Chapter 6: Emotions and Communication

Emotions are feelings people experience. This chapter highlights the types of emotions, causes and consequences of emotion, and the role of emotion in communication episodes. After laying this foundation, factors that affect communication and emotions, including cultural norms, individual differences in emotional intelligence, and the interpersonal relationship context are discussed. This chapter also examines feeling of hurt, grief, and jealousy as especially poignant and challenging emotions that arise in a person’s life. Digging deeper into these emotions highlights how communication can help people navigate difficult feelings. This chapter also provides suggestions for recognizing and communicating about emotions, developing emotional intelligence, and understanding what is happening when people are experiencing especially challenging emotions.

How Do You Rate?

HDYR Scale 6.1: Messages that Evoke Guilt

Questionnaire

The content for this section has not been posted yet and is coming soon.

HDYR Scale 6.2: Willingness to Rely on Others for Emotional Support

Questionnaire

The content for this section has not been posted yet and is coming soon.

Communication In Action Forms

Download All

Connect with Theory

Connect with Theory 6.1

Appraisal theories of emotion claim that how people perceive an event shapes their feelings and reactions. According to the theory, our emotions come from how we make assessments about our environment, goals, and resources. In particular, appraisals are individuals’ interpretations of the situation, and people make two sets of appraisals that determine the emotions they experience. Primary appraisals are about whether the circumstance is personally relevant to you and whether the situation is favorable or unfavorable to what you want. Secondary appraisals reflect whether you think that you have the resources to manage the situation and whether the circumstance will change. The theory argues that primary and secondary appraisals influence what people feel and how much they feel a certain way. According to the theory, if you believe that the situation inhibits you from achieving your goals, and there isn’t much you can do about it, you are likely to experience negative emotions. In contrast, if you think that the situation helps you accomplish your goals, and you are able to carry out your plan, you are likely to experience positive emotions. Because what people feel is based on what they think about the situation, appraisal theories of emotion provide insight into helping people manage stress and the emotions associated with it. For example, Jones and Wirtz (2006) found that supportive messages that changed distressed individuals’ negative appraisals of an upsetting event improved their emotional states. Within the framework of appraisal theories of emotion, modifying people’s appraisal of the situation can shape specific emotions they experience.

References and other suggested readings:

Doan, T., Ong, D. C., & Wu, Y. (2024). Emotion understanding as third-person appraisals: Integrating appraisal theories with developmental theories of emotion. Psychological Review. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/mdpsr

Ellsworth, P. C. (2024). Appraisal theories of emotions. In Scarantino, A. (Ed.), Emotion theory: The Routledge comprehensive guide (pp. 331–349). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315559940-19

Jones, S. M., & Wirtz, J. (2006). How does the comforting process work? An empirical test of an appraisal-based model of comforting. Human Communication Research, 32(3), 217–243. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468–2958.2006.00274.x

Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Progress on a cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion. American Psychologist, 46(8), 819–834. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003–066X.46.8.819

Metts, S. (2017). Appraisal theories of emotion: How families understand and communicate their feelings. In Braithwaite, D. O., Suter, E. A., & Floyd, K. (Eds.), Engaging theories in family communication (pp. 27–37). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315204321-3 Moors, A., Ellsworth, P. C., Scherer, K. R., & Frijda, N. H. (2013). Appraisal theories of emotion: State of the art and future development. Emotion review, 5(2), 119–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073912468165

Flashcards

Action Tendencies

The behaviors that emotions compel us to perform.

Affectionate Emotions

Emotions that create attachment and closeness with other people, including love and passion, as well a warmth and joy.

Appraisals

Evaluations of how favorable a situation is to the goals that you have.

Basic Emotions

Common or primary feelings that are experienced universally.

Blended Emotions

Emotions in which more than one priary emotion is present, such as jealousy.

Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication

Aspects of interaction that involve socially inappropriate goals, harmful behaviors, or painful experiences.

Display Rules

Cultural prescriptions about when, where, and how emotions should be expressed.

Emotional Intelligence

The ability to understand and manage one’s own feelings, as well as the moods and emotions of others.

Emotions

Short-term feelings that are linked to specific situations.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Suggests that making facial expressions associated with certain emotions can intensify those feelings, whereas inhibiting facial expressions can weaken emotional experiences.

Grief

An extreme state of sadness that includes feeling of despair, panic, guilt, and anger.

Hostile Emotions

Emotions that emerge from feelings of injury or threat in the context of interpersonal relationships.

Hurt

A blended emotion that includes sadness, fear, and sometimes anger.

Jealousy

An emotion that arises from perceptions that a values relationship is threatened by a partner’s competing interests.

Melancholic Emotions

Emotions that occur when interpersonal experiences aren’t fulfilling or have changed for the worse.

Moods

Feelings that are lasting or ongoing

Nonverbal Markers of Emotion

Changes in appearance that occur when a person experiences affect.

Physiology of Emotion

Physical changes that occur in conjunction with feelings.

Self-conscious Emotions

Emotions that arise from a focus on how the self is perceived by other people.

Self-perception of Emotion

People’s own awareness of how they feel.

Social Emotions

Feelings that occur in interpersonal communication or relationships.

How Do You Rate?
Communication In Action Forms
Connect with Theory
Flashcards