Psychology of emotional state

Introduction

1. Psychology of human emotional states

1.1. Types and role of emotions in human life

1.2. Psychological theories of emotion

1.3 Emotional states

Conclusion

Depending on the duration, intensity, objectivity or uncertainty, as well as the quality of emotions, all emotions can be divided into emotional reactions, emotional states and emotional relationships (V.N. Myasishchev).

Emotional reactions are characterized by a high rate of occurrence and transience. They last minutes, are characterized by a fairly pronounced quality (modality) and sign (positive or negative emotion), intensity and objectivity. The objectivity of an emotional reaction is understood as its more or less unambiguous connection with the event or object that caused it. An emotional reaction normally always arises about events that occurred in specific situation something or someone. This could be fear from a sudden noise or scream, joy from heard words or perceived facial expressions, anger due to an obstacle that has arisen or about someone’s action, etc. It should be remembered that these events are only a trigger for the emergence of emotion, and the cause is either the biological significance or the subjective meaning of this event for the subject. The intensity of emotional reactions can be different - from barely noticeable, even for the subject himself, to excessive - affect.

Emotional reactions are often reactions of frustration of some expressed needs. Frustration (from the Latin frustatio - deception, destruction of plans) in psychology is a mental state that arises in response to the appearance of an objectively or subjectively insurmountable obstacle to satisfying a need, achieving a goal or solving a problem. The type of frustration reaction depends on many circumstances, but is very often a personality characteristic this person. This could be anger, frustration, despair, or guilt.

Emotional states are characterized by: longer duration, which can be measured in hours and days; normally, lower intensity, since emotions are associated with significant energy expenditure due to the accompanying physiological reactions; in some cases, pointlessness, which is expressed in the fact that the subject may the reason and the reason that caused them are hidden, as well as some uncertainty of the modality of the emotional state. According to their modality, emotional states can appear in the form of irritability, anxiety, complacency, various shades of mood - from depressive states to euphoria. However, most often they are mixed conditions. Since emotional states are also emotions, they also reflect the relationship between the needs of the subject and the objective or subjective possibilities for their satisfaction, rooted in the situation.

With absence organic disorders of the central nervous system, the state of irritation is essentially a high readiness for anger reactions in a long-term situation of frustration. A person has outbursts of anger for the slightest and various reasons, but they are based on dissatisfaction with some personally significant need, which the subject himself may not be aware of.

A state of anxiety means the presence of some uncertainty about the outcome of future events related to the satisfaction of some need. Often the state of anxiety is associated with a sense of self-esteem (self-esteem), which may suffer if there is an unfavorable outcome of events in the expected future. The frequent occurrence of anxiety in everyday activities may indicate the presence of self-doubt as a personality, i.e. about unstable or low self-esteem inherent in a given person in general.

A person's mood often reflects the experience already achieved success or failure, or a high or low probability of success or failure in the near future. A bad or good mood reflects the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of some need in the past, success or failure in achieving a goal or solving a problem. It is no coincidence that a person in a bad mood is asked if something has happened. A long-term low or high mood (over two weeks), not typical for a given person, is a pathological sign in which an unsatisfied need is either truly absent or deeply hidden from the subject’s consciousness, and its detection requires special psychological analysis. A person most often experiences mixed states, for example, a depressed mood with a tinge of anxiety or joy with a tinge of anxiety or anger.

A person can also experience more complex conditions, an example of which is the so-called dysphoria - a pathological condition lasting two to three days, in which irritation, anxiety and bad mood are simultaneously present. Less severe dysphoria may occur in some people and is normal.

Emotional relationships are also called feelings. Feelings are stable emotional experiences associated with a specific object or category of objects that have special significance for a person. Feelings in a broad sense can be associated with various objects or actions, for example, you may not like a given cat or cats in general, you may or may not like doing morning exercises, etc. Some authors suggest calling only stable emotional relationships towards people feelings. Feelings differ from emotional reactions and emotional states in duration - they can last for years, and sometimes for a lifetime, for example, feelings of love or hatred. Unlike states, feelings are objective - they are always associated with an object or an action with it.

Emotionality. Emotionality is understood as stable individual characteristics of the emotional sphere of a given person. V.D. Nebylitsyn proposed to take into account three components when describing emotionality: emotional impressionability, emotional lability and impulsiveness.

Emotional sensitivity is a person’s sensitivity to emotional situations, i.e. situations that can evoke emotions. Since different people Different needs dominate, each person has his own situations that can cause emotions. At the same time, there are certain characteristics of the situation that make them emotional for all people. These are: unusualness, novelty and suddenness (P. Fress). Unusuality differs from novelty in that there are types of stimuli that will always be new for the subject, because there are no “good answers” ​​for them, such as loud noise, loss of support, darkness, loneliness, images of the imagination, as well as combinations of the familiar and the unfamiliar . There are individual differences in the degree of sensitivity to emotiogenic situations that are common to all, as well as in the number of individual emotional situations.

Emotional lability is characterized by the speed of transition from one emotional state to another. People differ from each other in how often and how quickly their state changes - in some people, for example, the mood is usually stable and depends little on minor current events, in others, with high emotional lability, it changes for the slightest reasons several times a day. day.

Impulsivity is determined by the speed with which emotion becomes the motivating force of actions and actions without prior thought. This personality quality is also called self-control. There are two different mechanisms of self-control - external control and internal. With external control, it is not the emotions themselves that are controlled, but only their external expression; emotions are present, but they are restrained; the person “pretends” that he does not experience emotions. Internal control is associated with such a hierarchical distribution of needs in which lower needs are subordinated to higher ones, therefore, being in such a subordinate position, they simply cannot cause uncontrollable emotions in appropriate situations. An example of internal control can be a person’s passion for work, when he does not notice hunger for a long time (“forgets” to eat) and therefore remains indifferent to the type of food.

IN psychological literature It is also common to divide the emotional states that a person experiences into actual emotions, feelings and affects.

Emotions and feelings - personal formations, socially and psychologically characterizing a person; associated with short-term and working memory.

Affect is a short-term, rapidly flowing state of strong emotional arousal, resulting from frustration or some other reason that has a strong effect on the psyche, usually associated with the dissatisfaction of very important needs for a person. Affect does not precede behavior, but forms it at one of its final stages. Unlike emotions and feelings, affects occur violently, quickly, and are accompanied by pronounced organic changes and motor reactions. Affects can leave strong and lasting traces in long-term memory. Emotional tension accumulated as a result of the occurrence of afetogenic situations can accumulate and sooner or later, if it is not given a way out in time, lead to a strong and violent emotional release, which, while relieving tension, often entails a feeling of fatigue, depression, depression.

One of the most common types of affects these days is stress - a state of mental (emotional) and behavioral disorder associated with a person’s inability to act expediently and wisely in the current situation. Stress is a state of excessively strong and prolonged psychological tension that occurs in a person when his nervous system receives emotional overload. Stresses are the main “risk factors” for the manifestation and exacerbation of cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal tract.

Thus, each of the described types of emotions has subtypes within itself, which in turn can be assessed according to different parameters - intensity, duration, depth, awareness, origin, conditions of occurrence and disappearance, impact on the body, dynamics of development, focus (on oneself) , on others, on the world, on the past, present or future), by the way they are expressed in external behavior (expression) and by their neurophysiological basis.

The role of emotions in human life

For a person, the main significance of emotions is that, thanks to emotions, we better understand those around us, we can, without using speech, judge each other’s state and better tune in to joint activities and communication.

Life without emotions is just as impossible as life without sensations. Emotions, according to Charles Darwin, arose in the process of evolution as a means by which living beings establish the significance of certain conditions to satisfy their actual needs. Emotionally expressive movements of a person - facial expressions, gestures, pantomime - perform the function of communication, i.e. communicating to a person information about the state of the speaker and his attitude to what is currently happening, as well as the function of influence - exerting a certain influence on the one who is the subject of the perception of emotional and expressive movements.

Remarkable, for example, is the fact that people belonging to different cultures are able to accurately perceive and evaluate the expression of a human face, and determine from it such emotional states, such as joy, anger, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise. This fact not only convincingly proves the innate nature of basic emotions, but also “the presence of a genetically determined ability to understand them in living beings.” This refers to the communication of living beings not only of the same species with each other, but also of different species with each other. It is well known that higher animals and humans are capable of perceiving and assessing each other’s emotional states by facial expressions.

Not all emotional and expressive expressions are innate. Some of them have been found to be acquired during life as a result of training and upbringing.

Life without emotions is just as impossible as without sensations. Emotions, according to Charles Darwin, arose in the process of evolution as a means by which living beings establish the significance of certain conditions to satisfy their actual needs.

In higher animals, and especially in humans, expressive movements have become a finely differentiated language with the help of which living beings exchange information about their states and what is happening around them. These are the expressive and communicative functions of emotions. They are also the most important factor in the regulation of cognitive processes.

Emotions act as an internal language, as a system of signals through which the subject learns about the need-based significance of what is happening. “The peculiarity of emotions is that they directly deny the relationship between motivations and the implementation that corresponds to these motives of activity. Emotions in human activity perform the function of assessing its progress and results. They organize activities, stimulating and directing them.”

In critical conditions, when the subject is unable to find a quick and reasonable way out of a dangerous situation, a special type of emotional processes arises - affect. One of the significant manifestations of affect is that, as V.K. believes. Vilyunas, “imposing stereotypical actions on the subject, represents a certain way of “emergency” resolution of situations fixed in evolution: flight, numbness, aggression, etc.” .

The important mobilization, integrative and protective role of emotions was pointed out by the prominent Russian psychologist P.K. Anokhin. He wrote: “Producing almost instantaneous integration (unification into a single whole) of all functions of the body, emotions themselves and first of all can be an absolute signal of a beneficial or harmful effect on the body, often even before the localization of the effects and the specific mechanism of the response are determined organism."

Thanks to timely emotions, the body has the ability to adapt extremely advantageously to environmental conditions. He is able to quickly, with great speed, react to an external influence, without yet determining its type, shape, or other particular specific parameters.

Emotional sensations are biologically, in the process of evolution, established as a unique way of maintaining the life process within its optimal boundaries and warn about the destructive nature of the lack or excess of any factors.

The more complex the organization Living being, the higher the level on the evolutionary ladder it occupies, the richer the range of emotional states that the individual is able to experience. The quantity and quality of a person’s needs corresponds to the number and variety of emotional experiences and feelings characteristic of him, and “the higher the need in its social and moral significance, the more exalted the feeling associated with it.”

The most ancient in origin, the simplest and most widespread form of emotional experiences among living beings is the pleasure received from satisfying organic needs, and the displeasure associated with the inability to do this when the corresponding need intensifies.

Almost all elementary organic sensations have their own emotional tone. The close connection that exists between emotions and the activity of the body is evidenced by the fact that any emotional state is accompanied by many physiological changes in the body. (In this work we partially try to trace this dependence.)

The closer to the central nervous system the source of organic changes associated with emotions is located, and the fewer sensitive nerve endings it contains, the weaker the subjective emotional experience that arises. In addition, an artificial decrease in organic sensitivity leads to a weakening of the strength of emotional experiences.

The main emotional states that a person experiences are divided into actual emotions, feelings and affects. Emotions and feelings anticipate the process aimed at satisfying a need; they are, as it were, at the beginning of it. Emotions and feelings express the meaning of a situation for a person from the point of view of the currently relevant need, the significance of the upcoming action or activity for its satisfaction. “Emotions,” believes A.O. Prokhorov, - can be caused by both real and imaginary situations. They, like feelings, are perceived by a person as his own internal experiences, transmitted to other people, and empathized with.”

Emotions are relatively weakly manifested in external behavior, sometimes from the outside they are completely invisible to an outsider, if a person knows how to hide his feelings well. They, accompanying one or another behavioral act, are not even always conscious, although all behavior is associated with emotions, since it is aimed at satisfying a need. A person's emotional experience is usually much broader than the experience of his individual experiences. A person’s feelings, on the contrary, are outwardly very noticeable.

Feelings are objective in nature and are associated with a representation or idea about a certain object. Another feature of feelings is that they are improved and, developing, form a number of levels, starting from immediate feelings and ending with your feelings related to spiritual values ​​and ideals. Feelings play a motivating role in a person’s life and activity, in his communication with people around him. In relation to the world around him, a person strives to act in such a way as to strengthen and strengthen his positive feelings. For him, they are always connected with the work of consciousness and can be voluntarily regulated.

Every emotional state is accompanied by numerous physiological changes in the body. Throughout the history of the development of this area of ​​psychological knowledge, attempts have been made more than once to connect physiological changes in the body with certain emotions and to show that the complexes of organic signs accompanying various emotional processes are really different.

The desire to find the root cause of emotional states led to the emergence of different points of view, which are reflected in the corresponding theories.

In 1872, Charles Darwin published the book “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals,” which was a turning point in understanding the connection between biological and psychological phenomena, in particular, the body and emotions. It was proven that the evolutionary principle is applicable not only to the biophysical, but also to the psychological and behavioral development of living things, that there is no impassable gap between the behavior of animals and humans. Darwin showed that anthropoids and children born blind have much in common in the external expression of different emotional states and in expressive bodily movements. These observations formed the basis of the theory of emotions, which was called evolutionary. Emotions, according to this theory, appeared in the process of evolution of living beings as vital adaptive mechanisms that contribute to the adaptation of the organism to the conditions and situations of its life. The bodily changes that accompany various emotional states, in particular those associated with the corresponding emotions of movement, according to Darwin, are nothing more than the rudiments of real adaptive reactions of the body.

The modern history of emotions begins with the James-Lange theory, according to which the root causes of emotions are organic (physical, bodily) changes.

The obligatory inclusion of bodily reactions in emotional experiences served as the basis for W. James, an outstanding American psychologist, to formulate the theory of emotions, according to which subjectively experienced emotions are nothing more than the experience of bodily changes occurring in the body in response to the perception of some fact .

Reflecting in the human psyche through the system feedback, they generate an emotional experience of the corresponding modality. According to this point of view, first, under the influence of external stimuli, changes characteristic of emotions occur in the body, and only then, as a consequence, does the emotion itself arise. Thus, peripheral organic changes, which before the advent of the James-Lange theory were considered as consequences of emotions, became their root cause.

As proof, James invites us to imagine some emotion and mentally subtract from the entire complex of experiences all sensations of the bodily organs. As a result, we will see that there will be nothing left of the emotion. Figuratively, this dependence, according to James, can be expressed by the formula: “We cry not because we are sad, but we are sad because we cry.”

An alternative point of view on the relationship between organic and emotional processes was proposed by W. Cannon. He was one of the first to note the fact that the bodily changes observed during the occurrence of different emotional states are very similar to each other and are insufficient in diversity to completely satisfactorily explain the qualitative differences in the highest emotional experiences of a person. The internal organs, with changes in the states of which James and Lange associated the emergence of emotional states, in addition, are rather insensitive structures that very slowly come to a state of excitation. Emotions usually arise and develop quite quickly.

Cannon's strongest counterargument to the James-Lange theory was the following: artificially induced cessation of the flow of organic signals into the brain does not prevent the occurrence of emotions. Cannon's provisions were developed by P. Bard, who showed that in fact both bodily changes and the emotional experiences associated with them arise almost simultaneously.

In later studies, it was discovered that of all the brain structures, the most functionally connected with emotions is not even the thalamus itself, but the hypothalamus and the central parts of the limbic system. In experiments conducted on animals, it was found that electrical influences on these structures can control emotional states, such as anger, fear (J. Delgado).

The psychoorganic theory of emotions (as the concepts of James-Lange and Cannon-Bard can be called) received further development under the influence of electrophysiological studies of the brain. On its basis, the Lindsay–Hebb activation theory arose. According to this theory, emotional states are determined by the influence of the reticular formation of the lower part of the brain stem. Emotions arise as a result of disruption and restoration of balance in the corresponding structures of the central nervous system. Activation theory is based on the following basic principles:

The electroencephalographic picture of brain function that occurs during emotions is an expression of the so-called “activation complex” associated with the activity of the reticular formation.

The work of the reticular formation determines many dynamic parameters of emotional states: their strength, duration, variability and a number of others.

Following theories that explain the relationship between emotional and organic processes, theories have emerged that describe the influence of emotions on the human psyche and behavior. Emotions, as it turned out, regulate activity, revealing a very definite influence on it, depending on the nature and intensity of the emotional experience. BEFORE. Hebb was able to experimentally obtain a curve expressing the relationship between the level of emotional arousal of a person and the success of his practical activity.

For achievement highest result In activities, both too weak and very strong emotional arousals are undesirable. For each person (and in general for all people) there is an optimum of emotional excitability, which ensures maximum efficiency in work. The optimal level of emotional arousal, in turn, depends on many factors: on the characteristics of the activity we perform, on the conditions in which it takes place, on the individuality of the person involved in it, and on much more. Too weak emotional arousal does not provide proper motivation for activity, and too strong one destroys it, disorganizes it and makes it practically uncontrollable.

In humans, in the dynamics of emotional processes and states, cognitive-psychological factors play no less a role than organic and physical influences (cognitive means related to knowledge). In this regard, new concepts have been proposed that explain human emotions by the dynamic features of cognitive processes.

One of the first such theories was the theory of cognitive dissonance by L. Festinger. According to it, a positive emotional experience occurs in a person when his expectations are confirmed and cognitive ideas come true, i.e. when the real results of activity correspond to the intended ones, are consistent with them, or, what is the same, are in consonance. Negative emotions arise and intensify in cases where there is a discrepancy, inconsistency or dissonance between the expected and actual results of activity.

Subjectively, a person usually experiences a state of cognitive dissonance as discomfort, and he strives to get rid of it as soon as possible. The way out of the state of cognitive dissonance can be twofold: either change cognitive expectations and plans so that they correspond to the actual result obtained, or try to get new result, which would be consistent with previous expectations. In modern psychology, the theory of cognitive dissonance is often used to explain a person’s actions and actions in various social situations. Emotions are considered as the main motive for corresponding actions and deeds. The underlying cognitive factors are given a much greater role in determining human behavior than organic changes.

The dominant cognitivist orientation of modern psychological research led to the fact that conscious assessments that a person gives to a situation were also considered as smotiogenic factors. It is believed that such assessments directly influence the nature of the emotional experience.

S. Schechter contributed to what was said about the conditions and factors for the emergence of emotions and their dynamics by W. James, K. Lange, W. Cannon, P. Bard, D. Hebb and L. Festinger. He showed that a person’s memory and motivation make a significant contribution to emotional processes. The concept of emotions proposed by S. Schechter is called cognitive-physiological.

According to this theory, the emerging emotional state, in addition to the perceived stimuli and the bodily changes generated by them, is influenced by a person’s past experience and his assessment of the current situation from the point of view of his current interests and needs. Indirect confirmation of the validity of the cognitive theory of emotions is the influence on a person’s experiences of verbal instructions, as well as that additional emotional information that is intended to change a person’s assessment of the situation that has arisen.

In one of the experiments aimed at proving the stated provisions of the cognitive theory of emotions, people were given a physiologically neutral solution accompanied by various instructions. In one case, they were told that this “medicine” would cause them to experience a state of euphoria, in the other, a state of anger. After taking the corresponding “medicine,” the subjects were asked after some time, when according to the instructions it should have started to act, how they felt. It turned out that the emotional experiences they described corresponded to those expected from the instructions given to them.

It was also shown that the nature and intensity of a person’s emotional experiences in a given situation depend on how they are experienced by others nearby. This means that emotional states can be transmitted from person to person, and in humans, unlike animals, the quality of communicated emotional experiences depends on his personal attitude towards the one with whom he empathizes.

Domestic physiologist P.V. Simonov tried to present in a brief symbolic form his set of factors influencing the occurrence and nature of emotion. He proposed the following formula for this:

E = F(P, (In-Is, ...)),

where E is emotion, its strength and quality; /7 - the magnitude and specificity of the current need; (In - Is) - assessment of the likelihood (possibility) of satisfying a given need based on innate and lifetime experience; Information about the means predicted to be necessary to meet existing needs; IS - information about the funds a person has at a given moment in time. According to the formula proposed by P.V. Simonov (his concept can also be classified as cognitivist and has a special name - informational), the strength and quality of the emotion that arises in a person is ultimately determined by the strength of the need and the assessment of the ability to satisfy it in the current situation.

The cerebral cortex plays a leading role in the regulation of emotional states. I.P. Pavlov showed that it is the cortex that regulates the flow and expression of emotions, keeps under its control all phenomena occurring in the body, has an inhibitory effect on the subcortical centers, and controls them. The second signaling system plays a significant role in a person’s emotional experiences, since experiences arise not only from direct influences external environment, but can also be caused by words, thoughts.

Author course work shares the concept of the dual nature of emotions. Physiological changes are one of two components of emotions, and a very nonspecific component. A number of physiological reactions manifest themselves during both positive and negative emotions, for example, the heart can beat not only from fear, but also from joy, the same is true for breathing rate and many other reactions. The specificity of emotion is given by the subjective coloring of experiences, thanks to which we will never confuse fear with joy, despite the similarity of some of the physiological reactions accompanying them. Subjective experience of emotion, i.e. its qualitative feature is called the modality of emotion. The modality of emotions is the subjectively experienced fear, joy, surprise, annoyance, anger, despair, delight, love, hatred, etc.

Thus, according to the authors of the textbook, each emotion consists of two components - an impressive one, characterized by the experience of the subjective uniqueness of a given emotion, and an expressive one - involuntary reactions of the body, including reactions of internal organs and systems, undifferentiated muscle reactions (trembling, increased tone ), as well as so-called expressive movements, which, among other things, have a communicative, signaling nature (scream, facial expressions, posture, voice intonation).

1.3 Emotional states

As mentioned above, the main emotional states that a person experiences are divided into: actual emotions, feelings and affects.

Emotions and feelings anticipate the process aimed at satisfying a need, have an ideational character and are, as it were, at the beginning of it. Emotions usually follow the actualization of the motive and before the rational assessment of the adequacy of the subject’s activity to it. They are a direct reflection, an experience of existing relationships, and not their reflection. Emotions are capable of anticipating situations and events that have not yet actually occurred, and arise in connection with the idea of ​​previously experienced or imagined situations.

Feelings are objective in nature and are associated with a representation or idea about a certain object. Another feature of feelings is that they are improved and, developing, form a number of levels, starting from immediate feelings and ending with higher feelings related to spiritual values ​​and ideals. The feelings are historical. Feelings play a role in the individual development of a person. important role. They act as a significant factor in the formation of personality, especially its motivational sphere. On the basis of positive emotional experiences such as feelings, the needs and interests of a person appear and are consolidated. Feelings play a motivating role in a person’s life and activity, in his communication with people around him.

Affects are particularly pronounced emotional states accompanied by visible changes in the behavior of the person experiencing them. Affect does not precede behavior, but is, as it were, shifted to its end. This is a reaction that arises as a result of an action or deed that has already been committed and expresses a subjective emotional coloring from the point of view of the extent to which, as a result of committing a given act, it was possible to achieve the set goal, to satisfy the need that stimulated it. Affects contribute to the formation of so-called affective complexes in perception, expressing the integrity of the perception of certain situations. The development of affect is subject to the following law: the stronger the initial motivational stimulus of behavior is, and the more effort had to be spent to implement it, the smaller the result obtained as a result of all this, the stronger the resulting affect. Unlike emotions and feelings, affects occur violently, quickly, and are accompanied by pronounced organic changes and motor reactions. Affects can leave strong and lasting traces in long-term memory.

Emotional tension accumulated as a result of the occurrence of affectogenic situations can accumulate and sooner or later, if it is not released in time, lead to a strong and violent emotional release, which, while relieving tension, often entails a feeling of fatigue, depression, depression.

Stress is a state of excessively strong and prolonged psychological tension that occurs in a person when his nervous system receives emotional overload. Stress disorganizes a person’s activities and disrupts the normal course of his behavior. Stress, especially if it is frequent and prolonged, has a negative impact not only on the psychological state, but also on physical health person. They represent the main “risk factors” for the emergence and exacerbation of diseases such as cardiovascular and gastrointestinal tract diseases.

Passion is another type of complex, qualitatively unique and unique emotional state found only in humans. Passion is a fusion of emotions, motives and feelings concentrated around a specific activity or subject. Passion is a great force, which is why it is so important where it is directed. The infatuation of passion can come from unconscious bodily inclinations, and it can be imbued with the greatest consciousness and ideology. Passion essentially means an impulse, passion, orientation of all aspirations and forces of the individual in a single direction, concentrating them on a single goal. It is precisely because passion collects, absorbs and throws all its strength at one thing that it can be destructive and even fatal, but that is precisely why it can also be great. Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without great passion.

Talking about various types emotional formations and states, you need to highlight the mood. Mood is understood as the general emotional state of a person, expressed in the “structure” of all its manifestations. Two main features characterize mood in contrast to other emotional formations. Emotions and feelings are associated with some object and directed towards it: we are happy about something, upset about something, worried about something; but when a person is in a joyful mood, he is not just happy about something, but he is happy - sometimes, especially in his youth, so that everything in the world seems joyful and beautiful. The mood is not objective, but personal - it is, firstly, and, secondly, it is not a special experience dedicated to some particular event, but a diffuse general state.

Mood is closely related to how vital relationships develop for an individual with others and with the course of one’s own activities. Manifesting itself in the “structure” of this activity, woven into effective relationships with others, the mood is formed in it. At the same time, what is essential for mood, of course, is not the objective course of events in itself, regardless of the individual’s attitude towards it, but also how a person evaluates what is happening and relates to it. Therefore, a person’s mood significantly depends on his individual characterological characteristics, in particular on how he relates to difficulties - whether he is inclined to overestimate them and lose heart, easily demobilizing, or in the face of difficulties, without indulging in carelessness, he knows how to maintain confidence in the that can handle them.

Emotions affect a person's body and mind, they influence almost every aspect of his existence. In a person experiencing an emotion, a change in the electrical activity of the facial muscles can be recorded. Some changes are also observed in the electrical activity of the brain and in the functioning of the circulatory and respiratory systems. The pulse of an angry or frightened person can be 40-60 beats per minute higher than normal. Such sharp changes in somatic indicators when a person experiences a strong emotion indicate that almost all neurophysiological and somatic systems of the body are involved in this process. These changes inevitably affect the individual's perception, thinking and behavior, and in extreme cases can lead to somatic mental disorders. Emotion activates the autonomic nervous system, which in turn affects the endocrine and neurohumoral systems. The mind and body require action. If, for one reason or another, behavior adequate to emotions is impossible for an individual, he is at risk of psychosomatic disorders. But it is not at all necessary to experience a psychosomatic crisis to feel how powerfully emotions have an impact on almost all somatic and physiological functions of the body. Whatever the emotion experienced by a person - powerful or barely expressed - it always causes physiological changes in his body, and these changes are sometimes so serious that they cannot be ignored. Of course, with smoothed, indistinct emotions, somatic changes are not so clearly expressed - without reaching the threshold of awareness, they often go unnoticed. But we should not underestimate the importance of such unconscious, subliminal processes for the body. Somatic reactions to a mild emotion are not as intense as a violent reaction to a strong emotional experience, but the duration of exposure to a subthreshold emotion can be very long. What we call “mood” is usually formed under the influence of just such emotions. Prolonged negative emotion, even of moderate intensity, can be extremely dangerous and, in the end, even fraught with physical or mental disorders. Neuroscience research suggests that emotions and mood influence immune system, reduce resistance to diseases. If you experience anger, anxiety or depression for a long time - even if these emotions are mild - then you are more likely to get an acute respiratory infection, the flu, or contract an intestinal infection. The influence of emotions on a person is generalized, but each emotion affects him in its own way. The experience of emotion changes the level of electrical activity in the brain, dictates which muscles of the face and body should be tense or relaxed, and controls the endocrine, circulatory and respiratory systems of the body.

Eliminating unwanted emotional states

K. Izard notes three ways to eliminate an unwanted emotional state:

1) through another emotion;

2) cognitive regulation;

3) motor regulation.

The first method of regulation involves conscious efforts aimed at activating another emotion opposite to the one that the person is experiencing and wants to eliminate. The second method involves using attention and thinking to suppress or gain control over an unwanted emotion. This is a switching of consciousness to events and activities that arouse a person’s interest and positive emotional experiences. The third method involves the use of physical activity as a channel for relieving emotional stress.

Particular methods of regulating the emotional state (for example, the use of breathing exercises, mental regulation, the use of “defense mechanisms,” changing the direction of consciousness) basically fit into the three global methods noted by Izard.

Currently, many different methods of self-regulation have been developed: relaxation training, autogenic training, desensitization, reactive relaxation, meditation, etc.

Mental regulation is associated either with external influence (another person, music, color, natural landscape) or with self-regulation.

In both cases, the most common is the method developed in 1932 by the German psychiatrist I. Schultz (1966) and called “autogenic training.” Currently, many of its modifications have appeared (Alekseev, 1978; Vyatkin, 1981; Gorbunov, 1976; Marishchuk, Khvoinov, 1969; Chernikova, Dashkevich, 1968, 1971, etc.).

Along with autogenic training, another self-regulation system is known - “progressive relaxation” (muscle relaxation). When developing this method, E. Jacobson proceeded from the fact that with many emotions, tension in the skeletal muscles is observed. Hence, in accordance with the James-Lange theory, to relieve emotional tension (anxiety, fear), he suggests relaxing the muscles. This method also corresponds to recommendations to put a smile on your face in case of negative experiences and to activate your sense of humor. Reassessing the significance of an event, relaxing muscles after a person has laughed it off, and normalizing heart function - these are the components of the positive effect of laughter on a person’s emotional state.

A.V. Alekseev (1978) created a new technique called “psychoregulatory training,” which differs from autogenic training in that it does not use the instillation of a “feeling of heaviness” in various parts body, and also by the fact that it has not only a calming, but also an exciting part. It includes some elements from the methods of E. Jacobson and L. Percival. Psychological basis This method is a dispassionate concentration of attention on the images and sensations associated with the relaxation of skeletal muscles.

Changing the direction of consciousness. The options for this method of self-regulation are varied.

Disconnection (distraction) consists of the ability to think about anything except emotional circumstances. Switching off requires volitional efforts, with the help of which a person tries to focus attention on the presentation of extraneous objects and situations. Distraction was also used in Russian healing spells as a way to eliminate negative emotions (Sventsitskaya, 1999).

Switching is associated with the focus of consciousness on some interesting thing (reading exciting book, watching a movie, etc.) or on the business side of the upcoming activity. As A. Ts. Puni and F. A. Grebaus write, switching attention from painful thoughts to the business side of even the upcoming activity, understanding difficulties through their analysis, clarifying instructions and tasks, mentally repeating upcoming actions, focusing on the technical details of the task, tactical techniques, and not on the significance of the result, gives a better effect than distraction from the upcoming activity.

Reducing the significance of the upcoming activity or the result obtained is carried out by giving the event less value or generally overestimating the significance of the situation along the lines of “I didn’t really want to”, “the main thing in life is not this, you shouldn’t treat what happened as a disaster”, “failures are already were, and now I treat them differently,” etc. This is how L.N. Tolstoy describes in “Anna Karenina” the use of the last technique by Levin: “Even at first, after returning from Moscow, when Levin shuddered and blushed every time, remembering the shame of refusal, he said to himself: “I blushed and shuddered in the same way, considering everything lost, when I received a unit for physics and remained in the second year; I also considered myself dead after ruining my sister’s work assigned to me. So what? Now that years have passed, I remember and wonder how it could upset me. It will be the same and with this grief. Time will pass, and I will be indifferent to it."

The following ways can help relieve emotional stress.

Obtaining additional information that removes the uncertainty of the situation.

Developing a backup fallback strategy for achieving a goal in case of failure (for example, if I don’t get into this institute, then I’ll go to another one).

Postponing the achievement of a goal for a time when it is realized that it is impossible to do this with the available knowledge, means, etc.

Physical release (as I.P. Pavlov said, you need to “drive passion into the muscles”); since during a strong emotional experience the body gives a mobilization reaction for intense muscular work, it needs to be given this work. To do this, you can take a long walk, do some useful physical work, etc. Sometimes such a discharge occurs in a person as if by itself: when extremely excited, he rushes around the room, sorts through things, tears something, etc. A tic (an involuntary contraction of the facial muscles), which occurs in many people at the moment of excitement, is also a reflexive form of motor discharge of emotional stress.

Listening to music.

Writing a letter, writing in a diary outlining the situation and the reasons that caused emotional stress. It is recommended to divide the sheet of paper into two columns.

Use of defense mechanisms. Unwanted emotions can be overcome or reduced by using strategies called defense mechanisms. 3. Freud identified several such defenses.

Escaping is a physical or mental escape from a situation that is too difficult. This is the most common defense mechanism in young children.

Identification is the process of appropriating the attitudes and views of other people. A person adopts the attitudes of people who are powerful in his eyes and, becoming like them, feels less helpless, which leads to a decrease in anxiety.

Projection is the attribution of one's own antisocial thoughts and actions to someone else: “He did it, not me.” Essentially, this is shifting responsibility to someone else.

Displacement is the replacement of the real source of anger or fear by someone or something. A typical example Such defense is indirect physical aggression (taking out evil, annoyance on an object that is not related to the situation that caused these emotions).

Denial is the refusal to acknowledge that some situation or events are occurring. The mother refuses to believe that her son was killed in the war, the child, at the death of his beloved pet, pretends that he still lives and sleeps with them at night. This type of protection is more typical for young children.

Repression is an extreme form of denial, an unconscious act of erasing from memory a frightening or unpleasant event that causes anxiety and negative experiences.

Regression is a return to more ontogenetically earlier, primitive forms of response to an emotiogenic situation.

Reactive education is behavior that is opposite to existing thoughts and desires that cause anxiety, with the aim of masking them. Characteristic of more mature children, as well as adults. For example, wanting to hide his love, a person will show unfriendliness towards the object of his adoration, and teenagers will also show aggressiveness.

Persistent attempts to influence a very agitated person to calm him down with the help of persuasion, persuasion, suggestion, as a rule, are not successful due to the fact that from all the information that is communicated to the worried person, he selects, perceives and takes into account only that which corresponds to his emotional state. Moreover, an emotionally excited person may be offended, thinking that he is not understood. It is better to let such a person speak out and even cry. “A tear always washes away something and brings consolation,” wrote V. Hugo.

The use of breathing exercises, according to V. L. Marishchuk (1967), R. Demeter (1969), O. A. Chernikova (1980) and other psychologists and physiologists, is the most accessible way to regulate emotional arousal. Various methods are used. R. Demeter used breathing using a pause:

1) without pause: normal breathing - inhale, exhale;

2) pause after inhalation: inhale, pause (two seconds), exhale;

3) pause after exhalation: inhale, exhale, pause;

4) pause after inhalation and exhalation: inhale, pause, exhale, pause;

5) half-inhale, pause, half-inhale and exhale;

6) inhale, half exhale, pause, half exhale;

7) half inhale, pause, half inhale, half exhale, pause, half exhale.

Inhale through the nose - exhale through the nose;

Inhale through the nose - exhale through the mouth;

Inhale through the mouth - exhale through the mouth;

Inhale through the mouth - exhale through the nose.

The effect may be small at first. As the exercises are repeated, the positive effect increases, but they should not be overused.

Canadian scientist L. Percival proposed using breathing exercises in combination with muscle tension and relaxation. By holding your breath against the background of muscle tension, and then calmly exhaling, accompanied by muscle relaxation, you can relieve excessive anxiety.

Conclusion

During the preparation of the course work, the following tasks were solved:

1. The concept of emotions, their types and role in human life is revealed.

2. A review of psychological theories on the problem of emotions was conducted.

3. The characteristics of basic emotional states are described.

4. Methods for eliminating negative emotional states are given.

Emotions are elementary experiences that arise in a person under the influence of the general state of the body and the process of satisfying current needs.

Depending on the duration, intensity, objectivity or uncertainty, as well as the quality of emotions, all emotions are divided into emotional reactions, emotional states and emotional relationships.

Emotional states are characterized by a longer duration, which can be measured in hours and days. According to their modality, emotional states can appear in the form of irritability, anxiety, complacency, various shades of mood - from depressive states to euphoria. In psychological literature, it is also common to divide the emotional states that a person experiences into actual emotions, feelings and affects.

The desire to find the root cause of emotional states led to the emergence of various points of view, which are reflected in the corresponding psychological theories.

Ways to eliminate an unwanted emotional state:

1. Mental regulation

2. Changing the direction of consciousness (Disconnection, switching, reducing the significance of the upcoming activity or the result obtained).

5. Use of defense mechanisms (withdrawal, identification, projection, displacement);

6. Breathing exercises.

Bibliography

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Emotions

Heterogeneity of mental processes providing various shapes the subject's orientation in the world of objects and in himself lead to the need to organize possible classifications. The main groups of mental processes are: 1. Cognitive (sensation and perception, memory, imagination and thinking), 2. Emotional (feelings, emotions), 3. Volitional (motives, aspirations, desires, decision making). I would like to dwell on the second group - emotional processes. And analyze emotions in more detail.

Emotions are a special class of mental processes and states (of humans and animals) associated with instincts, needs, motives and reflecting in the form of direct experience (satisfaction, joy, fear, etc.) the significance of phenomena and situations affecting the individual for the implementation of his life activities .etc.

Emotions appeared in humans during the process of evolution. It can be assumed that the origins of some human emotions should be sought in the simplest physiological drives, such as hunger, and in primary adaptive mechanisms, such as the approach-withdrawal reaction. Each emotion performed one or another adaptive function in the process of human evolution. Darwin's thesis that ways of expressing basic emotions are innate and universal has been repeatedly supported by cross-cultural and developmental psychology research.

A comprehensive definition of the phenomenon of emotion should include physiological, expressive and empirical components. Emotion arises as a result of neurophysiological processes, which in turn can be caused by both internal and external factors. When an emotion arises in response to a mental image, symbol, or representation, we can talk about a formed connection between thought and feeling, or an affective-cognitive structure. Affective-cognitive structures can be a combination of drive and cognitive processes or a combination of drive, emotion and cognitive processes.

For convenience, we divide emotions into positive and negative based on their sensory or experiential characteristics. However, we must remember that any emotion (for example, joy, fear) can be both positive and negative, depending on how much it helps or hinders the individual’s adaptation in a particular situation.

The experience of emotion changes the level of electrical activity in the brain, dictates which muscles of the face and body should be tense or relaxed, and controls the endocrine, circulatory and respiratory systems of the body. Emotions can cloud the perception of the world around us or color it with bright colors, turn the train of thought towards creativity or melancholy, make movements light and smooth or, conversely, clumsy.

Human behavior is based on emotions; they activate and organize a person’s perception, thinking and aspirations. Emotions have a direct impact on perceptual processes, filter information that a person receives through the senses, and actively interfere with the process of its subsequent processing.

Emotion of interest

The emotion of interest is considered by us as one of the innate basic emotions and as the dominant motivational state in the daily activities of a full-fledged, healthy person. We believe that in a normal state of consciousness a person constantly experiences some kind of emotion and that most often his perceptual-cognitive activity and behavior are guided by the emotion of interest. The exception is those cases when an unsatisfied need or a negative emotion dominates the consciousness.

The emotion of interest is characterized by very specific behavioral manifestations. An interested person looks inspired, his attention, gaze and hearing are directed to the object of interest. He experiences a feeling of being captured, enchanted, absorbed. The phenomenology of interest is also characterized by a relatively high degree of feelings of pleasure and self-confidence and a moderate degree of impulsivity and tension.

Astonishment

Surprise is generated by a sudden change in stimulation. The external reason for surprise is a sudden, unexpected event. This event could be a clap of thunder, a flash of fireworks, or the unexpected appearance of a friend.

The feeling of surprise is familiar to everyone, but it is difficult to describe. This is partly due to the fact that surprise is short-lived, but an even more important role is played by the fact that in a moment of surprise our mind seems to go blank, all thought processes seem to be suspended. This is why the reaction of surprise does not receive sufficient understanding. The experience of surprise is a bit like the feeling of being hit electric current: Your muscles instantly contract and you feel a slight tingling sensation as the shock passes through your nerves, making you shiver. When we experience surprise, we do not know how to respond to the stimulus; its suddenness gives us a feeling of uncertainty.

Sadness

The experience of sadness is usually described as despondency, sadness, feelings of loneliness and isolation. Although the emotion of sadness can have a very detrimental effect on a person, it is characterized by a lower level of tension than other negative emotions. Experimental studies found that in a situation of sadness in healthy people, the second most important emotion is fear, which is consistent with the provisions of the theory of differential emotions, which consider the dynamics of sadness in depression and grief.

The emotion of sadness performs a series psychological functions. Experiencing grief brings people together, strengthens friendships and family ties; sadness inhibits a person's mental and physical activity, and thereby gives him the opportunity to think difficult situation; it informs a person and the people around him about trouble, and finally, sadness encourages a person to restore and strengthen connections with people.

There are three ways to regulate sadness: activating another emotion to eliminate or reduce the intensity of the sadness experienced, cognitive regulation (switching attention and thinking) and motor regulation (by tensing voluntarily controlled muscles and physical activity).

Anger

Anger, disgust and contempt are discrete emotions in their own right, but they often interact with each other. Situations that activate anger often activate emotions of disgust and contempt to varying degrees. In any combination, these three emotions can become the main affective component of hostility.

The facial reaction of anger involves furrowing the eyebrows and baring the teeth or pursing the lips. The experience of anger is characterized high level tension and impulsiveness. In anger, a person feels much more confident than with any other negative emotion.

The emotion of anger does not necessarily lead to aggression, although it is one of the components of aggressive motivation. Aggressive behavior is usually caused by a number of factors - cultural, family, individual. Manifestations of aggression can be observed even in young children. Research shows that aggressive children (that is, children who do not have the skills to social behavior), as adults, as a rule, also demonstrate aggressive or criminal behavior. These data suggest that the level of aggressiveness is an innate characteristic of an individual and, as he grows up, acquires the character of a stable personality trait.

Disgust

The emotion of contempt is associated with a feeling of superiority. It is difficult to talk about the merits or positive meaning of this emotion. Perhaps contempt is an appropriate feeling when it is directed against such ugly social phenomena as depletion of natural resources, pollution environment, oppression, discrimination, crime.

The negative aspects of the emotion of contempt are quite obvious. All prejudices and so-called<хладнокровные>murders are driven by contempt.

Situations that activate anger often simultaneously activate the emotions of disgust and contempt. The combination of these three emotions can be considered the triad of hostility. However, hostility must be distinguished from aggressive behavior. Hostile feelings increase the likelihood of aggression, but do not necessarily lead to it. A person experiencing hostile feelings may not show aggression. Conversely, you can behave aggressively without experiencing hostility.

Fear

Despite the fact that fear, especially in its extreme manifestations, is experienced quite rarely by us, most people are afraid of this emotion. The experience of fear is felt and perceived by people as a threat to personal safety. Fear encourages people to make efforts aimed at avoiding the threat and eliminating the danger. Fear can be caused by both physical and psychological threat.

There are a number of stimuli and situations to which we are biologically predisposed to respond with fear. To such<естественным сигналам>dangers include pain, loneliness, and sudden changes in stimulation. But as one gains experience, a person learns to fear a variety of situations, phenomena and objects. Most conditioned fear activators are somehow related to natural danger signals. If parents consistently respond to certain stimuli with fear, then there is a good chance that these stimuli will also cause fear in their child.

The experience of fear is accompanied by a feeling of uncertainty, insecurity, and inability to control the situation. The primary function of fear is to motivate specific cognitive and behavioral acts that promote security and a sense of confidence. Fear has an effect<туннельного восприятия>and significantly narrows the choice of behavioral strategies. However, fear also has an adaptive function, because it forces a person to look for ways to protect themselves from possible harm. Anticipation of fear can become an impulse to strengthen<Я>, can encourage an individual to improve himself in order to reduce his own vulnerability.

Embarrassment

IN last years the emotion of embarrassment has attracted the attention of many researchers. Evidence from various studies suggests that the emotion of embarrassment begins early in a person's life. Some of its external manifestations can be observed already in 3-4 month old infants; But the most convincing empirical evidence suggests that obvious embarrassment is detected in children in the second year of life.

The experience of embarrassment is accompanied by a strong sense of inadequacy and, possibly, feelings of inadequacy. There is evidence that the emotion of embarrassment is often accompanied by the experience of a variety of both positive and negative emotions. Of the six negative emotions, only the situation of embarrassment is characterized by a pronounced indicator of the emotion of joy.

However, it is clear that extreme manifestations of embarrassment have maladaptive meaning. Shyness significantly limits the circle of friendly communication and thereby deprives a person social support. Additionally, embarrassment limits curiosity and inhibits exploratory behavior, especially in social situations. If the positive components of embarrassment can perform adaptive functions, then its negative components show a close relationship with depression and anxiety.

Shame

The experience of shame is accompanied by an unexpected and heightened self-awareness. The power of this self-awareness is such that it takes away all resources, deprives a person of the ability to cognitively function, interferes with comprehension of the situation and increases the likelihood of inadequate reactions to it. As a rule, the manifestation of shame occurs when a person is surrounded by other people, and the presence of people usually provokes the experience of shame, but situations are possible when a person experiences shame in complete solitude. Heightened self-awareness, the shamed person's anxiety about what impression he will make on others, and his concern for social evaluation almost always accompany the experience of shame. Shame makes a person feel insignificant, helpless and incompetent, a complete loser. Sometimes, paradoxically, even sincere praise can make a person feel ashamed.

The emotion of shame performs a dual function, which determined its role in human evolution. The ability to shame means that an individual is inclined to take into account the opinions and feelings of people around him, thus shame promotes greater mutual understanding between a person and the people around him and greater responsibility to society. In addition, shame encourages an individual to acquire skills, including social interaction skills.

To resist shame, people use defense mechanisms of denial, suppression and self-affirmation. A person who is unable to resist the experience of shame is almost certainly doomed to sadness and even depression.

Fertile ground for shame is created by sexual relationships that are extremely intimate and emotional in nature. There is nothing more frank than sexual intercourse, and misunderstood frankness, as we know, is the prototypical prerequisite for shame.

Children become aware of the connection between shame and sexuality in situations where, for example, they are caught off guard while exploring their genitals. A favorable period for strengthening this connection is adolescence, time of development of genital organs and secondary sexual characteristics.

The baby very early becomes aware of the relationship between shame and intimacy, between direct eye contact and personal interest or intimacy. The roots of this understanding, apparently, lie in the experience of his relationship with his mother. One might speculate that it is this early understanding of the relationship between direct eye contact, intimacy, and sensual pleasure that underlies the widespread taboo against prolonged eye contact between strangers.

Guilt

Guilt, in accordance with the theory of differential emotions, plays a key role in the process of development of personal and social responsibility, in the process of formation of conscience. The existence of certain fundamental sources of guilt inherent in every person is undeniable, but conscience as a mental phenomenon is rather a complex of affective-cognitive structures formed under the influence of parental demands and regulations of various social institutions.

Most psychologists agree that shame presupposes the possibility of real or imaginary punishment coming from other people, while the experience of guilt is the result of self-punishment, which, however, does not exclude the participation of external influences.

The emotional expression that accompanies the experience of guilt is not as expressive as the expression inherent in other emotions. When feeling guilty, a person bows his head low or hides his eyes.

The experience of guilt is accompanied by a gnawing feeling of one’s own wrongness in relation to another person or to oneself. In the emotional profile for situations of guilt, relatively high rates of the emotions sadness and fear are found. The emotion of fear is very often experienced simultaneously with the emotion of guilt, which probably explains the fact that many theorists refuse to draw a clear line between the emotions of fear and guilt. The experience of guilt is characterized by a high degree of tension, moderate impulsivity and decreased self-confidence.

An excessive tendency to self-blame or, conversely, deficiencies in the development of conscience can lead to maladjustment or even psychopathology. A number of authors argue that an excessive tendency to self-blame can cause obsessive-compulsive disorders and even paranoid schizophrenia.

Love

Love is a fundamental emotion in human nature, but it cannot be classified as a discrete emotion such as joy or sadness. The emotional connection between children and parents, between brothers and sisters, between spouses is an integral part of our evolutionary heritage. Love embraces social relationships, strong attachment, and emotional connection. Love is characterized by interest and joy, and love relationship can awaken the full range of emotions.

There are different types of love, and in each of them love manifests itself in its own way. There is motherly love, brotherly-sisterly love and friendship, romantic love. Often love is accompanied by jealousy. Thus, romantic love involves sexual attraction, but sibling love does not. But all types of love have some common characteristics, such as affection, fidelity, devotion, the desire to protect and care for the loved one.

Characteristics of emotional states that arise in the process of activity

PSYCHOLOGY

E. A. Pyryev

EMOTIONAL STATES THAT MOTIVATE HUMAN BEHAVIOR

This article is devoted to the author’s position on the motivational capabilities of emotional states. The emotional motivation of a person’s external behavior is presented at two levels - stimulant and motive. The emotional state as a stimulus pushes behavior towards activity in general. An emotional state in the form of a motive directs a person to specific objects and phenomena.

Key words: emotions, stimulant, motivation, emotional processes, states and properties.

Emotional Conditions Motivating Humans Behavior

This article regards motivational possibilities of emotional states. Emotional motivation of the human external behavior has two levels: activator and motive. The emotional condition as an activator pushes the behavior to activities in general. The emotional condition in the form of the motive directs the human to particular objects and phenomena.

Keywords: emotions, activator, motivation, emotional processes, conditions and features.

“Emotion” is one of the few mental categories that is recognized as an important motivator of human behavior, but research work, where it would open this function There are very few emotions in world psychology. One of the authoritative domestic researchers of emotions, V. Viliunas, writes: “The question of the causes of behavior, the parent of the problems of motivation, has always been within the competence of the psychology of emotions, which made it possible to name desires, feelings, passions, and affects as the immediate causes of actions.” However, the author emphasizes, “much-binding recognition of world research

teacher’s thoughts were not subsequently realized in the actual development of problems of motivation.”

It should be noted that motivation is understood as a combination of many factors that determine, direct and support the efforts spent on behavioral acts. External and internal phenomena. Elements surrounding a person environment are considered to be external drivers of his behavior. In turn, internal, or mental, drivers of behavior

human needs, desires, intentions and emotions appear.

If needs are given a lot of space in psychology, then emotions are considered ignored in research. The main obstacle in studying the motivational capabilities of emotions is their dynamic nature, i.e. it is believed that they do not stay long in the psyche. The unconscious nature of emotions is considered another obstacle to considering them as a motivator of human behavior. In addition, many researchers do not see the difference between emotions and needs, i.e. they identify these phenomena.

In the domestic psychological literature, emotions are recognized as a motivator of behavior, which is largely reflexive in nature. Domestic researchers do not recognize emotions as a factor in directed behavior. This vision is largely explained by the position of A. N. Leontyev, who considered the origin of emotions to be a consequence of the success of satisfying needs. Accordingly, if an emotion is a consequence of a person’s behavior that satisfies needs, then the motive may be needs, not emotions.

In this article, emotions are recognized as a full-fledged, specific stimulator of activity, different from many others. Emotions are also considered a universal motivator that leaves an imprint on the motivational capabilities of the needs themselves, as well as intentions, desires, drives, etc.

The theory of emotional motivation has quite a lot of supporters, at least today, i.e. beginning of XXI century. However, the entire 20th century passed “under the banner” of cognitive and dispositional motivations. In the first theory, thinking played an important role. In the second - needs, instincts and drives (“drives” in foreign terminology). Issues of emotional

There was no place for natural motivation in psychology.

But it was not always so. For example, in the 19th century, issues of emotional motivation were considered very widely. On this occasion, the famous Russian scientist of the past L.I. Petrazhitsky spoke quite clearly, noting that the hedonistic approach to motivation finally defeated the intellectual and eclectic approaches.

It is believed that the main idea of ​​the hedonistic approach to motivation is a person’s desire (in all his affairs) to experience the emotion of pleasure. However, the essence of this approach is broader. The hedonistic approach to motivation explains the mental mechanisms of human behavior based on emotions, and not only positive ones - joy, bliss, delight, but also negative ones - fear, anger, suffering. When they are achieved, a person experiences pleasure. “It happens that people get angry not without pleasure, and sometimes they also expose themselves to various fears for the sake of pleasure (for example, tourists, adventurers, etc.).”

Proponents of emotional motivation today and in the past in retrospect by year should be called: S. L. Rubinstein (emotions motivate, but represent a specific form of needs) (1946); R. W. Leeper (emotions are the dominant motivation in the human psyche) (1948); P. M. Yakobson (human behavior is motivated by very strong emotions) (1961); B.I. Dodonova (emotions for a person are the values ​​to which he strives) (1978);

O. K. Tikhomirova (emotions are the primary form of reflection, which also performs a motivational function) (1980); K. E. Izard (emotion is experienced as a feeling that motivates) (1980); N. P. Bekhterev (emotions are motivated by the fact that they lead the body to homeostasis) (2008); D. Goleman (emotions are unconscious drivers of human behavior) (2008).

A generalization of the literature on the issue of emotional motivation allows us to highlight the provisions on which this theory is based:

Emotions are not only a stimulant of human activity, but also a motive, i.e., what the activity is aimed at;

People strive to experience emotions as if they need them. In turn, objects of the surrounding world act as a means of achieving emotions;

The motivational capabilities of emotions are realized in their desire for emotional balance or homeostasis;

Emotions are both a conscious and unconscious stimulator of a person’s external behavior.

Emotional regulation of the human psyche and behavior is carried out in the form of processes, states and properties. Each of these phenomena has different motivational potential. Thus, the incentive function on the “lower” physiological levels is carried out by emotional processes of various modalities: joy,

anger, sadness, rage, delight, grief, etc. They affect the neural, endocrine and muscular systems, activating the human need sphere.

In turn, emotional states (affect, stress, frustration, mood) are expressed externally, that is, in behavior. Behavior also expresses the emotional properties of a person. If emotional processes are predominantly unconscious, then emotional properties are often conscious of a person. In turn, emotional states occupy an intermediate position, passing from unconscious forms to conscious ones. These phenomena, in addition to the tendency towards awareness, have the characteristics of temporary existence in the human psyche. This time is enough for a person to direct behavior and achieve a goal.

A feature of external activity determined by emotions, and, in particular, emotional states, is a number of author’s provisions that are clearly visible in comparison with needs:

1. Emotions are pointless. In turn, the need can only be satisfied with the help of certain things. For example, the need for food will not be satisfied by the perception of artistic paintings. Emotions in this sense are not so clearly tied to an object, that is, they, as a rule, are “discharged” in the most unexpected objects.

2. Emotions are aimed at obtaining other emotions. If a need is satisfied in an object, then emotions are satisfied in receiving another emotion. In turn, objects and objects serve as a means of achieving the desired emotion.

3. Emotions contain their opposite. For example, positive emotions are replaced by negative ones, and vice versa. In turn, biological needs are replaced by spiritual ones, i.e. needs of a higher level.

Traditionally, psychology considers a fairly limited number of emotional states. Most often these are “stress”, “frustration”, “affect” and “mood”. Unlike emotional processes, which are difficult to differentiate in time in the psyche, emotional states are more stable phenomena. For example, a mood can last for hours or even days. The same can be said about stress that is experienced for a month or more. Perhaps the most short-lived is affect. It lasts from several minutes to several hours. To be fair, it must be said that stress at the individual level can also be short-term, that is, it occurs within a few hours.

Another feature of emotional states is experiencing through a variety of emotions. So, the mood can be joyful, sad, sad. Affect is also experienced through a variety of emotions. For example, joy in a state of passion is unbridled joy, and suffering in a state of passion is akin to madness. Stress is experienced through a variety of emotions. As a rule, with the help of positive emotions - jubilation, delight, pleasure, etc. and negative ones when distress is experienced. In a state of frustration, the emotional background is usually negative: anger, anger, rage, displeasure, etc.

Thus, the stability and duration of emotional states in the psyche allows us to consider them from a motivational perspective. Emotional states are both a stimulator of human activity and a motive. If in the first case a person’s behavior is exploratory in nature, then in a situation of motive the emotional state is to a certain extent expedient, that is, it has a directional character. Human behavior, prompted by an emotional state, is aimed at obtaining emotions. These can be emotions identical to the original ones, different emotions, or opposite ones.

A frustrated state occurs in a situation of failure. Negative emotions that arise in this situation push a person to overcome obstacles. In this sense, frustration acts as a cause or motive for activity that can overcome difficulties and achieve a goal. For example, if a person’s goal is to establish a good relationship with a partner, then the conflict between them will act as an obstacle to the realization of this goal. A person’s behavior turns towards overcoming disagreements with a partner. However, the impression that frustration finds satisfaction in “overcoming differences”

glasy", deceptive. In reality, this behavior is just a means to achieve motivational emotions. Frustration strives to overcome oneself and to obtain more favorable emotions. A person organizes action to relieve frustration and experience pleasure. “Overcoming disagreements” is a means to relieve frustration and achieve more positive emotions.

The mechanism of emotional motivation always unfolds at two levels of human functioning - physical and mental. At the level of physics, or physiology, the experience of negative emotions leads to a disruption of homeostasis, i.e., the internal balance of forces. In particular, the usual metabolism is disrupted, hormonal disruption occurs, and blood pressure rises or falls. The body, programmed for balance, tries to free itself from frustration and accordingly gives “distress” signals. The desire for homeostasis or balance at the physiological level forces action at the mental level.

Homeostasis at the mental level also exists and is manifested in neutral emotions such as calmness and contentment. In a state of frustration, when a person experiences negative emotions, “mental homeostasis” is disrupted. The search begins for a way out of the state of experiencing negative emotions. The motive for behavior in this case is the desire to free oneself from emotions that interfere with “mental homeostasis.” The motive is also the desire to experience positive emotions.

Both levels - psychological and physiological - in a state of frustration experience the need for positive emotions. These emotions help overcome imbalances and contribute to achieving comfort at the level of the body and psyche.

The frustration state is both a stimulant and a motive. IN

As a motivator, frustration initiates search activity, and being a motive, it directs behavior to overcome obstacles. Activity initiated by frustration views resolution of difficulties as a means of achieving positive emotions.

Thus, in negative emotions and, in particular, in the frustration state, there is a desire to experience positive emotions. That is, the emotion itself contains a desire for its opposite. On the other hand, not only negative emotions tend to positive ones, but also positive emotions are replaced by negative ones. On this occasion, people say this: “If you laugh, you will cry and, conversely, crying, as a rule, gives way to laughter.”

The theory of emotional stress was first developed by the Canadian psychiatrist Hans Selye. In his understanding of this phenomenon, he went from physiological stress to psychological stress. If at the stage of physiological stress he recorded changes in the direction of increasing heart rate, increasing blood pressure...then psychological stress manifested itself in an inadequate emotional reaction to environmental influences. For example, a change of job, study or place of residence should lead to a decline in activity, and in real life the person experienced positive emotions (joy and euphoria), an increase in memory capacity, concentration, etc. Stress experienced in this way has many positive aspects. People strive for this state and cause it artificially, that is, people themselves strive to experience stress. The motive for people’s behavior is the desire to experience joy and euphoria. The physiological basis of these positive emotions is an increase in the body's reserve forces.

The development of the theory of psychological stress led G. Selye to the development of pro-

problems of distress. This is the other side of stress, that is, with a minus sign. Joy and euphoria during stress are replaced by despondency, blues, spleen and even depression. At the physiological level, during distress, the vital forces of the body are depleted. At the mental level, concentration falls, memory deteriorates, speech difficulties arise, positive emotions are replaced by negative ones.

In a state of distress, a person feels uncomfortable and seeks to escape from this state. It goes into passivity and doing nothing, which helps to survive the time of negative emotions and recover.

If stress motivates to continue positive emotions, then distress motivates to overcome negative ones. If the means of “holding” stress and positive emotions is the situation ( new job, people, place of residence), then the person tries to prolong the situation. The opposite happens when there is distress. In order to overcome it, it is necessary to isolate yourself from a situation that until recently brought a lot of positive emotions. Distress motivates one to escape from a traumatic situation. In this case, a person’s isolation is a means to recover and experience positive emotions in the future.

Affect is understood as a violent emotional experience in the form of various emotions. For example, in the form of affect, anger, anger, grief, joy, etc. can be experienced. In its manifestation, any emotion in a state of passion is characterized by high activation and a lack of conscious control over the nature of its course. If in a state of stress and frustration a person can give an account of what is happening to him, then affect turns off the person’s consciousness. Also, affect, unlike stress and frustration, is a relatively short-term phenomenon. Affect in the form of joy lasts more than a few minutes very rarely. For a little longer, affect exists in the form of anger and anger, and on non-

How many days can a strong experience of the emotions of suffering and grief last?

In almost all forms of manifestation, be it anger or joy, affect is aimed at destruction. For example, in a state of joy one can “smother in a hug”; in a state of strong anger - remove, move, remove an obstacle, person or object. In a state of grief and suffering destructive force affect is directed at the person himself. That is, in a situation of prolonged affective experience of the emotion of grief, the destruction of the human psyche, as well as his health, occurs.

The direction of affect towards destruction is not the main essence of its motivation. Movement, change and even destruction of objects and objects is a means for affect to achieve more deeply hidden motives. Affect does not have a focus on specific emotions, since the main task of this state is

This is the removal of emotion. In turn, change and destruction are a means of extinguishing and removing affective emotions.

Emotions contain not only their opposite, but also their contradiction. Thus, a strong emotion in a state of passion directs a person’s behavior to remove (extinguish) this very emotion. In turn, behavioral reactions are a means of extinguishing affective emotions and achieving neutral emotions - pleasure, peace, tranquility.

The physiological mechanism in a state of passion works in the same way as in other emotional states, i.e., it is aimed at achieving homeostasis.

Mood is perhaps the most neutral emotional state discussed in this article. A feature of this state is the reduced intensity of the experienced emotion. For example, whether it is a joyful mood or a sad one, the emotional background is predominantly neutral. As a rule, such a background is not annoying to a person. AND

mood, unlike other emotional states, does not have a serious impact on the success of current activities, but it affects the choice of the nature of the activity. So, in a sad mood, a person prefers to retire or put things in order in his workplace and in his affairs. A joyful mood, on the contrary, encourages creativity and communication with people. A sad mood forces a person to understand himself and his thoughts.

The mood regarding affect, stress and frustration is a more natural state for a person. The emotional background of a person’s mood - friendly, aggressive, sad, joyful, etc.

Depends on individual characteristics each person. One is predominantly sad, another is cheerful, the third is sad, etc.

Mood is focused on emotions. Motivational emotions are those that a person likes. As a rule, these are emotions that correspond to his psychotype. For example, an “aggressive” person will strive for active emotions (anger, joy, anger, glee). As a rule, he will look for ways to activate precisely these emotions. In turn, “anxious” will be motivated by neutral emotions (pleasure, peace, bliss).

In mood, as well as in other emotional states, objects, situations and circumstances act as a means of achieving motivational emotions.

In conclusion, it should be noted that a feature of a person’s emotional states, as well as his entire emotional sphere, is the provision of a focus on emotions. Thus, there is a desire to repeat an emotion, a desire to experience a similar emotion, as well as a desire for its opposite. Emotions in such a vision seem to be a self-sufficient mental phenomenon, which characterizes them

not just a motivator, but a motivational dominant in the human psyche. This role allows you to move emotions from the consequence of mental processes to their beginning, i.e. to the cause. In this position, emotional

tions seem to be the source underlying many well-known mental drivers of human behavior, such as needs, intentions, desires, etc.

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Yu. V. Makarov

SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS OF HUMAN INTERACTION WITH TRAINING TECHNOLOGIES

The article reveals the content of the main socio-psychological characteristics of an individual living in modern sociocultural conditions. The author considers the problem of studying the influence of personal identity on the behavioral activity of the subject. Special attention focuses on the problem of identifying internal determinants, the uniqueness of the representation of value-semantic components of social

Any person gets acquainted with and comprehends the surrounding reality through the means of cognition: attention, sensations, perception, thinking, imagination and memory. Each subject reacts in some way to current events, feels some emotions, experiences feelings towards certain objects, people, phenomena. Subjective attitude towards situations, facts, objects, persons is reflected in the consciousness of the individual in the form of experiences. Such relationships, experienced in the inner world, are called “emotional states.” This is a psychophysiological process that motivates a person to perform certain actions, regulates his behavior, and influences thinking.

In the scientific community, there is no single universal definition that precisely explains what constitutes an emotional phenomenon. Emotional state is a general concept for all relationships experienced by a person that arose in the course of his life. Satisfying a person’s demands and requests, as well as dissatisfying an individual’s needs, gives rise to a variety of emotional states.

What is cognitive therapy and how does it work?

Experiments in hypnosis: hypnotic phenomena in deep hypnosis (somnambulism). Hypnosis training

Types and characteristics of emotional states

IN national science classify emotional processes into separate types, each of which is endowed with its own characteristics and features.

The emotional world of a person is represented by five components:

• emotions;
• affects;
• feelings;
• moods;
• stress.

All of the above components of a person’s emotional sphere are one of the most important regulators of the subject’s behavior, act as a source of knowledge of reality, express and determine the variety of options for interaction between people. It should be noted that the same emotional process can last from a few seconds to several hours. Moreover, each type of experience can be expressed with minimal force or be very intense.

Let us consider all the elements of the sphere of emotions and feelings in more detail.

Emotions

Emotion is the experience of a subject at a specific moment in his life, conveying a personal assessment of an ongoing event, informing about his attitude to the actual situation, to phenomena inner world and environmental events. Human emotions arise instantly and can change very quickly. The most significant characteristic of emotions is their subjectivity.

Like all other mental processes, all types of emotional states are the result active work brain. The trigger for the emergence of emotions is the changes that are currently occurring in the surrounding reality. The more important and significant the ongoing changes are for the subject, the more acute and vivid the emotion he experiences will be.

When an emotion arises, a temporary focus of excitation is formed in the cerebral cortex and then in the subcortical centers - clusters nerve cells located under the cerebral cortex. It is in these segments of the brain that the main departments for regulating the physiological activities of the body are located. That is why the emergence of such a focus of excitation leads to increased activity of internal organs and systems. Which, in turn, finds a noticeable external reflection.

Let's illustrate with examples. We blush from shame. We turn pale with fear and our hearts skip a beat. My heart aches from melancholy. From excitement we are out of breath, we inhale and exhale frequently and irregularly.

Emotions are also characterized by valence (direction). They can be positive or negative in color. It should be noted that almost all people in in good condition the number of emotions of a negative tone significantly exceeds the number of experiences of a positive tone. Research has found that the left hemisphere is more the source of positive emotions, while the right hemisphere is more supportive of negative experiences.

In all types of emotional states, their polarity can be traced, that is, the presence of emotions with a “plus” sign and with a “minus” sign. For example: pride - annoyance; joy - sadness. There are also neutral emotions, for example: astonishment. This does not mean that the two polar emotions are mutually exclusive. Complex human feelings often reveal a combination of conflicting emotions.

Emotions also vary in intensity - their strength. For example: anger, anger and rage are essentially identical experiences, but they manifest themselves with different strengths.

Emotions are also classified into two types: sthenic (active) and asthenic (passive). Active emotions motivate and encourage a person to perform actions, while passive emotions relax and deplete energy. For example: out of joy we are ready to move mountains, but out of fear our legs give way.

Another feature of emotions is the fact that although they are recognized by a person as experiences, it is impossible to influence their occurrence in a waking state. All emotional states originate in the deep repositories of the psyche - the subconscious. Access to the resources of the subconscious sphere is possible with a temporary change in consciousness achieved through hypnosis.

Affects

The second type of emotional states is affects. This is a short-term state, which is characterized by a special intensity and expressiveness of experiences. Affect is a psychophysiological process that rapidly takes possession of the subject and proceeds very expressively. It is characterized by significant changes in consciousness and a violation of the individual’s control over his behavior, loss of self-control.

Affect is accompanied by pronounced external manifestations and active functional restructuring of work internal systems. A special feature of this type of emotional state is its connection to the situation of the present. Affect always arises in response to an already existing state of affairs, that is, it cannot be oriented towards the future and reflect the experiences of the past.

Affect can develop for various reasons. A violent emotional process can be caused by a single psychotraumatic factor, a long-term stressful situation, or a serious human illness. Examples of affective states are the following states. The delight of a passionate fan when a favorite team wins. The anger that arises upon discovering that a loved one has been unfaithful. Panic that gripped a person during a fire. The euphoria that a scientist experienced during a discovery after many years of hard work.

In its development, affect passes through several stages in succession, each characterized by its own characteristics and experiences. In the initial phase, a person thinks exclusively about the subject of his experiences, and is involuntarily distracted from other more important phenomena. The usual picture of the start of an affective state is represented by energetic and expressive movements. Tears, heart-rending sobs, loud laughter, ridiculous cries - character traits experiences of affect.

Severe nervous tension changes the pulse and breathing function, and disrupts motor skills. The intense action of stimuli that excite cortical structures above their inherent limit of performance leads to the development of transcendental (protective) inhibition. This phenomenon causes disorganization of a person’s thinking: the subject experiences a persistent need to succumb to the experienced emotion.

At this moment of affective state, any individual can take measures not to lose control over himself and slow down the development of a cascade of destructive reactions. It is this phenomenon that hypnosis influences: in a state of hypnotic trance, attitudes are implanted into a person’s subconscious that make it possible, on an instinctive level, to prevent the increase in affect at a moment of crisis. That is, as a result of suggestion during hypnosis, a person, without knowing it on a conscious level, acquires the required skills to inhibit the development of a negative emotional state.

If the subsequent stage of affect nevertheless occurs, then the subject completely loses self-control and the ability to manage behavior. He does reckless things, performs useless actions, says ridiculous phrases. It should be noted that such manifestations of an affective outburst are difficult for a person to recall in the future. This situation arises due to the fact that after excessive excitation of cortical structures, inhibition occurs, which interrupts the existing systems of temporary connections.

However, information about behavior during an affective outburst is firmly deposited in the subconscious sphere, reminding itself of itself through fuzzy and vague feelings of shame for the actions committed. Such completely unrecognizable sensations over time become the culprits of depressive states, because a person intuitively feels his guilt, without realizing what he has done wrong. To recognize factors transferred to the subconscious during an affective outburst, a targeted temporary shutdown of consciousness is necessary through.

To summarize the information, it is necessary to point out: affect in itself is neither bad nor good. Its tone and consequences depend on what experiences a person experiences - positive or negative, and how much he controls himself in this emotional state.

The difference between hypnosis and other “states”

Feelings

The third type of emotional states is feelings. These are more stable psycho-emotional states in comparison with emotions and affect. Feelings are manifestations of a person’s subjective attitude towards real facts or abstract objects, definite things or general concepts. Moreover, such an assessment is almost always unconscious. The origin and affirmation of feelings is the process of forming a stable attitude of a person towards some object or phenomenon, which is based on the individual’s experience of interaction with such an object.

The peculiarity of feelings - unlike emotions, they are more or less permanent in nature; they are an ingrained personality trait. Emotion, at the same time, is a fleeting experience of a given situation. Let's give an example. The feeling is a person's love for music. Being at a good concert with excellent performance of music, he experiences active positive emotions - interest and joy. However, when the same person is faced with a disgusting performance of a piece, he feels passive negative emotions - disappointment and disgust.

Feelings are directly related to personality traits; they reflect a person’s attitude to life, his worldview, beliefs, and views. A feeling is a type of emotional state that is complex in its structure. Let's give an example. The feeling of envy, at its core, is a person’s feelings about the success of another person. Envy is a combination of several emotions combined together: anger, resentment, contempt.

In addition to valence (color), there is another feature of this species - the intensity of feelings. The stronger and deeper a person’s feeling, the more pronounced its external (physiological) manifestations, the more significant its influence on the subject’s behavior.

All negative feelings perform extremely destructive functions, forming painful thinking and leading to dysfunctional behavior. Such negative emotional states, rooted in a person’s subconscious, not only interfere with the person’s normal interaction in society, but also become the cause of psychopathological disorders.

Let's look at the example of envy. Envy turns someone else's luck into an inferiority complex, another person's happiness into a feeling of one's own worthlessness and uselessness. Envy is an energy vampire that forces a person to waste his time, strength, and energy on endlessly tracking the successes and achievements of another person. This feeling forces a person to begin to carry out active actions, forcing him to gossip, slander, plot intrigues, weave intrigues, and often use physical force. As a result, the subject finds himself at a loss, when he has no strength to act and no friends who can support him. The onset of depression in such a situation is a natural step taken by the “wise” subconscious, indicating that the subject needs to stop, reconsider his worldview and choose a different style of behavior.

In addition to sthenic feelings that motivate the subject to action, there are also asthenic experiences. This is an emotional state that paralyzes a person’s will and deprives him of strength. An example of a passive feeling is despair, which underlies depressive states.

Feelings can be called an intermediate link between an intense emotion experienced in relation to some object or situation and a neurotic or psychotic disorder. And in order to solve a person’s problem, it is necessary to break this vicious chain. This requires gaining access to the repositories of the subconscious, which requires the temporary removal of conscious censorship through hypnosis. Only by establishing the initial factor that contributed to the formation of the negative feeling can the person’s obvious problem be eliminated.

Moods

Mood is a fairly long-term emotional state that colors all a person’s experiences and influences his behavior. Peculiarities of mood – lack of accountability, insignificant severity, relative stability. If the mood acquires significant intensity, then it has a significant impact on a person’s mental activity and the productivity of his work. For example, if a person is in a melancholy mood, then it is very difficult for her to concentrate on the task at hand and have difficulty bringing the work she has begun to the end.

Frequent changes in emotional states, called mood lability, give reason to assume that the subject has affective disorders. Rapidly alternating episodes of blues and mania may be a sign of bipolar depression.

Another feature of this emotional state is the lack of attachment to any specific object. Mood expresses the general attitude of an individual towards the current state of affairs as a whole.

How is a person's mood formed? This type of emotional state can have very different sources: both recent events and very distant situations. The main factor influencing a person’s mood is his satisfaction or dissatisfaction with life in general, or with some individual phenomena. Despite the fact that a person’s mood always depends on certain reasons, the sources of the present emotional state are not always clear and understandable to the individual. For example, a person indicates that she is in a bad mood, something oppresses and worries her. However, she cannot independently establish the relationship between her bad mood and her broken promise made a month ago.

To prevent mental abnormalities, everyone should understand the reasons for changes in their mood. To avoid depression and other problems, it is necessary to find out and eliminate objectively existing factors that influence a person’s emotional state. This step is convenient and expedient to perform through the use of hypnosis techniques. The peculiarity of hypnosis is its painlessness and comfort: the establishment and correction of any psychological defects occurs in a “harmless” mode, when the subject’s psyche does not receive unnecessary injuries characteristic of psychotherapeutic effects.

Stress

The term “stress” is usually used to denote special experiences of feelings that are similar in their characteristics to affect and similar in their duration to moods. The causes of stress are varied. Call stressful state can one-time intense extreme exposure external factors. Long-term monotonous situations in which the individual feels threatened or offended can also lead to stress. For example, a woman, due to circumstances, is forced to share housing with her alcoholic spouse, with whom she has common children and jointly “earned” debts. It is impossible to radically change the situation in one moment, and the lady does not have the internal strength necessary for this. So she drags her miserable burden, experiencing a lot of negative emotions every day. Lack of prospects for improving the situation, impossibility of restoring the previous family relations act as a breeding ground for stress.

Emotions are mental phenomena that reflect, in the form of experiences, personal significance and assessment of external and internal situations for human life. Emotions serve to reflect a person’s subjective attitude towards himself and the world around him. Emotions are mental process reflection of the subject’s attitude to the phenomena of internal and outside world. The most essential feature of emotions is subjectivity. Emotions are also characterized by direction (positive or negative), degree of tension and level of generalization.
S.L. Rubinstein, considering emotion as a phenomenon, identifies its three main features:
1. Emotions express the state of the subject and his attitude towards the object (in contrast to perception, which reflects the content of the object itself);
2. Emotions usually differ in polarity, i.e. have a positive or negative sign: pleasure - displeasure, fun - sadness, joy - sadness, etc. Moreover, these two poles are not mutually exclusive. In complex human feelings they often form a contradictory unity;
3. In emotional states, as V. Wundt noted, the opposites of tension and release, excitement and depression are revealed. The presence of tension, excitement and the states opposite to them introduces a significant differentiation in emotions: along with joy-delight, joy-jubilation, there is a “quiet” joy - movedness, etc.
Three aspects of a holistic definition of emotions:
a) internal experience;
b) physiological activation (processes taking place in the nervous, endocrine and other systems of the body);
c) observable expressive complexes of emotions (external expression in behavior).
Classification of emotional phenomena (Granovskaya):
1) Affect is the most powerful emotional reaction. Distinctive features affect: situational, generalized, high intensity, short duration.
2) Emotions themselves are longer lasting states. They can be a reaction not only to accomplished events, but also to probable or remembered ones.
3) Feelings are even more stable mental states, having a clearly defined substantive character.
4) Mood is the longest lasting emotional state that colors all human behavior.
5) Stress is an emotional state caused by an unexpected and stressful situation.
Emotional states are mental states that arise in the process of a subject’s life and determine not only the level of information and energy exchange, but also the direction of behavior. Emotions control a person much more powerfully than it seems at first glance. Even the absence of emotions is an emotion, or rather an entire emotional state, which is characterized by a large number of features in human behavior. MAIN emotional states identified in psychology:
1) Joy (satisfaction, fun)
2) Sadness (apathy, sadness, depression),
3) Anger (aggression, bitterness),
4) Fear (anxiety, fright),
5) Surprise (curiosity),
6) Disgust (contempt, disgust).