Functions of Emotions

Functions of Emotions

Intrapersonal Functions

• Emotions allow us to respond quickly without taking time to think
• Example - feeling fear when you hear something behind you on a dark street prepares you to fight or to run away
• Emotions prepare our body for action
• Example - when you feel fear, your body slows down digestion, dilates pupils, expands your visual field, etc.
• Emotions influence thoughts
• Example - it is easier to remember positive experiences when you are in a good mood and negative experiences when you're in a bad mood
• Emotions motivate future behaviours
• Example - you feel good after acing a test, so you are motivated to do the same prep for the next test

Interpersonal Functions

• Emotions influence other people's behaviour
• Example - smiling at a server results in faster, more friendly service
• Emotional expressions communicate relationships
• Example - couples that spend more time with positive facial expressions when interacting are more likely to succeed long-term
• Emotional expressions motivate other people to behave the ways we want
• Social referencing - infants look to their parents for feedback on new situations

Social and Cultural Functions

• Cultures have rules and norms for emotional expression and management
• Cultural display rules - rules within a culture for which emotional expressions are appropriate for members of that culture
• These rules influence the expression of our emotions
• Example - is it appropriate to cry in public?
• They also influence our management and experience of our emotions
• Example - if it isn't appropriate to cry in public, you develop strategies to dull emotions that lead to crying