Paul Silvia's Analysis Of Interest, The Curious Emotion

By completing the interest survey, I felt in the position of a student: to have to think on unusual things and understand that they are part of who I am. I realized that I could know a bit more about me. I learned about my favorite food and my favorite singer, which are different from 10 years ago.

When having good experiences, most people, if asked, would claim that they feel happy. However, if one decided to ask Martha Nussbaum, author of “Who is the Happy Warrior? Philosophy Poses Questions to Psychology,” she would most likely respond that she was feeling pleasured. In her article, she draws a restrictive line between pleasure and happiness. She introduces the viewpoints of many intellectuals who have spoken on the definition of happiness, and then offers her own opinions in regards to theirs. Her thoughts generally align with those of Aristotle, Plato, and the ancient Greek thinkers – the very ones she spent much of her higher education studying. Her main ideas, that happiness is too complex to be concretely defined and that pleasure is a feeling that we may experience while doing certain things, are well-explained and supported. She offers the idea that happiness is not an emotion – rather, it is a state of being that we should all hope to attain as a result of self-reflection. Nussbaum continually counters the beliefs proposed by psychologists, like the notion that happiness is a one-note feeling, or the concept that happiness is only influenced by positive emotions. In my essay, I will explain how Martha Nussbaum’s explanation of the complexities of happiness is superior, as well as how the ideas of two psychologists, Sonja Lyubomirsky and Daniel Gilbert, are faulty and disreputable. However, it is important to note that just because Nussbaum is the least wrong

This paper will examine Robert C. Solomon's Emotions and Choices article, to best identify what anger is, and to what extent a rational human being is responsible for their anger. Firstly, Solomon's argument must be described. A quick summation of Solomon's argument can be found in the following four points: Emotions are judgements, emotions are chosen, emotions serve a purpose, and emotions are rational.1 To quote Solomon, he explains that “Emotions are not occurrences, and do not happen to us. They ... may be chosen like an action.”2

As an educator and advisor, I am very interested in student interest inventories. Working in the classroom, it can be very difficult to assess interest of students when choosing thematic units or classroom project. As a college advisor, I am constantly searching for resources to help my students choose a future career path. I completed research and found three popular interest inventories- the Strong Interest Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Clifton Strengths Finder. Each of the three assessments analyze the same general theme of interest, personality and career choice. I have analyzed each to determine the best interest inventory to use with my students.

In Affect - A basic Summary of approaches, Andrew Murphie puts forth thought on the concept of affect and how it directly correlates with the language. Affect is described as what occurs right before one becomes aware of how they are feeling, and thus turning that feeling into an emotion. That being true, affect is moment to moment and is constantly changing, for emotion is continually being altered in order for one to be fully present in every point in time. Affect comes and goes instantaneously, for at the instant when it comes, one makes an effort to put affect into words, turning the affect into a feeling or emotion and it is gone. Affect cannot be put into language, but it is always something that will be with one. That being said, one cannot describe one’s affect to another. Though, by trying to talk about one’s affect, one must speak about the instant that created said affect, and by expressing one’s thoughts about their moment to moment experience, one can try to evoke a similar experience in another’s mind.

This helps the reader stay interested and they may feel the need to act upon feelings. LaBarge motivates the reader to act and, “just tell the stories! We should recommit to that purpose” (LaBarge). Also, the author appeals to emotion through its tone. The tone of the essay is happy, persuasive, and uplifting. The writer uses this appeal to leave the reader with feelings of inspiration and motivation.

Attempts to define “emotion” have proved to be rather difficult. Instead of searching for a comprehensive definition, Gross (2011) describes the three core features of emotions. First, emotions occur when an individual decides that a situation is relevant to his or her goals. Second, emotions are multi-faceted, and involve both subjective and physiological experiences, as well as behaviors. The third feature involves the authoritative nature of emotions. They have the powerful ability to interrupt ongoing processes, assert their priority over other activities, and force their way into awareness. For example, some traditions describe emotions as “disorganized interruptions of mental activity” (Salovey & Mayer, 1989). Emotions are such an

Personal interests are what make me happy and want to grow as a person. Some of my interests include chemistry, physics, math, technology, and people. I enjoy chemistry because it brings material information into a form that can show what can react. It allows for creation of new materials that can be assessed for usability. Physics is another one of my interests because it shows how real-life problems can be solved and optimized using math. Math is an interest of mine because it can solve almost anything. There are many forms of math that get used in areas of science all the time. I am a technology lover because it makes tasks easier, and it also allows for so many improvements in

“Motives can be classified across three dimensions, with the rational/conscious/primary ends relating to each other, as do the dormant/emotional/secondary ends.”

Fayard, J. V., Roberts, B. W., Robins, R. W., & Watson, D. (2012). Uncovering the Affective

Interest-The Curious Emotion is an academic paper that answers what the concept of interest is and more importantly what makes something interesting. The author, Paul Silvia, does this using research done in the field of psychology. The psychology of interest has been researched as far back as the 1800s. Interest is an important concept because interest plays a role in the growth of knowledge and expertise. Interest is classified as an emotion in emotion psychology because interest has the components of emotion as classified by modern theories of emotion. These components consist of “physiological changes, facial and vocal expressions, patterns of cognitive appraisal, a subjective feeling, and an adaptive role across the lifespan”(Silvia). The expressions noted for interest involved the movements in the muscles in the forehead and eyes used when concentrating. Also, people were found that they tilt the head when interested.

Analyzing research methods used for uncovering basic emotions applied to the Cannon-Bard emotion theory and Drive reduction arousal theory. The Cannon-Bard theory of emotion is a stimulating event takes place, emotional, and physiological changes occur (Changing Minds, 2010). A person may feel muscular tension as well as sweating to the situation. A research method associated with the Cannon-Bard emotion theory would be the evolution theory. This method is an idea where emotion aids species survival (Decker, 2010). An example: A person is hiking through the woods approaches a snake. The appearance of the snake evokes fear, which in return causes the emotional experience. Fear produces behavior and emotion to run, muscular tension, or possibly cry. The emotion evoked by the predator or event causes the survival. The Drive reduction arousal theory is an approach to motivation that assumes behavior arises. Arousal is the source of emotions. Second, arousal is the impetus for attending to

Motivation is the reason or purpose behind action, or what causes one to act in

A subject that does not seem interesting in it may be very interesting in relation to other subjects. Third, interest is upon understanding. If we do not understand the rules of basketball game, we may not have much fun to watch it, but if we take time to learn the rules, we may find it is an exciting sport.

Chapter 3 explores the concept of universally shared basic emotions, an idea that was first advanced as a theory by Charles Darwin. Paul Ekman and Jakk Panksepp studied the concept of