Friday, May 16, 2008

...EMOTIONS...

Emotions are our feelings. Literally. We feel them in our bodies as tingles, hot spots and muscular tension. There are cognitive aspects, but the physical sensation is what makes them really different.

Articles on emotion include:

A basic of much emotional arousal is that there is a goal at stake somewhere. Our emotions thus cause us to want and not want. And when we have what we wanted, we then have emotions about owning it.

Emotions often lead to coping activities. When we feel something, we consequently respond to that feeling. This can be both in the immediate (and often subconscious) response to the feeling and also in the more thoughtful handling of the aftermath. Where this has been a negative feeling, the response may range from vigorous justification of our actions to conciliatory apologies and other 'making up'. A common response to the repression of unwanted emotions is displacement, where we act out our frustration in other ways. Thus a reprimanded child, knowing they cannot answer back, may go and 'punish' their toys.

Emotions affect and are a part of our mood, which is usually a more sustained emotional state. Mood affects our judgment and changes how we process decisions.

So what?

So manage emotions, both yours and theirs. In negotiations, the person gets their way is often the person who has greatest emotional control.

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