Assignment 6

Write a 200-500 word statement addressing the way in which emotions structure social relationships. Use evidence from this weeks readings.

 Emotions help us structure social relationships by steering us towards actions which will reinforce positive and helpful relationships and away from actions which would hinder these relationships or introduce negative relationships. This idea of emotions follows directly from research by Howard (1993) which considers how emotion can be used to make strategic decisions. By using specific models of game theory, Howard proposes a systematic modeling of simple relationships (Relationships with two people or two organizations and few possible options). By using these models one can predict the outcome of social interactions based on people's decisions and their emotions. Keltner and Haidt (1999) point out that which assumptions one makes about people's emotions, "origins, defining characteristics, and consequences of emotions, and in their preferred forms of data" can impact these predictions.

While these theoretical ideas might suggest that emotions heavily contribute to social relationships, Lopes et al. (2005) looks at empirical data to confirm this. Lopes et al. shows in their research that people with higher emotional intelligence (higher emotion regulation) have higher qualities of social interactions. As was stated above, emotions help steer us toward the proper actions that will help our relationships flourish. The research by Lopes et al. supports these claims. Imagine a person who has a specific want such as a kid who wants a certain gift for his birthday. If this kid has a higher emotional intelligence and was able to regulate his emotions, he would understand that if he can make himself look more favorable in his parents' eyes (not misbehave as much, do what is expected, etc) then they will be more likely to want to accommodate his desires. These results suggest that in order to interact more favorably with those around us (eg complete our tasks more efficiently, get what we want/need..) we need to have a high emotional intelligence and ability to regulate our emotions. By being able to understand (ie emphasize with) others we will have better social interactions.