Behaviorism and Moods

Behavior Mood Diary Data Collection Grid Time Mood Notes I am Irritated Hungry, didn't sleep well am Surprised Friend of mine stopped by & bought lunch at work pm Excitement/Happiness Getting off work early today pm Bored Work is dull, waiting to leave pm Irritable Lot's of traffic on way home/ended up late pm Tired Didn't feel like cooking, had cake for dinner pm Exhausted Going to bed early Time Mood Notes I am Aversion Hungry, didn't sleep well again.

Feel nauseous am Interest New job opening at work, considering pm Wonder Need some training classes, work is interesting pm Desire Decide I need to earn more pm Joy No traffic today! Pizza and beer for dinner pm Love Rented romantic comedy, thinking of partner pm Anxiety Have a big presentation at work tomorrow Day 3 Time Mood Notes I am Distress Hungry, didn't sleep well. (do I ever?) am Guilty Didn't practice my presentation. A pm Surprise Have to give my presentation early. A pm Fear Presentation time.

A pm Anger Forgot several points, people really berated me. A pm Joy Work is done and I get to treat myself to a massage pm Joy It's Friday! Analysis: recognized many different physiological and cognitive components of my emotions during the three day observation period. Consciously or cognitively I perceived myself to be many different things, including distressed, fearful, surprised, joyful and even angry at times. Initially I supposed that all of my emotions would be due to cognitive responses to my environment or things happening in the day.

As the three day period elapsed however, I began recognizing that some of my emotions resulted from my physiological state (like if I was fatigued or hadn't eaten well). Interestingly, the physiological manifestation of my emotions was sometimes the same whether I was fearful or irritated. For example, on day three I felt fearful about a presentation I had to give, and I could feel my heart racing (a physiological element of my emotions).

Interestingly, my heart also pumped faster (or at least I perceived this to happen) as I later experienced joy or surprise. Other physiological symptoms I noticed included the need to laugh and blushing when I felt both excitement and anger. Though the physiological symptoms were not always the same with varying emotions, they were similar enough that I noticed them.

According to the studies we have done and my understanding of the cognitive and physiological components of emotions, emotions are generally manifestations of cognitive feelings such as 'pleasant' or 'happy' that are accompanied by physiological presentations in a person. What we feel consciously are the cognitive components of emotions and we use our cognitive perceptions to help define how we are feeling.

Physiologic components of emotion vary because they result from activation of certain areas of the brain and may result in feelings such as an increased heart rate or even blushing. Even physiological responses will vary from person to person. When we combine the physiological and cognitive components of an emotion we express ourselves with certain behaviors that may include posture and gestures, smiles, frowns etc. This is the behavioral component of our emotions.

If found during the course of this three day study that for the most part each of these elements of emotions seem to overlap a little bit. A did not find it too difficult to measure my moods on a daily basis, though I did have to think for a bit about what I was actually feeling. I enjoyed having the opportunity to consciously observe my behavior and feelings at several different points during the day.

In fact, consciously paying attention to my moods help me realize certain patterns of personality that I was demonstrating. For example, I realized among other things that I was allowing external stressors to impact my ability to sleep (note most mornings my emotions indicate a physiological and cognitive state of distress). A found it interesting to try and determine whether my emotions were developing from a cognitive state or a physiological one. In the mornings I.