R. J. (1997). The experimental generation of interpersonal closeness: A procedure and some preliminary findings. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 363-377.

READPennebaker, J. W., & Ferrell, J. D. (2013). Can expressive writing change emotions? An oblique answer to the wrong question. In D. Hermans, B. Rimé, & B. Mesquita (Eds.), Changing emotions (pp. 183-186). New York, NY: Psychology Press.

10/19/20175.2 Emotion Interventions 2

WATCHKelly McGonigal: How to Make Stress your Friend

READEkman, P., Davidson, R. J., Ricard, M., & Wallace, B. A. (2005). Buddhist and psychological perspectives on emotions and well-being. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 59-63.

READFredrickson, B. L. (2013). Positive emotions broaden and build. In E. Ashby Plant & P.G. Devine (Eds.), Advances in experimental social psychology, 47, 1-53. Burlington: Academic Press.

10/24/2017EMOTION STUDY BLOG POST DUE (5pm)

WEEK 6EMOTION ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN

10/24/20176.1 Emotion in Childhood and Adolescence

WATCHJune Gruber: Emotion Development II (Adolescence)

READ Keltner Chapter 8: Development of emotion in children (pp. 185-211)

READMcLaughlin, K. A., Garrad, M. C., & Somerville, L. H. (2015). What develops during emotional development? A component process approach to identifying sources of psychopathology risk in adolescence.Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience,17, 403-410.

10/26/20176.2 Emotion in Aging

WATCH Laura Carstensen: Older People Are Happier

READCarstensen, L. L., Isaacowitz, D. M., & Charles, S. T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54, 165-181.

READSze, J. A., Gyurak, A., Goodkind, M. S., & Levenson, R. W. (2012). Greater emotional empathy and prosocial behavior in late life. Emotion, 12, 1129-1140.

WEEK 7EMOTION AND HEALTH

10/31/20177.1 Emotion and Mental Health

WATCHJune Gruber: Emotional Disorders I (Fear and Anxiety)

WATCHJune Gruber: Emotional Disorders II (Depression and Mania)

READKOJChapter 13: Mental disorder and well-being in adulthood (pp. 326- 353).

11/2/20177.2 CLASS 12 Emotion and Physical Health

WATCHJune Gruber: Physical Health II (Stress)

READ DeSteno, D., Gross, J. J., & Kubzansky, L. (2013). Affective science and health: The importance of emotion and emotion regulation. Health Psychology, 32, 474-486.

READHaase, CM, Holley, SR, Bloch, L., Verstaen, A., & Levenson, RW (2016).Interpersonal emotional behaviors and physical health: A 20-year longitudinal study of long-term married couples.Emotion,16(7), 965.

WEEK 8EMOTION IN POLITICS AND SCHOOLS

11/7/20178.1 Emotion in Politics

WATCHJonathan Haidt: The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives

READKOJChapter 10: Emotions and cognition (pp. 235-259)

11/9/20178.2 Emotion in Schools

WATCHBarbara Fredrickson: Positive Emotions Open Our Mind

READValiente, C., Swanson, J., & Eisenberg, N. (2012). Linking students' emotions and academic achievement: When and why emotions matter. Child Development Perspectives, 6, 129-135.

11/9/2017EMOTION INTERVENTION: TOPIC AND REFERENCES DUE (5pm)

WEEK 9EMOTION ACROSS SOCIAL CLASS AND CULTURE

11/14/20179.1 Emotion and Social Class

WATCHPaul Piff: Does Money Make You Mean

READStellar, J. E., Manzo, V. M., Kraus, M. W., & Keltner, D. (2012). Class and compassion: Socioeconomic factors predict responses to suffering. Emotion, 12, 449-459.

READTroy, AS, Ford, BQ, McRae, K., Zarolia, P., & Mauss, IB (2017).Change the things you can: Emotional regulation is more beneficial for people from lower socioeconomic status.Emotion,17(1), 141.

11/16/20179.2 Emotion and Culture

WATCHJennifer Stellar: How Culture Shapes the Experience of Awe

READKOJChapter 3: Cultural understandings of emotions (pp. 57-79)

11/21/2017EMOTION INTERVENTION: PAPER DRAFT DUE (9am)

WEEK 10PEER REVIEW

11/21/201710.1 Peer review of emotion intervention paper draft

WEEK 11EMOTION IN COUPLES AND SUMMARY

11/28/201711.1 Emotion in Couples

LISTENJohn Gottman: How to Be a Master of Relationship

READLevenson, R. W., Haase, C. M., Bloch, L., Holley, S., & Seider, B. J. (2013). Emotion regulation in couples. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (2nd ed., pp. 267-283). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

11/30/201711.2 Summary

12/7/2017EMOTION INTERVENTION: FINAL PAPER DUE (5pm)