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Few realize how often we are influenced by emotions. Emotions dictate what to pay attention to, how to perceive events, what to think about and what to remember. In this article, we will discuss the bias towards life that is caused by our emotions.
Pleasant and not so pleasant events happening to us set the tone for the whole day. If the mood was good, then in the memories of this day, most likely, it will remain successful. But if we were angry and annoyed, we will remember the day as a terrible one. We all experience emotions to some extent. They help to understand the world around and react to it. Emotions can be extremely helpful. For example, the fear of being the victim of a wild beast makes us run away from the bear, and the fear of losing our job motivates us to finish the project on time. However, according to the confirmed data, a kind of "mediator" works between the person experiencing emotions and the surrounding world. The bottom line is that there is an emotional bias that determines how emotions affect us. Although it can be both positive and negative, in this article, we will focus on the negative side for the most part. But don't be upset, because there are ways to limit the influence of bias, which in theory can improve our day.
Let's give an example. Usually Andrey wakes up at exactly 7 o'clock in the morning, gets ready and goes to work. Today, on the way, he received a phone call from the bank and was told that his request for a loan to buy a new home had not been approved. Information of this kind will unsettle anyone. However, some people, such as our hero, are more inclined to cling to unpleasant events, let them in and let them influence emotions. Andrei is overwhelmed by anxiety: how can he and his family now look for a new place of residence, because their current house has already been put up for sale. He remembers the refusal and begins to think about his own inability to support his family.
As the thought continues to drill into the brain, Andrei is under the influence of this event for the rest of the day. Andrei arrives at work, and his boss immediately calls him. The phone call still does not go out of his head, which is why our hero is clearly negative. As a result, Andrei thinks that the boss calls him in to reprimand or reprimand him. Although, perhaps she just wants to ask him a question or praise him for a job well done. However, the morning episode with the bank makes Andrey think about the bad, which prevents him from considering the situation in a neutral way, and even more so in a positive way.
It may seem that Andrey's reaction is exaggeratedly emotional, but in fact, such behavior occurs quite often - a person reacts negatively to a seemingly ordinary situation if something unpleasant has recently happened to him. So, is there such a thing as emotional bias, or are people basically negative? It may be because of both, but psychologists have figured out why some people are more prone to emotional bias than others.
Emotional bias Is a perception of the world around us based on our emotional state. Emotional bias is driven by three factors: attention bias, memory bias, and perception bias. To investigate attention bias, an experiment was conducted in which participants were shown faces expressing different emotions: threatening, neutral, or happy. The next step was to identify the type of emotion as quickly as possible (Bradley, Mogg, White, Groom and de Bono 1999). Bradley and colleagues (1999) found that people with higher levels of anxiety were quicker to identify not only threatening emotions, but any emotion in general. This experiment showed that certain social signals, in this case, faces, can attract particular attention and that they are associated with emotions. Andrei, for example, drew attention to the facial expression of the boss,
Memory bias is manifested in the fact that in a bad mood (depressed and anxious), we remember more unpleasant moments than pleasant ones. The opposite is also true, that is, we remember more pleasant things if we are in a good mood. However, this is not always the case. Watkins (2002) revisited the findings on the effects of mood on memory, especially the effects of depression. It is often expressed as a constant focus on negative events in the past that affect memories. To be more precise, abstract processing or thinking about memories leads to the fact that the information is remembered in accordance with the mood. Watkins called this phenomenon "mood-congruent memory" (MCM, see Watkins, 2002). In a study evaluating MCM, depressed and normal participants were provided with lists of positive, neutral, and negative adjectives (Watkins, Matthews, Williamson, and Fuller 1992) and those related to depression (hopeless, guilty). Then the subjects were asked to imagine themselves in a situation that can be described with every word, and then to remember the words using clues (for example, some letters were given - cn_ko__ for the word "calm"). The researchers found that participants in depression recalled more words associated with depression than participants in normal states. Thus, if we, like Andrei, feel depressed, then, most likely, we will remember the unfortunate moments, and these memories will shape the perception of new information. But was that why Andrey had a bad day, or was it something else? neutral and negative adjectives (Watkins, Matthews, Williamson & Fuller, 1992); and those related to depression (hopeless, guilty).
Perceptual bias Is the interpretation of ambiguous information or events in a negative or threatening manner. Depressed or highly anxious people have been shown to be more prone to processing bias. In a study by the Greek scientist Vassilopoulos (2006), the author interviewed students with and without social anxiety. He was interested in how they would react to positive and negative events: for example, the absence of an invitation to a party or loud applause after a speech. One of the questions was: "How would you feel if your friends had a party and did not invite you?" The scientist found that participants prone to social anxiety rated negative events or situations more negatively than they actually are, which, in turn, forces them to avoid such situations in the future. Even for positive events, they were less positive than participants in a normal state. What can these results indicate? If you are feeling anxious or depressed, you may not notice all the positives. Perhaps your glass, like Andrei's, is half empty.
When negative thinking goes beyond bad thoughts
People often feel that they will not experience the symptoms and consequences of mental illness if they have not been diagnosed with it. This is far from the truth. Almost everyone experiences symptoms of mental illness at different points in their lives. For example, if you need to give a presentation at work, it is perfectly normal to feel anxious. The same can be said for depression after a breakup. These emotions are inherent in everyone at a certain stage of life, and in such moments people experience emotional bias, because life changes and affects mood. It is important to consider here that emotional bias can be exacerbated by the same depression or feelings of anxiety.
The consequences of depressive symptoms
There are many studies of depression and its symptoms. Researchers agree that depression negatively affects people's behavior. This is manifested in their daily activities and perception of the world around them. This negative perception is the result of emotional bias. Try to remember a day when something bad happened and made you sad. Have you watched funny videos and listened to uplifting music, or listened to sad music with no interest in anything positive? The work of Lee, Andrade, and Palmer (2013) suggests that it is more common for us to choose sad melodies and avoid things that are cheerful at times like this. The reason for this was explored by Romans and Pollack in 2013. They found that even people who are at risk for depression are more likely to have attention bias. as they focus only on negative things, such as sad music. As mentioned, sad and depressed individuals are more likely to remember events that match their mood. And by focusing on negative situations and stimuli, they end up feeling even more depressed, falling into a vicious circle (Linden, Jackson, Subramanian, Healy & Linden, 2011).
Consequences of anxiety and symptoms of social phobia
As with depression, just because you don't have social anxiety disorder doesn't mean you never experience anxiety. For example, if you've ever performed in front of a large number of people, you probably experienced such disturbing symptoms as sweating, dizziness, fear of failure and criticism. These feelings can affect our perception of the world around us and our social interactions. This does not mean that all negative emotions are harmful: often they are even useful and aimed at our protection. For example, when we feel anxious, we become more attuned to dangerous situations. When walking at night in an unfamiliar area, our anxiety can protect us from potential threats (McLeod, Matthews, and Tata, 1986). In addition, when we feel anxious, we are more likely to remember the threatening situation, more than a promise of danger (Matthews, Mogg, May & Eisenk 1989). Let's go back to the example with Andrey. If the boss had appointed him a probationary period or threatened him with dismissal at the last meeting, Andrei would most likely have thought about this when summoned to the office. This, in turn, would heighten his sense of anxiety. When we drive ourselves into anxiety-provoking situations, we are more sensitive to the very situation that contributes to the emergence of anxiety. We become emotionally biased, which leads to an even greater increase in anxiety levels. So what can we do to stop this vicious circle? This, in turn, would heighten his sense of anxiety. When we drive ourselves into anxiety-provoking situations, we are more sensitive to the very situation that contributes to the emergence of anxiety. We become emotionally biased, which leads to an even greater increase in anxiety levels.
How to stop a vicious circle
Much research has focused on exploring the causes of emotional bias and looking for ways to reduce it. In an expanded study of attention bias, McNally, Inok, Tsai, and Tuzian (2013) concluded that practice is the path to excellence. They have found that if you are nervous about an upcoming speech, it is worth rehearsing it four or more times in front of a small group of people, and this will significantly reduce the fear of speaking in front of a large audience. Other researchers have looked at ways to reduce the effect of perception bias and have found that if you have an increased ability to withstand stress and difficult life situations, then you are less likely to experience this effect (Climb, Thurn, and Elert, 2014) ... Let's go back to the example with Andrey.
Methods have also been developed to take people out of the "circle of negative emotions." These include acceptance and aspiration therapy (Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lilis, 2006). These types of therapy emphasize being present in the moment, which in simple terms means not thinking about the past and not thinking about the future. The idea behind acceptance and aspiration therapy is not to try to get rid of or suppress negative feelings, but to change the areas of your life that you can change, and to accept what you have no control over (see Harris [2008] for for a more detailed guide to working with emotions).
Finally
People are prone to misconceptions about what the world really is. We have developed mechanisms that help us see the truth, and at the same time, we have found ways that can counteract this. The article explained how our attention, memory and perception affect the processing of emotions. Bias allows us to differentiate between neutral stimuli in a certain way, based on current emotions and past experiences. Practical experience, along with temperament and bias, can subsequently lead to psychological problems. Fortunately, there are methods to improve emotion processing and bias management. We are able to get rid of the influence of negative uncontrollable events on our mood and get out of the vicious circle into which we have been driven by false ideas. Realizing that he will not get a mortgage.
Pleasant and not so pleasant events happening to us set the tone for the whole day. If the mood was good, then in the memories of this day, most likely, it will remain successful. But if we were angry and annoyed, we will remember the day as a terrible one. We all experience emotions to some extent. They help to understand the world around and react to it. Emotions can be extremely helpful. For example, the fear of being the victim of a wild beast makes us run away from the bear, and the fear of losing our job motivates us to finish the project on time. However, according to the confirmed data, a kind of "mediator" works between the person experiencing emotions and the surrounding world. The bottom line is that there is an emotional bias that determines how emotions affect us. Although it can be both positive and negative, in this article, we will focus on the negative side for the most part. But don't be upset, because there are ways to limit the influence of bias, which in theory can improve our day.
Let's give an example. Usually Andrey wakes up at exactly 7 o'clock in the morning, gets ready and goes to work. Today, on the way, he received a phone call from the bank and was told that his request for a loan to buy a new home had not been approved. Information of this kind will unsettle anyone. However, some people, such as our hero, are more inclined to cling to unpleasant events, let them in and let them influence emotions. Andrei is overwhelmed by anxiety: how can he and his family now look for a new place of residence, because their current house has already been put up for sale. He remembers the refusal and begins to think about his own inability to support his family.
As the thought continues to drill into the brain, Andrei is under the influence of this event for the rest of the day. Andrei arrives at work, and his boss immediately calls him. The phone call still does not go out of his head, which is why our hero is clearly negative. As a result, Andrei thinks that the boss calls him in to reprimand or reprimand him. Although, perhaps she just wants to ask him a question or praise him for a job well done. However, the morning episode with the bank makes Andrey think about the bad, which prevents him from considering the situation in a neutral way, and even more so in a positive way.
It may seem that Andrey's reaction is exaggeratedly emotional, but in fact, such behavior occurs quite often - a person reacts negatively to a seemingly ordinary situation if something unpleasant has recently happened to him. So, is there such a thing as emotional bias, or are people basically negative? It may be because of both, but psychologists have figured out why some people are more prone to emotional bias than others.
Emotional bias Is a perception of the world around us based on our emotional state. Emotional bias is driven by three factors: attention bias, memory bias, and perception bias. To investigate attention bias, an experiment was conducted in which participants were shown faces expressing different emotions: threatening, neutral, or happy. The next step was to identify the type of emotion as quickly as possible (Bradley, Mogg, White, Groom and de Bono 1999). Bradley and colleagues (1999) found that people with higher levels of anxiety were quicker to identify not only threatening emotions, but any emotion in general. This experiment showed that certain social signals, in this case, faces, can attract particular attention and that they are associated with emotions. Andrei, for example, drew attention to the facial expression of the boss,
Memory bias is manifested in the fact that in a bad mood (depressed and anxious), we remember more unpleasant moments than pleasant ones. The opposite is also true, that is, we remember more pleasant things if we are in a good mood. However, this is not always the case. Watkins (2002) revisited the findings on the effects of mood on memory, especially the effects of depression. It is often expressed as a constant focus on negative events in the past that affect memories. To be more precise, abstract processing or thinking about memories leads to the fact that the information is remembered in accordance with the mood. Watkins called this phenomenon "mood-congruent memory" (MCM, see Watkins, 2002). In a study evaluating MCM, depressed and normal participants were provided with lists of positive, neutral, and negative adjectives (Watkins, Matthews, Williamson, and Fuller 1992) and those related to depression (hopeless, guilty). Then the subjects were asked to imagine themselves in a situation that can be described with every word, and then to remember the words using clues (for example, some letters were given - cn_ko__ for the word "calm"). The researchers found that participants in depression recalled more words associated with depression than participants in normal states. Thus, if we, like Andrei, feel depressed, then, most likely, we will remember the unfortunate moments, and these memories will shape the perception of new information. But was that why Andrey had a bad day, or was it something else? neutral and negative adjectives (Watkins, Matthews, Williamson & Fuller, 1992); and those related to depression (hopeless, guilty).
Perceptual bias Is the interpretation of ambiguous information or events in a negative or threatening manner. Depressed or highly anxious people have been shown to be more prone to processing bias. In a study by the Greek scientist Vassilopoulos (2006), the author interviewed students with and without social anxiety. He was interested in how they would react to positive and negative events: for example, the absence of an invitation to a party or loud applause after a speech. One of the questions was: "How would you feel if your friends had a party and did not invite you?" The scientist found that participants prone to social anxiety rated negative events or situations more negatively than they actually are, which, in turn, forces them to avoid such situations in the future. Even for positive events, they were less positive than participants in a normal state. What can these results indicate? If you are feeling anxious or depressed, you may not notice all the positives. Perhaps your glass, like Andrei's, is half empty.
When negative thinking goes beyond bad thoughts
People often feel that they will not experience the symptoms and consequences of mental illness if they have not been diagnosed with it. This is far from the truth. Almost everyone experiences symptoms of mental illness at different points in their lives. For example, if you need to give a presentation at work, it is perfectly normal to feel anxious. The same can be said for depression after a breakup. These emotions are inherent in everyone at a certain stage of life, and in such moments people experience emotional bias, because life changes and affects mood. It is important to consider here that emotional bias can be exacerbated by the same depression or feelings of anxiety.
The consequences of depressive symptoms
There are many studies of depression and its symptoms. Researchers agree that depression negatively affects people's behavior. This is manifested in their daily activities and perception of the world around them. This negative perception is the result of emotional bias. Try to remember a day when something bad happened and made you sad. Have you watched funny videos and listened to uplifting music, or listened to sad music with no interest in anything positive? The work of Lee, Andrade, and Palmer (2013) suggests that it is more common for us to choose sad melodies and avoid things that are cheerful at times like this. The reason for this was explored by Romans and Pollack in 2013. They found that even people who are at risk for depression are more likely to have attention bias. as they focus only on negative things, such as sad music. As mentioned, sad and depressed individuals are more likely to remember events that match their mood. And by focusing on negative situations and stimuli, they end up feeling even more depressed, falling into a vicious circle (Linden, Jackson, Subramanian, Healy & Linden, 2011).
Consequences of anxiety and symptoms of social phobia
As with depression, just because you don't have social anxiety disorder doesn't mean you never experience anxiety. For example, if you've ever performed in front of a large number of people, you probably experienced such disturbing symptoms as sweating, dizziness, fear of failure and criticism. These feelings can affect our perception of the world around us and our social interactions. This does not mean that all negative emotions are harmful: often they are even useful and aimed at our protection. For example, when we feel anxious, we become more attuned to dangerous situations. When walking at night in an unfamiliar area, our anxiety can protect us from potential threats (McLeod, Matthews, and Tata, 1986). In addition, when we feel anxious, we are more likely to remember the threatening situation, more than a promise of danger (Matthews, Mogg, May & Eisenk 1989). Let's go back to the example with Andrey. If the boss had appointed him a probationary period or threatened him with dismissal at the last meeting, Andrei would most likely have thought about this when summoned to the office. This, in turn, would heighten his sense of anxiety. When we drive ourselves into anxiety-provoking situations, we are more sensitive to the very situation that contributes to the emergence of anxiety. We become emotionally biased, which leads to an even greater increase in anxiety levels. So what can we do to stop this vicious circle? This, in turn, would heighten his sense of anxiety. When we drive ourselves into anxiety-provoking situations, we are more sensitive to the very situation that contributes to the emergence of anxiety. We become emotionally biased, which leads to an even greater increase in anxiety levels.
How to stop a vicious circle
Much research has focused on exploring the causes of emotional bias and looking for ways to reduce it. In an expanded study of attention bias, McNally, Inok, Tsai, and Tuzian (2013) concluded that practice is the path to excellence. They have found that if you are nervous about an upcoming speech, it is worth rehearsing it four or more times in front of a small group of people, and this will significantly reduce the fear of speaking in front of a large audience. Other researchers have looked at ways to reduce the effect of perception bias and have found that if you have an increased ability to withstand stress and difficult life situations, then you are less likely to experience this effect (Climb, Thurn, and Elert, 2014) ... Let's go back to the example with Andrey.
Methods have also been developed to take people out of the "circle of negative emotions." These include acceptance and aspiration therapy (Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lilis, 2006). These types of therapy emphasize being present in the moment, which in simple terms means not thinking about the past and not thinking about the future. The idea behind acceptance and aspiration therapy is not to try to get rid of or suppress negative feelings, but to change the areas of your life that you can change, and to accept what you have no control over (see Harris [2008] for for a more detailed guide to working with emotions).
Finally
People are prone to misconceptions about what the world really is. We have developed mechanisms that help us see the truth, and at the same time, we have found ways that can counteract this. The article explained how our attention, memory and perception affect the processing of emotions. Bias allows us to differentiate between neutral stimuli in a certain way, based on current emotions and past experiences. Practical experience, along with temperament and bias, can subsequently lead to psychological problems. Fortunately, there are methods to improve emotion processing and bias management. We are able to get rid of the influence of negative uncontrollable events on our mood and get out of the vicious circle into which we have been driven by false ideas. Realizing that he will not get a mortgage.
