V. What is the difference between remembering what I felt in a
given situation and actually re-experiencing the feelings?
In the later case, a person's body state is probably similar to
what it was in the original scene. In the former case, I doubt
whether this is true. If a person were connected to biofeedback
equipment, I suspect that we would see the physiological
activity indicative of a stress response in the later case but
not the former case.
VI. Are emotional experiences controlled experiences?
I think sometimes they are. This is where the so-called
"psychological defenses" come into play. Psychological defenses
are ways of controlling emotional experiences without actually
changing the external environment.
When a person's emotional experiences become so strong that
awareness is drawn away from other control systems, defenses may
come into play in order to temporarily reduce the intensity of
the emotional experience which allows awareness to return to the
other control systems. In HPCT terms, this may involve the
reduction in the gain of the control systems having error signals
which I believe would result in reducing the intensity of the
stress response and emotional experience.
This suggestion is consistent with the observation that stress
impairs cognitive functioning and that defenses come into play
during times of stress. At this time, people usually become
very self-conscious.
VII. Are defenses part of the reorganization system?
As part of the reorganization system, defenses function to
reduce stress which, in turn, slows down/stops reorganization
from taking place in the self-image system.
Defenses are usually thought of operating without awareness.
This does not seem all that unusual if one thinks of them as
motor(output) skills which are automatically carried out.
In diagram form:
genetical set
intrinic reference level for stress
which allows awareness to be
not focused on the self-image system
/ \
actual stress level defenses
>
^ |
^ \/
sum of error signals
from perceptual control
systems having error signals
VII. Why should the self-image system be in danger of
reorganization if the stress level becomes too much?
The self-image control system regulates a person's self-image.
The self-image is at the highest level in the control hierrarchy.
Error signals are reduced at the lowest level possible. Failure
to reduce the error signals at one level results in error signals
at the next highest level. If this process continues long
enough, sooner or later, the self-image control system would
become the object of reorganization.
VIII. How are defenses and psychotic symptoms the same?
They both come into play when the stress level becomes too high.
In the case of defenses, reality is distorted. With psychotic
symptoms, reality is created. Failure of defenses to work to
reduce stress enough can be followed by the occurence of
psychotic symptoms in which lower level perceptions are provided
by means of the imagination mode. A person is described as
" having lost touch with reality. "
IX. Are positive emotions stressful?
Yes. Even positive changes results in demands for a person to
adjust body state which is stressful. Clearly, it is less
stressful then negative changes.
X. What are emotions?
The perceptions of body state when a person is faced with a
changing situation for the better or worse.
XI. How many different emotions are there?
Plutchik says eight categories which are arranged in a
"circumplex."
Emotion Primaries Issue
(numbers are clock positions) (goals)
happy(12:00)/sad(6:00) temporality
angry(9:00)/afraid(3:00) hierrarchy
surprise(4:30)/expectation(10:30) territory
acceptance(1:30)/rejection(7:30) identity
Within each category, emotions vary in intensity.
All other emotion terms are combinations of primaries as any
color can be created from the combination of primaries.
The issue refers to the goal whose disturbance results in the
emotion.
···
To: CSG-L people
From: David Goldstein
Subject: emotion3 & hpct
Date: 09/25/93