cognitive quiz 7

As a result of "invisible support" participants felt less

depressed

When people go through tragedies (or even just inconveniences), they are compelled to....

"talk about it." - People tend to experience the reward of social connection from venting.

Recipes for social friction: Some situations that will likely be problematic include: (not good approaches)

(1) Focusing solely on empathy, emotion, rapport (2) Skipping #1 and trying to problem-solve immediately. - cant focus on one or the other, must focus on both.

Affectionate touch:

- helps people who are submerged in chatter. Sign that they are safe, loved, and supported. - Even the touch of an intimate object (stuffed animal)

can turning to different people for different needs help you?

- Certain people can be better at helping you with certain problems (pg 99) - Turning to different people for different needs are benefitting the most.

stress response system people engage in when threatened

- tend and befriend

Aristotle suggested doing what after tragic events?

Aristotle suggested we need to purge ourselves of emotions after watching a tragic event he called this: Catharsis.

talk therapy:

Different Varieties - Professor said psychologists always wallow in their misery - But he was right that some (early) efforts in our discipline essentially got mired in the wallowing. - Psychoanalysis, for example, often lasts for months or years. - People talk about their problems with little intervention, little resolution. - More modern varieties like CBT focus on cognitive and behavioral changes, rather than wallowing in emotions.

examples in which venting can go wrong:

EX 1: hurting those who are already hurting by having them relive the event - Johnny was in a mass shooting in which his friend, Larry, died. - Johnny: "It was horrific, there was blood all over Larry." - Carmen: "Tell me more about the incident." - Johnny: [silently relives the incident] he's pushed to recall more details. EX 2: facilitating rumination in those who are already ruminating - Mack had an argument with a friend, Jeff, over a dinner bill. - Mack: He didn't pay his share. - Carmen: Yeah, he's cheap. - Mack: I know, he always does this. - Mack is being persuaded to continue ruminating about jeff

Is venting/"talking about it" advisable (as Freud thought)?

It depends on how they "talk about it." - Obviously, talking with someone carefully trained is advisable, BUT... - Many everyday (well-meaning) people who might listen to the person might hurt them, or simply not help them at all.

The co-rumination Equation:

Small rumination + well meaning question= large rumination - Our problems get magnified by the people asking the questions.

DRM paradigm and why is it important for us?

a false-memory paradigm. - shows how the brain easily associates concepts- even non-emotional ones.

the key to avoid rumination is to

balance between (first) establishing your bond, and (second) using cognitive approaches to brainstorm solutions. - The key to avoiding rumination is to combine emotion and cognition. When supporting others, we need to offer comfort and intellect. - Need to acknowledge persons feelings and reflections but then help put the situation into perspective.

long-term reward

brief empathy with problem-solving

short-term reward

endless empathy without problem-solving

Those who chose to express their feelings after 9/11 had the highest levels of

general distress and worst physical health. - Sharing feelings didn't help, it hurt.

Implications for Chatter when socially ruminating

social chatter is likely to create even more negative emotions - When people start ruminating socially (to their friends, for example), it's important to help them pause and contemplate the purpose of the discussion. - If the discussion is meant to decrease negative emotion, then wallowing in it and perseverating on the negative event (social chatter) is not going to solve their problems.

Bushman (2002), what did he study and examine?

studied rumination and aggression - has influenced Kross HE examined whether catharsis (venting and performative aggression against someone other than the target) effectively reduced negative emotions. - Interested mainly in anger

freud argued

that the path to a sound mind required people to bring the dark pain of their inner lives into the light. - agreed with aristotle in participating in catharsis

self-efficacy

the crucial belief that we are capable of managing challenges.

Rumination as AN associative process:

- Although Kross doesn't say this directly, he's pointing to the associative aspect of rumination and negative emotion. - When we think about being irritated (or get asked questions that make us think about this), then the irritable aspects of ourselves get magnified, and we call to mind other (connected) events and feelings. - Or, as the old saying goes, "we make a mountain out of a molehill."

Bushman's (2002) Method

- Bushman had a rater give participants negative feedback on an essay. - IV: Randomly assign a third to each of these conditions (levels of the IV): - Control (no boxing) - Boxing while not ruminating (boxing for fitness only) - Boxing while ruminating (thinking about the rater) - DVs: Anger (measured through self-report) and aggression (measured by noise blasts sent to rater, both duration and intensity) Additionally, he describes a null effect for positive emotions...

Catharsis Theory vs. Associationism: Different Predictions

- Catharsis theory assumes that venting/ "purging" should "extinguish the flames" and decrease negative emotions - Associationism assumes that venting should "fan the flames" and increase negative emotions. - Bushman (2002) nicely sets up this contrast in predictions.

invisible support

- Helping without recipient being aware of it "invisible support" - the formula for supporting others while not making them feel bad about lacking the resources to cope on their own.

how can unsolicited advise backfire? "invisible support"

- Offering advice without considering the persons needs can undermine a persons sense of self-efficacy.

Heres how it goes wrong when engaging in catharsis:

- People ask us the who-what-when-where-why to offer emotional support, which leads us to relive the very feelings and experiences that drove us to seek out support in the first place, called co-rumination. - easy to get sucked in because they have good intentions - It doesn't help us generate a plan or reframe the problem, instead in fuels our negative emotions and biological threat response. - Inner voice mechanics aren't actually like a hydraulic system which is why it comes out of healthy relationships. - Letting out steam doesn't relieve the pressure built up inside.

Pop Psychology of Catharsis

- The Freudian idea was picked up in popular psychology. - People have been told by self-help gurus to get rid of stress and negative emotions by, letting aggression out (punching a pillow) - The idea is that you must "get your anger out"

The Talking Treatment and the assumption of the mind

- The original formulation of "talking treatment" by Freud and the psychoanalysts rested on the assumption of the mind acting like a hydraulic system. - You must "let out steam" so that the psycho-physical system (your body) stays in balance (homeostasis). - balance comes from letting out steam and purging things like anger and rumination (what Freud thought) - Venting (e.g., during therapy) was viewed as a productive activity.

Bernard Rime findings:

- When people are upset, they are strongly driven to share their feelings with others - Found that talking to others about our negative experiences doesn't help us recover in a meaningful way. - It makes us feel closer to and more supported but the ways we commonly talk and listen to each other do little to reduce our chatter. They exacerbate it. - Clashes with conventional wisdom - We are told by popular culture that talking makes you feel better.

the choice we have as friends

- When people face negative experiences, they want to share them—they want to talk about it. The choice we have as friends is whether we give that suffering person a short-term reward or a long-term reward

advantage of combining emotion and cognition

- able to make people who are upset feel validated and connected yet can then pivot to providing them with the big-picture advice that you as someone who is not immersed in their chatter are equipped to provide. - Latter task is critical for helping people experience less chatter over time.

co-rumination

- crucial juncture where support subtly becomes egging on. - When we talk ab negative experiences, it leads us to become more upset which then leads them to still ask more questions.

Bushman's Conclusions

- found catharsis is wrong/ a problem, it primes negative emotion. - Bushman concluded that venting does not help quell negative emotion; actually, the opposite occurred. Venting enhanced/increased anger and aggression. - It appears that behavioral perseveration (catharsis of negative emotion, as in boxing while ruminating) maintains the negative psychological state. - Associationism argues that this is because the network of concepts involved in negative emotion has been activated.

Associationism define and why talking often fails to lift our troubled internal dialogues into a more tranquil state

- related concepts are linked together in our mind. - The associative nature of memory, combined with the bias we have to prioritize our emotional needs over cognitive needs when were upset

Hydraulic model of emotion:

- strong feelings need to be released (like the stream escaping from a boiling kettle.) - This is implanted in our minds when we are babies. - freud - You must "let out steam" so that the psycho-physical system (your body) stays in balance (homeostasis). - balance comes from letting out steam and purging things like anger and rumination (what Freud thought) - Inner voice mechanics aren't actually like a hydraulic system which is why it comes out of healthy relationships. - Letting out steam doesn't relieve the pressure built up inside.

Behavioral change stairway model:

active listening -> empathy-> rapport-> influence -> behavioral change.

Mental contents like memories are connected via....

associations (as in the DRM), so when we get asked questions that activate negative mood, the questions are "fuel for the fire" that is rumination. - People who interact with suffering individuals usually display empathy and ask questions that compel the suffering person to re-live the negative event. (associationism)

One reason that talking about negative emotions is so problematic is that our minds operate using _________

associations.

questioning negative events + associationism =

chatter

Associationism in the mind suggests that activating aggressive thoughts may ....

maintain and even magnify the negative emotion - The problem is that getting people to "vent" their negative emotions by being aggressive tends to activate more aggressive thoughts and negative emotions. Venting/catharsis, considering Associationism

When self-efficacy is compromised, it damages ....

our self-esteem, health, decision making, and relationships.

behavioral stairway model is the roadmap for

satisfying social-emotional needs that nudges them towards a solution drawing on their cognitive abilities. - After people make you feel validated and understood, do they guide you towards brainstorming solutions? - Can help when deciding who to vent to. You can determine if someone helped you immerse or distance "hes such a jerk!" vs "maybe hes going through something"

Catharsis Defined

purging negative emotions will help reduce negative emotions - venting about it will help you feel better • In common terms, "you just need to express it" and it will go away. - not necessarily true - The notion of catharsis was coined by Aristotle, and it was picked up by Freud.

"feeding the flames"- Kross points out that when we interact with others who are ruminating we often....

put logs onto an already blazing fire. - make it worse

When we are aware others are helping us but we haven't invited their assistance, we interpret this to mean.....

that we must be helpless or ineffective in some way - a feeling out inner voice may latch on to. (self-efficacy)

"tend and befriend"

we exhibit empathy for those who are suffering. Stress response system we engage in When threatened ... we tend to those who are hurting and befriend others when hurting - Most people have a helpful orientation, and this is evolutionarily grounded - Two people are more likely to ward off a predator than one; banding together during times of need can have an advantage. - When we're upset and feel vulnerable or hurt or overwhelmed, we want to vent out emotions and feel consoled, validated, and understood. - It provides an immediate sense of security and connection and feeds the basic need we have to belong. - As a result, the first thing we do is seek out others when inner voice is negative, to fulfill our emotional needs.

when is invisible support most effective?

when people are under evaluation or preparing to be.