Do You Control Your Emotions or Do Your Emotions Control You: Perceived Emotional Control Over Negative and Positive Emotion Words

Presenter Information

Anne P. Jordan, University at Albany, State University of New YorkFollow
Halszka Bak, University at Albany, State University of New YorkFollow
Jeanette Altarriba, University at Albany, State University of New YorkFollow
Allison M. Wilck, University at Albany, State University of New YorkFollow

Panel Name

Brain Function and Mental Health: New Approaches in Technology, Psychology, and Neuroscience

Location

Lecture Center 6

Start Date

3-5-2019 3:15 PM

End Date

3-5-2019 4:30 PM

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Academic Major

Psychology

Abstract

The goal of this study is to better understand the connection between negative and positive emotions and our perceived control over them. Participants were asked to evaluate different words that were pulled from the dictionary because according to their definitions they held some sort of emotional tie. Words were rated on three scales to indicate how positive or negative the word is perceived, how intensely the emotion is felt, and how in control of that emotion the participant feels when experiencing it. Through statistical analysis we found that negative words are rated as being less controllable than their positive counterparts. We contribute this pattern to the condition of learned helplessness. Findings from this study will be used in part to create a cross cultural database of emotion words.

Select Where This Work Originated From

Research Assistantship

First Faculty Advisor

Dr.Jeanette Altarriba

First Advisor Email

jaltarriba@albany.edu

First Advisor Department

Psychology

Second Faculty Advisor

Dr. Halszka Bak

Second Faculty Advisor Email

hbak@albany.edu

Second Advisor Department

Psychology

The work you will be presenting can best be described as

Finished or mostly finished by conference date