* - topics that were present on exam 2025
Lecture 1
THREE CORE THEORETICAL MODELS
1. A COGNITIVE TRIANGLE/ TRIAD
This model is a key idea from Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy (CBT). It shows how our
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all
connected and influence each other.
● Thoughts – What we think (“I’m not good
enough”)
● Feelings – How we feel (sad, anxious,
angry)
● Behaviors – What we do (withdraw,
overwork, avoid)
Example:
You think, “I’m going to fail this exam.” → You feel anxious → You avoid studying →
You perform poorly → Your belief is reinforced.
By changing one part (like challenging the negative thought), the cycle can shift.
2. Biopsychosocial Model
This model explains that our mental and physical health is influenced by three factors:
1. Biological – Genes, brain chemistry,
physical illness
2. Psychological – Thoughts, emotions,
coping skills
3. Social – Relationships, culture,
environment
● Interplay between contextual risk
factors, personal vulnerabilities, and
protective factors
A full understanding of a person involves all three
areas working together, not just looking at one in
isolation.
3. Process Model of Emotion Regulation (by James Gross)
This model explains how we regulate our emotions, from the moment something triggers
us to how we respond.
,Gross (2024: p. 5): 14 “shaping which emotions one has, when one has them, and how
one experiences or expresses these emotions”. > Both conscious and unconscious
processes (Keil, p. 237)
CORE FEATURES OF EMOTION REGULATION
1. Activation of a goal
2. Strategy: engagement to alter the emotional trajectory
3. Outcome: impact on emotion dynamics or modulation
FIVE EMOTION REGULATION STRATEGIES
1. Situation Selection: Avoiding or seeking situations (e.g., skipping a stressful event)
2. Situation Modification: Changing the situation (e.g., inviting a friend to support you)
What about the ER strategies in infancy?
Situational factors: situation modification
● The adult may change the situation, such as taking the infant out of the crib.
● Moving away from something scary.
● By facial expressions (e.g., alarmed face), vocalization, or gesture.
● At a later age, situation selection when able to actively approach or avoid
3. Attention Deployment: Distracting yourself or focusing differently (e.g., mindfulness,
humor)
● Infancy
○ Often, through distraction to make a situation less emotionally
charged.
○ By looking away, for older children or adults, by focusing on other
thoughts
4. Cognitive Change: Reframing how you think about the situation (e.g., “This isn’t the
end of the world”)
5. Response Modulation: Influencing your emotional response (e.g., deep breathing,
suppressing facial expressions)
● Infancy: Response modification/ modulation
, ○ Changing the emotional reaction, e.g., relaxing, self-soothing
behaviours.
○ Suppression of certain emotions via ‘display rules’ → role of
culture
DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONS
What is an emotion?
‘e-motion’ = emotion and behaviour/action
● Emotions are whole-body phenomena with connections
between different processes: physiological, cognitive, and
behavioural
FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AS INDICATORS OF UNDERLYING
EMOTIONAL STATES
● Inferred indicators or appraisals of the emotions of others
INNATE OR LEARNED? Baby responding to mother
Components of emotions, p.228:
● physiology: arousal
● cognition: inferences/interpretation
● behaviour: crying, looking
DISGUST: EXAMPLE
Innate:
● Evolutionary preparedness, like disgust to ingest either living things or their by-
products (e.g., hair).
● Early disgust reaction becomes extended to a much broader set of stimuli after one
year of age.
Learned:
● Disgust in three domains: disease contamination, immoral actions, and choice of
sexual partners and behaviours.
Two theoretical approaches
1. Functionalist
● Signalling/ communicating
● Emotions are about our own appreciation of how the event relates to our
personal goals (e.g., security, food)
2. Differentiation
● Physiological maturation
● At birth: contentment, interest, and distress
● After 6 months: 6 basic emotions (5 + surprise)
● After 18 months: more complex emotions are possible
, how emotions mobilize us in achieving goals
Differentiation of Emotions from 0 to 3 Years (Keil, 2014)
🍼 At Birth – Primary Emotions Begin to Emerge
● Undifferentiated:
○ Contentment
○ Interest
○ Distress
● makes quick assessments possible
● global state of positive well-being and a negative emotional state of ‘not okay’;
👶 By 6 Months – Six Basic Emotions Appear
1. Joy
2. Surprise
3. Sadness
4. Disgust
5. Anger
6. Fear
Understanding and showing on request develops later → dependent on cognitive
development
👧 Around 1.5 to 2 Years – Simple Complex Emotions
● Simple Embarrassment
● Empathy
● Envy
👦 Around 2.5 to 3 Years Complex emotions
● Often combinations of basic emotions;
● Thousands of possible combinations;
● Develop over time, (more) dependent on opportunities from the environment.
Self-conscious emotions: guilt, shame, embarrassment, pride.
Lecture 1
THREE CORE THEORETICAL MODELS
1. A COGNITIVE TRIANGLE/ TRIAD
This model is a key idea from Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy (CBT). It shows how our
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all
connected and influence each other.
● Thoughts – What we think (“I’m not good
enough”)
● Feelings – How we feel (sad, anxious,
angry)
● Behaviors – What we do (withdraw,
overwork, avoid)
Example:
You think, “I’m going to fail this exam.” → You feel anxious → You avoid studying →
You perform poorly → Your belief is reinforced.
By changing one part (like challenging the negative thought), the cycle can shift.
2. Biopsychosocial Model
This model explains that our mental and physical health is influenced by three factors:
1. Biological – Genes, brain chemistry,
physical illness
2. Psychological – Thoughts, emotions,
coping skills
3. Social – Relationships, culture,
environment
● Interplay between contextual risk
factors, personal vulnerabilities, and
protective factors
A full understanding of a person involves all three
areas working together, not just looking at one in
isolation.
3. Process Model of Emotion Regulation (by James Gross)
This model explains how we regulate our emotions, from the moment something triggers
us to how we respond.
,Gross (2024: p. 5): 14 “shaping which emotions one has, when one has them, and how
one experiences or expresses these emotions”. > Both conscious and unconscious
processes (Keil, p. 237)
CORE FEATURES OF EMOTION REGULATION
1. Activation of a goal
2. Strategy: engagement to alter the emotional trajectory
3. Outcome: impact on emotion dynamics or modulation
FIVE EMOTION REGULATION STRATEGIES
1. Situation Selection: Avoiding or seeking situations (e.g., skipping a stressful event)
2. Situation Modification: Changing the situation (e.g., inviting a friend to support you)
What about the ER strategies in infancy?
Situational factors: situation modification
● The adult may change the situation, such as taking the infant out of the crib.
● Moving away from something scary.
● By facial expressions (e.g., alarmed face), vocalization, or gesture.
● At a later age, situation selection when able to actively approach or avoid
3. Attention Deployment: Distracting yourself or focusing differently (e.g., mindfulness,
humor)
● Infancy
○ Often, through distraction to make a situation less emotionally
charged.
○ By looking away, for older children or adults, by focusing on other
thoughts
4. Cognitive Change: Reframing how you think about the situation (e.g., “This isn’t the
end of the world”)
5. Response Modulation: Influencing your emotional response (e.g., deep breathing,
suppressing facial expressions)
● Infancy: Response modification/ modulation
, ○ Changing the emotional reaction, e.g., relaxing, self-soothing
behaviours.
○ Suppression of certain emotions via ‘display rules’ → role of
culture
DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONS
What is an emotion?
‘e-motion’ = emotion and behaviour/action
● Emotions are whole-body phenomena with connections
between different processes: physiological, cognitive, and
behavioural
FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AS INDICATORS OF UNDERLYING
EMOTIONAL STATES
● Inferred indicators or appraisals of the emotions of others
INNATE OR LEARNED? Baby responding to mother
Components of emotions, p.228:
● physiology: arousal
● cognition: inferences/interpretation
● behaviour: crying, looking
DISGUST: EXAMPLE
Innate:
● Evolutionary preparedness, like disgust to ingest either living things or their by-
products (e.g., hair).
● Early disgust reaction becomes extended to a much broader set of stimuli after one
year of age.
Learned:
● Disgust in three domains: disease contamination, immoral actions, and choice of
sexual partners and behaviours.
Two theoretical approaches
1. Functionalist
● Signalling/ communicating
● Emotions are about our own appreciation of how the event relates to our
personal goals (e.g., security, food)
2. Differentiation
● Physiological maturation
● At birth: contentment, interest, and distress
● After 6 months: 6 basic emotions (5 + surprise)
● After 18 months: more complex emotions are possible
, how emotions mobilize us in achieving goals
Differentiation of Emotions from 0 to 3 Years (Keil, 2014)
🍼 At Birth – Primary Emotions Begin to Emerge
● Undifferentiated:
○ Contentment
○ Interest
○ Distress
● makes quick assessments possible
● global state of positive well-being and a negative emotional state of ‘not okay’;
👶 By 6 Months – Six Basic Emotions Appear
1. Joy
2. Surprise
3. Sadness
4. Disgust
5. Anger
6. Fear
Understanding and showing on request develops later → dependent on cognitive
development
👧 Around 1.5 to 2 Years – Simple Complex Emotions
● Simple Embarrassment
● Empathy
● Envy
👦 Around 2.5 to 3 Years Complex emotions
● Often combinations of basic emotions;
● Thousands of possible combinations;
● Develop over time, (more) dependent on opportunities from the environment.
Self-conscious emotions: guilt, shame, embarrassment, pride.
