A father came home from work to find his little girl sitting in the living room playing with her dolls and tea set. He had been working overtime for the last week and spent little time with his daughter at night. One evening, he arrived at home and she was so excited to see him she ran into his arms. "Daddy, Daddy! Can you play with me?" "Not now. I just got home from work. I’m tired and I want to sit down." “But Daddy, I missed you and I want to have a tea party. Please, come and play.” “I said, no.” He quickly pushes her out of his arms. She stares at him with a tear streaming down her cheek. “Oh, stop crying. We can play later.” He walks to his bedroom. The little girl returns to her dolls, crying and feeling rejected by her father. What impact did the father’s emotions (affect) have on his decision not to play with his daughter, and might he be truly aware that he hurt his little girl’s feelings? Moods and emotions greatly impact social cognition, particularly when making decisions or judgments, and these can have a positive or negative effect on others. This week, you examine the connection between emotions and social cognition and analyze emotion as a social construction. You also examine how moods and emotions can impact decision making. Learning Outcomes By the end of this week, you should be able to: Analyze emotion as a social construction Analyze the connection between emotions and social cognition Analyze the impact of moods and emotions on decision making Learning Resources Required Readings Course Text: Handbook of Social Psychology Chapter 9, "Emotion" Bruyneel, S. D., Dewitte, S., Franses, P. H., & Dekimpe, M. G. (2009). I felt low and my purse feels light: Depleting mood regulation attempts affect risk decision making. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 22(2), 153–170. Forgas, J. P., Laham, S. M., & Vargas, P. T. (2005). Mood effects on eyewitness memory: Affective influences on susceptibility to misinformation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41(6), 574–588. Moreland, R. L., & Zajonc, R. B. (1977). Is stimulus recognition a necessary condition for the occurrence of exposure effects? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(4), 191–199. Zajonc, R. B. (1980). Feeling and thinking: Preferences need no inferences. American Psychologist, 35(2), 151–175. Social Psychology Network. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.socialpsychology.org Required Media Media: Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Social cognition and affect. Baltimore, MD: Author. Transcript Optional Resources Forgas, J. P., & Moylan, S. (1987). After the movies: Transient mood and social judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 13(4), 467–477. Penner, L. A., Dovidio, J. F., Piliavin, J. A., & Schroeder, D. A. (2005). Prosocial behavior: Multilevel perspectives. Annual Review of Psychology, 56(1), 365–392. Discussion 1: Impact of Mood on Decision Making The awareness of moods and emotions provides you information about your individual circumstance and about your interactions with others. This information, in turn, helps you make decisions and judgments. For example, if you were in a bad mood, you might make a global judgment regarding life satisfaction. If you were in a good mood, you might decide to sky dive from an airplane because you were feeling elated and excited to try something new. Moods and emotions greatly impact your decision-making process, and it is important to understand this connection. For this Discussion, review the media titled Social Cognition and Affect, and consider why the person in the video made the decisions he or she did and what impact moods and emotions may have had on his or her decisions. By Day 3 With these thoughts in mind: Post by Day 3 a brief explanation of three possible reasons why the person in the media made his or her decision. Be specific. Then, explain two ways mood/emotion may have impacted this person’s decision. Finally, describe one life or death situation and explain how mood/emotion could impact decision making in this situation. Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources. Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.