Strong Black Woman Schema and Psychological Distress: The Mediating Role of Perceived Emotional Support

The Strong Black Women (SBW) schema has been suggested to correlate with poor health outcomes in Black women. The central aim of this study was to determine what mechanisms could result in mental distress, and if the perception of emotional support could intervene between the SBW schema and psychological distress. Evidence from 158 adult Black American women suggested partial mediation from perceived emotional support, and a clear link between the SBW schema and subsequent psychological distress and a perceived lack of emotional support. The SBW schema as a result has proof of being connected to psychological distress in Black women.

Strong Black Woman (SBW) Schema and Psychological Distress

Stress and anger negatively impact health, leading to higher risk of chronic diseases.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

An emotion is a subjective state of being, often described as a feeling. It is typically an intense, affective state that occurs consciously and intentionally in response to a specific experience. Emotions arise from the interplay of four key components: a subjective experience, an outward expression, a cognitive appraisal of the situation, and physiological responses.

Emotion

- Motivation
- Goal setting
- Problem Solving (overcoming barriers to positive change)
- Emotional Management
- Health Psychology

Link between Psychology and Chronic Diseases

The predictions of what emotions people think they will feel after making some decision. This affects the decision people make.

Expected emotions

Emotional response to the task at hand. This is usually in response to needs being met or ignored while interacting with the task. Responses to varying levels of emotional engagement can be:
- Happiness
- Anxiety
- Boredom

Emotional Engagement

“the outward expression of emotion, affect, and feeling by individuals and among individuals in a Community of Inquiry, as they relate to and interact with the learning technology, course content, learners, and the instructor”

Emotional Presence 

Emotions not caused by a decision. They are often associated with a person's predisposition, the setting of an environment or something that happened earlier in the day.

Incidental emotions

Focuses on the role of emotion in motivation, judgement, behavior, and health across the life span and across cultures. While predominantly studied in social psychology, related studies incorporate concepts and methods from other fields such as cognitive psychology and biology.

Studies on Emotion

Emotions are episodic and short term patterns of perceptions, communication, and action; these are responses (which are tied to biological and physiological aspects) that occur to perceived social and physical stressors.

What is an Emotion? ( deeper explanation)

Emotion | Effect on Health

Functions of emotion for our survival pertain to: 
- Support adaptive action
- Regulate our pursuit of goals
- Promote selective responses
- Function of Facial Expressions

Functions of Emotions

- Basic Emotions
- Self-Conscious Emotions

Types of Emotions

Basic Emotions are innate bodily and neural states that are elicited by signal stimuli. Basic emotions come from a range of stimuli and are often associated with specific adaptive functions. 
There are 6 basic emotions: 
- Anger 
- Disgust
- Fear
- Sadness
- Joy
- Surprise 

Basic Emotions

Stages of emotion processing can occur in different orders and various steps can occur simultaneously. The stages of emotion processing include:
-  Appraisal: when a stimulus is deemed emotion-inflicting
-  Physical Response: changes in pulse, blood pressure, etc.
-  Facial expressions & nonverbal behavior: smiling, jumping, etc.
-  Motives: desire to spread one's emotion to others. 

Stages of Emotion Processing

Sources of emotions include:
-  Immediate Stimuli (someone does something that causes an emotional reaction)
-  Classically Conditioned (place or event is associated with a given emotion)
-  Memories/thoughts (emotions return when thinking about a particular event)

Sources of Emotions

Rather than focusing on the first emotion elicited by a message, the emotional flow hypothesis stresses the importance of the progression through multiple emotional states that a person experiences while interacting with a message.

Emotional Flow Hypothesis

The body maps show regions whose activation increased (warm colors) or decreased (cool colors) when the subject was feeling the indicated emotion.

Bodily Maps of Emotions

The feeling of psychological strain and uneasiness produced by situations of danger, threat, and loss of personal security or by internal conflicts, frustrations, loss of self-esteem, and grief. Also called emotional tension.

Emotional Stress

Emotion regulation is the process by which individuals manage their emotional responses to various situations and experiences. This involves altering their emotional experiences and how they are expressed.

Emotional Regulation

Ware, D. C. (2020, June 18). Natural treatments for emotional distress: Don't let your mood negatively impact health. Healing Blends Global. Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://healingblendsglobal.com/blogs/lifestyle/natural-treatments-for-emotional-distress-don-t-let-your-mood-negatively-impact-health#:~:text=Relax%20Regularly,care%20of%20your%20physical%20body 

Natural treatments for emotional distress: Don't let your mood negatively impact health

When we do not understand our emotions but have an overwhelming feeling of emotion, emotional distress can be debilitating to our executive functioning and happiness. 

Emotional Distress or Dissonance

Emotions impact our: work, relationships, mind, body, environment, and finances.

Emotions and Quality of Life

References for Emotion

The collection of conscious or unconscious influences that an individual exerts on the generation, timing, experience, or expression of his/her emotion(s). 

Emotion Regulation

Emotional granularity refers to the interoceptive resolution in perceiving internal emotional states and the capacity to transcribe them into descriptive and specified language.

Emotional Granularity / Emotion Differentiation

- Psychosomatic Medicine
- Psychoneuroimmunology
- The Immune System
- Psychological Stress and Immunity

Emotions and the Immune System

- Theories of emotion
- Evolutionary viewpoint of emotions
- How many emotions are there
- Brain circuits for different emotions
- Neural circuitry of violence and aggression
- Stress and body responses
- Emotions and the immune system

Subjects in emotions, aggression and stress in the brain

Emotion complexity represents a burgeoning sub-field within the study of emotion. It diverges from traditional views that categorize emotions discretely, instead emphasizing the intricate and multifaceted nature of emotional experiences.

Emotion Complexity

Meta-emotion lacks a unified definition, though it is commonly understood as one's feelings about experiencing specific emotions. However, broadly speaking, it encompasses an individual's awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and control regarding emotions.

Meta-Emotion / Metaemotion

Theories of emotions attempt to explain the origin and functions of affective states.
- Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory
- Evolutionary Theories
- Appraisal Theories
  * Cognitive-mediational theory
- Psychological Constructionism 
- Physiological Theories
  * James-Lange theory
  * Cannon-Bard theory

Theories of Emotion

Emotional states are complex experiences that result from the combination of several key elements: physiological arousal, psychological appraisal, and subjective feelings. These elements, along with outward emotional expression, are collectively known as the components of emotion.

Components of Emotion

Which of the following best describes the concept of emotion?

Which of the following components are involved in the experience of emotion?

How does the specific stimulus experienced by an individual influence their emotion?

Which of the following statements accurately reflects the role of cognitive processes in emotion?

This area of study explores the physiological and neurological foundations of emotional experiences, examining the biological mechanisms that give rise to and regulate emotions.

Biological Underpinnings of Emotion

A mood is a prolonged, less intense affective state that, unlike an emotion, typically does not arise in response to a specific experience and lacks intentionality. In psychological research, a mood is considered an intangible variable or abstract construct; while it cannot be directly observed, researchers can measure it to evaluate its relationship with other phenomena, such as behavioral intentions.

Mood

Emotions and moods are distinct affective states that differ in several key aspects. Emotions are typically intense, brief, and are a direct response to a specific event or experience; they are also generally conscious and intentional. In contrast, moods are less intense, more prolonged states that are not linked to a specific trigger, may exist without conscious awareness, and lack intentionality.

Comparison of Emotion and Mood

The methodology for measuring emotions is a subject of debate within psychology. While researchers like Mauss have identified potential problems with how emotions are typically measured, they also contend that many of the commonly used measurements are still valuable and useful for understanding emotional processes.

Challenges in Measuring Emotion

Despite cultural display rules that dictate how emotions should be expressed, the fundamental ability to produce and recognize facial expressions of emotion is considered universal across all human cultures. This concept is supported by evidence from cross-cultural research, such as studies with isolated, preliterate societies, and the observation that congenitally blind individuals produce the same facial expressions as sighted people, suggesting these expressions are innate.

Universality of Emotional Expression

Health behaviors (e.g., healthy eating, physical activity, practicing mindfulness) improve overall health (including physical health) and reduce the risk of chronic illnesses. However, in order for people to regularly engage in these behaviors, they need to have the motivation to do so.

Motivation | Connection to Health and Chronic Diseases

Although many people are movtivated to make lifestyle changes, the process of behavior change is usually challenging. Making SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time bound) goals will help make this process easier to stick to. Goals should be focused on the process rather than just the outcome.

Goal Setting | Importance in Health Psychology

Problem solving is an important skill that helps one overcome obstacles in the way of one's goal (e.g., establishing to and sticking to healthy sleeping habits). For instance, if one is realizing that his travel job is preventing him from getting enough sleep, he may consider switching into another job that allows him to sleep enough rather than inefficiently trying to squeeze out time from his schedule to sleep and spend time with his family.

Problem Solving | Importance in Health Psychology

Health psychology is a subfield of psychology that focuses on how human health is affected by the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors, utilizing an approach known as the biopsychosocial model. Professionals in this field aim to help individuals achieve better health through public policy, education, intervention, and research. Health psychologists often conduct research exploring the connections between a person's genetic makeup, psychological stress, behavioral patterns, relationships, and their overall health outcomes. They also investigate effective ways to motivate people to address behaviors that negatively impact their health.

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