The Principles of Human
Struggle
Emotion, motivation, and action
What the eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t ache for.
(Czech proverb)
What the eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t ache for.
(Czech proverb)
What the eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t ache for.
(Czech proverb)
= previously processed stimuli influence the processing of
subsequent stimuli
= previously processed stimuli influence the processing of
subsequent stimuli
Ever heard of
subliminal
advertising
messages?
Bargh, J. A., Chen, M., & Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior:
Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 230-244.
STEREOTYPE PRIMING
Showing participants words associated with certain concepts
can influence their behaviour
 EXPERIMENT 1: Priming rudeness made participants interrupt
the experimenter more quickly and frequently
 EXPERIMENT 2: Priming old age made participants walk more
slowly
 EXPERIMENT 3: Submilinally priming African American
stereotype made participants react with more hostility to the
experimenter’s request
Bargh, J. A., Chen, M., & Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior:
Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 230-244.
STEREOTYPE PRIMING – problems?
 EXPERIMENT 2: Priming old age made participants walk more
slowly: “For the elderly prime version, the critical stimuli
were worried, Florida, old, lonely, grey, selfishly, careful,
sentimental, wise, stubborn, courteous, bingo, withdraw,
forgetful, retired, wrinkle, rigid, traditional, bitter,
obedient, conservative, knits, dependent, ancient, helpless,
gullible, cautious, and alone.”
Messner, C., & Brügger, A. (2015). Nazis by Kraut: A playful application of
moral self-licensing. Psychology, 6(9), 1144-1149.
 Drinking sauerkraut juice as opposed to less healthy
drinks makes people respond more positively to Naziesque
right wing ideology, which supports the idea od
moral licensing (“If I do something really beneficial though
unpleasant, I have a right to do loosen my moral standards
for a while.”)
 Is it plausible that our mind works this way?
 Most studies on behavioural/social priming have NOT been
replicated
 What is going on?
 Whether and how a prime will affect our
behaviour, attitudes and feelings depends on
what motivational value it already has to us
and what associations the prime triggers in us
based on our unique experience.
 Is it plausible that our mind works this way?
 Most studies on behavioural/social priming have NOT been
replicated
 What is going on?
 Whether and how a prime will affect our
behaviour, attitudes and feelings depends on
what motivational value it already has to us
and what associations the prime triggers in us
based on our unique experience.
If you hate Coke, that subliminal ad won’t work on you. If you sell Coke
or work for the Coca-Cola company, it probably won’t work either.
 I. P. Pavlov
Why is this important to us (humans)?
 Salivation in Pavlov’s dogs signalizes increased
anticipation of reward = increased need
 Cues in the environment previously associated
with motivational states will become triggers of
those motivational states in the future
regardless of whether the reward/punishment is
currently present or not.
 E. L. Thorndike
Why is this important to us (humans)?
 Objects and situations can trigger automatic
behavioural responses = HABITS
 Intertwined with classical conditioning (a stimulus
triggers a motivational state as well as a
behavioural response)
 Our decisions and behaviours are dependent on
immediate (here-and-now) cues previously
associated with motivational states or general
human heuristic systems rather than global
judgment of advantages and disadvantages in
different situations.
 While we are capable of making relatively more
global judgments, the quality and perceived
necessity of these judgments is ALSO
influenced by the present context.
 This is because our capacity of information
processing is limited.
Emotion regulation
 J. Gross
 PREVENT THOSE
PESKY LITTLE
TRIGGERS FROM
ENTERING THE
BRAIN AND
PRODUCING
AUTOMATIC
RESPONSES!!!
 How…?
Emotion regulation
 Choose sitiation
Emotion regulation
 Choose situation
 Change situation
Emotion regulation
 Choose situation
 Change situation
 Divert attention
Emotion regulation
 Choose situation
 Change situation
 Divert attention
 Change thinking
Emotion regulation
 Choose situation
 Change situation
 Divert attention
 Change thinking
 Act as if nothing
happened
Emotion regulation – EFFECTIVENESS:
 Situation selection
 Situation modification
 Attentional deployment
 Cognitive change
 Response modulation
Three groups watching a disgusting movie:
Facial expressions Physiological
reactions
Group 1: No instruction
Group 2: “Think of the
movie in way that
you’ll feel nothing.”
Group 3: “Behave in a
way so that others think
you feel nothing.”
Gross, J. J. (1998). Antecedent-and response-focused emotion regulation:
Divergent consequences for experience, expression, and physiology. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 224.
Dutton, D. G., & Aron, A. P. (1974). Some evidence for heightened sexual
attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 30(4), 510-517.
Dutton, D. G., & Aron, A. P. (1974). Some evidence for heightened sexual
attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 30(4), 510-517.
Asked to respond to pictures by an experimenter:
Filled the
questionnaire
Accepted the
number
Wobbly bridge ♀ 22/33 78.3%
Stable bridge ♀ 23/33 72.7%
Wobbly bridge ♂ 22/42 27.3%
Stable bridge ♂ 23/51 30.4%
Dutton, D. G., & Aron, A. P. (1974). Some evidence for heightened sexual
attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 30(4), 510-517.
Asked to respond to pictures by an experimenter:
Sexual / romantic
content in stories
Called the
experimenter
Wobbly bridge ♀ 49.4% 9/18 50.0%
Stable bridge ♀ 28.2% 2/16 12.5%
Wobbly bridge ♂ 12.2% 1/6 16.7%
Stable bridge ♂ 16.0% 2/7 28.6%
 Emotional experience has two components: physiological
changes (arousal) and cognitive interpretation of the situation
 If a person experiences arousal, s/he will attribute this arousal to
the most “meaningful” interpretation available at the moment = risk
of misattribution of arousal
 Later research – also works with false feedback (i.e. being
provided false information about one’s actual physiological state)
 Misattribution not necessary – emotions bias interpretation of
situation also when we are aware of the origin of feelings
Schachter, S., & Singer, J. (1962). Cognitive, social, and physiological
determinants of emotional state. Psychological Review, 69(5), 379-399.
Three groups watching a disgusting movie:
Facial expressions Physiological
reactions
Group 1: No instruction
Group 2: “Think of the
movie in way that
you’ll feel nothing.”
Group 3: “Behave in a
way so that others think
you feel nothing.”
Gross, J. J. (1998). Antecedent-and response-focused emotion regulation:
Divergent consequences for experience, expression, and physiology. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 224.
The fact that we can exercise self-control should
not be taken for granted…
 Reptilian brain – basic reflexes
 Reptilian brain – basic reflexes
 Mammalian brain – emotions
 Reptilian brain – basic reflexes
 Mammalian brain – emotions
 Human brain – reasoning, mental representation,
planning – delay of gratification
 Based on inhibition of automatic responses
blue green red yellow
 Turning our attention AWAY from what unwanted
throught/feelings/objects
 Turning our attention TOWARDS what we need to
deal with
 Switching attention back and forth when needed
 Being able to manipulate with ideas in our minds
 EXHAUSTING!
 Ego depletion
 Roy Baumeister
Three groups:
Instructed to
eat:
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
No food
Persistence on
subsequent
unsolvable
figure-drawing
task
18.9 min.
8.85 min. +
more
fatigue
20.86 min.
Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Muraven, M., & Tice, D. M. (1998). Ego
depletion: is the active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 74(5), 1252-1265.
 It is a limited but renewable resource – it can
get depleted
 It is common for all types of self-control
(inhibition of automatic reactions)
 This means that if we use it up for one activity
(studying for a test) there won’t be enough for
another activity (being nice to your boss)
blue green red yellow
Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited
resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 247-259.
GOOD NEWS:
 It can be restored – rest, motivational
reinforcement, good plans/structure
 It can be used economically when necessary
 It can be trained
 OVERSTRAINING IS NOT TRAINING!!!
Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited
resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 247-259.
 Not sure which tasks are depleting in which
situation and how the mechanism works in
general
 Meta-analyses of ED research: Self-control is
probably a much more complex and diverse
phenomenon that the Ego Depletion Model
assumes = the theory oversimplifies how selfcontrol
works
 Before attempting the second quiz, watch the
videos on the “Standford marshmallow
experiment” available in the interactive
syllabus in the IS
 Recommended materials:
Roy Baumeister’s videos on ego depletion (for
research examples)
James Gross’s video on emotion regulation