As students on Grounds battle midterm season, emotions can run high. Psychology Prof. Gerald Clore studies emotions and the key roles they play in decision-making, health and daily life.
“Feelings have two functions: one is to provide feedback, so for learning and solving problems, you’ve got to have negative affect to tell you what’s going on — no pain no gain," Clore said.
Many actions are driven by feelings of anticipation. When students join a sorority or study for an exam, for example, they may be motivated by feelings they anticipate rather than ones they actually experience.
Positive feeling in particular can be a driving force behind action, Clore said.
“The reason you’re creative when you’re happy is because happiness says, 'Whatever’s at the top of the stack, do it.'” he said. “Positive affect just says, 'Yeah, do more of that.'”
Clore explores this causal relationship between positive affect and actions in his 2011 book, "Social Metacognition." When an action becomes associated with a positive result or feeling, the brain tries to increase the occurrence of the action, so it can receive that positive sensation again.
“The internalization of emotion enhances memory,” Clore said. “We are wired up to remember
the important stuff — the things that the system says, 'Oh, that’s interesting.'”
On the other hand, emotional overloads can make this mechanism ineffective. Too much or too little of any emotion can make people emotionally unresponsive.
“If we’re depressed there’s nothing to drive us forward, but if we have too much emotion, ordinary stuff has no value, Clore said.
In his book, Clore argues that rumination can play a key role in clinical depression. By attempting to understand reasons for negative thoughts, rumination may impair other cognitive processes and reduce an individual’s motivation to seek out positive experiences. People with depression tend to lose interest in positive feelings until they can figure out a reason for their negative emotions. A lack of motivation to seek positive feelings often corresponds to a draining of energy and emotion in patients suffering from depression.
“Most of us can come up with memories if we’re asked, but if you’re deeply depressed and suicidal, [when asked to recall a memory] your response tends to be overly general," Clore said. "What the person is saying is, ‘I’ve got no energy and so many problems, and you’re asking me to spend energy I don’t have.'"
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