User:Bredybryan/sandbox

I propose to delete most of this paragraph, keeping only one sentence, and adding citations. Also throughout the paragraph I will link towards other wiki pages for the words nonverbal communication, universal language, facial expressions.

Humans are highly attuned to detecting the appropriateness of (various) facial expressions. They easily notice inconsistencies, and form judgments accordingly. People intuitively mimic facial expressions and can detect when behavior is out of the ordinary. When one wishes to mask true emotion, and thereby control what others see, one needs to be able to properly regulate emotion and facial expression.

After

People intuitively mimic facial expressions; it is a fundamental part of healthy functioning. Similarities across cultures in regards to nonverbal communication has prompted the debate that it is in fact a universal language. It can be argued that emotional regulation plays a key role in the ability to emit the correct responses in social situations.

I propose to delete a majority of this paragraph. I will link to the wiki articles for phenomenon, and add several citations.

before

Humans have control over our facial expressions both consciously and unconsciously. This is why a young child will look utterly devastated when receiving a pair of underwear on Christmas morning, but a teenager is often able to muster a weak grin and even say thank you when that is not what they are truly feeling. He has learned the importance of masking his emotions in order to achieve a goal.

After

Humans have control over facial expressions both consciously and unconsciously, an intrinsic emotion program is generated as the result of a transaction with the world, which immediately results in an emotional response and usually a facial reaction. It is a well documented phenomenon that emotions have an effect on facial expression, but recent research has provided evidence that the opposite may also be true. This notion would give rise to the belief that a person may not only control his emotion but in fact influence them as well.

I propose to delete this section excluding one or two sentences

Emotional self-regulation focuses on providing the appropriate emotion in the appropriate circumstance. If someone laughs at a funeral people will take notice of the odd behavior. If a man cries while watching something with his friends, he will be judged. If a woman acts cold and distant to her crying child, her friends will be taken aback. These are all instances when emotion regulation would be proper precautionary techniques, by knowing the appropriate reaction to a situation that won't arouse suspicions. Regulating emotions can also be used in a way to calm one's self down, or to refrain from contentious behavior or getting into a fight. ER is also a way to help relieve stress, one example: one might write in a journal about the significant parts of one's day.

Healthy self-regulation reflects the capacity to tolerate the sensations of distress that accompany an unmet need. The first time an infant feels hunger, she feels discomfort, then distress and then she cries – until an attuned adult responds. After thousands of cycles of hunger, discomfort, distress, response, and satisfaction, the child (usually) learns that this feeling of discomfort, even distress, will soon pass. An adult will come.

After

Emotional regulation focus on providing the appropriate emotion in the appropriate circumstances some theories elude to the thought that each emotions serves a specific purpose coordination organismic needs with environmental demands (cole 1994). This skill, although apparent throughout all nationalities, has been shown to vary in successful application at different age groups. In experiments done comparing younger and older adults to the same unpleasant stimuli, older adults were able to regulate their emotional reactions in a way that seemed to avoid negative confrontation. These findings support the theory that with time people develop a better ability to regulate their emotions. This ability found in adults seems to better allow to react in what would be considered a more appropriate manner in some social situations, permitting them to avoid adverse situations that could be seen as detrimental.

I propose to delete the rest of this section due to the fact that it seems biased in it’s nature.

The attuned, responsive teacher helps the child build in the capacity to put a moment between the impulse and the action.[5] Therefore, young children who have yet to become successful self-regulators will yell and scream when they do not get their way over any number of things, for instance, taking turns.

Over time children normally learn that everyone will get a turn, they just may have to wait a little longer than they'd like. The absence of yelling or throwing a fit in situations like these, is indicative of a child who has learned to 'self-regulate'. A still more complex instance of emotional self- regulation would be a teenager who masks disappointment (over a birthday gift that he or she did not like) with feigned gratitude.

At this point, the teenager has regulated his emotions to avoid hurting his parents feelings. In addition to the smile and the "thank you", this involves a complex cognitive response. As one gets older one generally learns the advantages of appropriately self-regulating one's behaviors. Proper emotion regulation can help us mask our intentions or feelings and help us achieve our goals in the social realm. Proper regulation can also serve as a way to cool down after an argument. A failure to properly self-regulate can be associated with ineptitude, ingratitude and can be negatively correlated with 'liking' and 'acceptance' by peers.

We believe that the biological aspect of emotion regulation was not properly addressed. To correct this we suggest adding the section Neural Basis of Emotional Self-Regulation.

Neural Basis of Emotional Self-Regulation

Brain structures that contribute to emotion regulation

The development of functional magnetic resonance imaging has allowed for the study of emotion regulation on a biological level. Specifically, research over the last decade strongly suggests that there is a neural basis. Sufficient evidence in multiple studies has correlated emotion regulation to particular patterns of prefrontal activation .These regions include the orbital prefrontal cortex, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.2 Additional brain structures that have been found to contribute are the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex. An implication to these findings is that individual differences in prefrontal activation predict the ability to perform various tasks in aspects of emotion regulation. Moreover, some researchers believe that there may be a fundamental psychobiological mechanism linking the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the right anterior cingulate cortex, the right anterior temporal pole, and hypothalamus - suggesting that this link is one through which human beings consciously regulate emotional responses.