Psychology of Emotion: Anger and Happiness - Emotion Record Sheet and Reflective Essay

This reflective essay as a journal entry is developed from the emotions record worksheet. Read about the emotions of anger and happiness and how to manage them. Learn how to evaluate situations better.

SSC101/403 Psychology of Emotion Assessment 4
Emotion Record Sheet
Emotion: Anger
You are encouraged to record three to five situations where your chosen emotion is present.
Situation
What happened?
Where? When?
Who with?
Intensity of
the emotion
(0 – 10)
Somatic sensations
What did you notice in
your body? Where did
you feel it?
How did you want to cope with or
manage this emotion?
Did this help or would you have
preferred to cope differently?
Thoughts that were associated
with the emotion
What did you say to yourself
when this emotion showed up?
Behaviours that were
associated with the emotion
What did you do when the
emotion was present and you
had those thoughts?
My sister lost my
earphones
Morning, in house.
Week 2, day 5
4 I felt it mostly in my
hands. They tend to
shake when I am angry
I did not want to make too much fuss. She was reckless Organized, Calm, strict
The neighbour’s cat
broke our expensive
cutlery. Week 3, day
2.
5 Hands and back of
head.
I wanted to tell the neighbour to put a
leash on their cat.
Hit the cat
.
Calm, Respectful, Authoritative
A friend argued on
something he doesn’t
about.
Week 2, day 3
6 Hands shaking,
Stomach clenches and
inside of mouth gets
warmer.
I wanted to yell at him and call him
stupid.
Punch my friend Tolerant, Aggressive.
A man was harassing
a child.
Locality near home
Week 4, day 4
8 Hands shaking,
trembling temples and
gut wrench
I wanted to push and slap the man. Slap the person Aggressive, Abusive, Bossy.
A reckless driver hit a
homeless person.
The mall close to my
house, Week 7, day 5
9 Most of the above
symptoms except
headache
I wanted to hurt the driver physically. Hit the person with intent to hurt. Physically violent, Verbally
abusive, Aggressive, defensive.
As you record instances of your chosen emotion:
 Consider the impact you (or your behaviour) may have on others in these moments
 Notice as well how others may be experiencing and responding to the same emotion
This will be useful for the reflective journal element of the assessment.

Emotion Record Sheet
Emotion: Happiness
You are encouraged to record three to five situations where your chosen emotion is present.
Situation
What happened?
Where? When?
Who with?
Intensity of
the emotion
(0 – 10)
Somatic sensations
What did you notice in
your body? Where did
you feel it?
How did you want to cope with or
manage this emotion?
Did this help or would you have
preferred to cope differently?
Thoughts that were associated
with the emotion
What did you say to yourself
when this emotion showed up?
Behaviours that were
associated with the emotion
What did you do when the
emotion was present and you
had those thoughts?
Went cycling in the
morning.
Week 2, day 1
6 Muscles were relaxed. I wanted to manage by continuing the
exercise.
Thought – I should do this every day. Active, energetic.
Baked a cake for my
sister’s birthday.
Week 3 day 3.
6 Relaxed heartbeat,
Smile,
I wanted to fully participate in the
moment.
Thought – She will love the cake. Relaxed, organized, active.
Went on a date
Week 4 day 6
8 Increased heartbeat,
Mild shaking of hands.
I wanted to have an interesting and
engaging conversation.
Thought - It’s awkward. Shy, cautious.
Hung out at a friend’s
place at night.
Cameron’s place.
Week 7 day 6
8 Relaxed heartbeat,
increased appetite.
I wanted to make jokes and laugh. Thought – We should do this more
often
Active, Assertive, Playful
Helped a foreign
tourist retrieve lost
backpack
Week 5 day 5
10 Smiling, Energetic
muscles.
I wanted to invite the tourist for lunch
at my place.
Thought – She must be relieved Assertive, caring, considerate,
polite.
As you record instances of your chosen emotion:
 Consider the impact you (or your behaviour) may have on others in these moments
 Notice as well how others may be experiencing and responding to the same emotion
This will be useful for the reflective journal element of the assessment.

Reflective essay
Introduction
This reflective essay as a journal entry is developed from the emotions record worksheet. I had recorded two emotions that I felt the most in the past ten
weeks. I have highlighted that anger and happiness are the two most intense emotions that I felt throughout that time period. I had also highlighted the intensity with
which I felt those emotions and how they affected my lifestyle for the day I felt them.
I will incorporate in this journal various aspects that I uncovered upon reflection of the emotions. Anger and happiness are common emotions that are felt by
almost everyone in this world. They are also two major emotions that drive the psychological functions of a person. I have felt that in my experience of those
emotions, I had engaged in something that I would not have engaged in otherwise. My reflection of those incidents helped me understand that certain human
behaviours depend upon the way emotions experienced by that person modifies his/her capability to work normally. Some people find a drive to work when they are
angry while some turn jobless. Same goes for Happiness as well.
I will therefore try to understand those emotions in depth through consulting with some relevant literature to give myself a better insight into how those
emotions determine actions, how I was able to manage them or cope with them when necessary and how I responded to them when I felt them.

Emotion 1 – Anger
Anger for most people is a common way of dealing with situations and scenarios that are not in condition with their notion. They maybe simply different or
invoke hostility. The person would react in ways that they feel is justified.
I realized that anger plays similar roles for me too. In cases of moderately intense anger, I was able to control my behaviour and maintain a civil demeanour,
although in some cases, I did end up raising my voice. However in cases of heavily intense anger, I displayed instances of violence (Bernstein, 2015). For example in
the case of the harasser and that of the reckless driver, I engaged in physical assault upon them because I was angry. However, I also realised that in the case of the
harasser, there was a child standing next to me and who is familiar to me. I therefore immediately stopped the assault thinking that my conduct would negatively
impact the psyche of the child and he might learn lessons from my behaviour that he is not supposed to. Children are extremely sensitive to external stimuli in the
form of adult behaviour. Thus, it is important to realise that certain actions based on overwhelming emotions require different treatment under different conditions.
My thought process consistently tells me to evaluate the situation before engaging (Lawton, 2014). In cases of moderate anger I was able to keep calm and
apprehend the situation in a disciplined and organized manner. For instance, in the case of argumentation with my friend, I realized that the person had ego issues and
therefore he was not going to make valid arguments (Petty & Wegener, 2014). So I let it go. But I also noticed that my cases of violence was involved with an act of
injustice on the other part (Gimpelson & Monusova, 2014; Long & Christian, 2015). That made me realise that it is difficult for me to accept cases of injustice
against other humans and stand still, and the case is similar in many youths too (Roberts, Strayer & Denham, 2014; Hagan, Shedd & Payne, 2005). I can do that with
small matters and cases involving the family. I can also control my violent phases when I feel like there is the presence of an individual who might get negatively
impacted by my act of violence (Krajewska et al, 2016).
When an individual becomes angry, it affects the people around them in a lot of ways. Family members get worried or are kept in a generally negative aura
while friends and especially partners or spouses tend to either retaliate or attempt to calm the individual down (Harviainen, Brown & Suominen, 2018). Anger as an

emotion also appears to be triggered differently in different individuals. I have noticed people who can get really angry at small disagreements but stay neutral in
cases of general injustice.
There were other emotions too that I felt during my phases of anger, hatred, grief and fear being the strongest of them all (Held & Owens, 2015).
Emotion 2 – Happiness
Happiness is also a common emotion felt by most individuals. Like all other emotions, happiness can also be short lived or prolonged. However general
consensus on present global demographics would inform that prolonged genuine happiness is a privilege found only by few people. Like anger, happiness too can be
triggered by multiple factors and each one different from the other.
For most other people, there can be numerous sources of happiness (Haybron, 2013). For some people, Children can be a source of happiness while for some
others, drugs. Therefore, same parameters cannot be used to judge happiness and joy in the life of a person.
For me, I found happiness to be a good motivator and relaxing agent. In my case, happiness is a more mild emotion than anger and allows me to enjoy and
relax the environment more. I also noticed that the few things that provide me with happiness are small in their size and include being kind to other people that makes
them happy and grateful. Company of friends also provide me a sense of happiness (Demir, Ozen & Procsal, 2014). I also realized that I tend to attach my happiness
to certain immaterial objects, for instance my new pair of earphones. I understood that it does not concern much at this stage but in the long run, happiness through
attachment with inanimate objects can develop into a sense of longing for more and can turn into a negative emotion if allowed to grow unchecked.
My thought process when I am happy tells me to relax and enjoy the moment for as long as it lasts. I feel like it is because of my interest in world news that I
feel this way, since world news hardly provides anything to be happy about. Upon reflection I also noticed that in cases where I am unable to come across sources of
happiness for myself, I can generate those sources in low to mid intensity by physically keeping myself active. Cycling does that for me. Helping the foreign tourist
and inviting her for lunch with my family was also a source of happiness which made me realise that gratitude can be both, an effect as well as a cause for happiness
(Gilbert, 2011). At the same time, while I was making the cake for my sister, I was driven by the thought that the cake would make her happy and when it did, it

instilled in me a sense of satisfaction and joy. I felt gratitude when I was hanging out at my friend’s place at night which made me realise that I not only attach my
happiness to inanimate objects but I also find same and in cases, more happiness when I am with people. This revelation is further supported by my conduct with the
foreign tourist which informed me that I also find happiness in providing happiness to people.
Happiness has a lot of positive effects on the people around us. I have found that my sister stays happy when I am in a happy mood and she is scared when I
am in a bad mood. Similarly, if my sister is sad, there is an environment in the house where no one can be jolly, even if that moment is short lived (Wood et al.,
2008). Happiness as an emotion has positive impacts on psychological wellbeing and daily lifestyle. In my case I have noticed a heightened sense of productivity and
cognitive functioning when I am happy. At the same time, my patience and level of understanding is also increased.
Love, Satisfaction, Gratitude etc. are a few other emotions that I have observed associated with happiness in me. However I also observed mild instances of
nervousness and shyness. This incident pertains to the date that I went to where even though I was happy about the experience, I was feeling nervous and conscious
of my conduct. This gave me the feeling that I should change my demeanour and attitude of behaviour in order to engage my partner in a more interesting
conversation. Even though I was not fully able to achieve what I wanted, I understood that psychological conditions also work differently under different parameters
of stress.

How I manage my emotions
Most of the times when I am happy, I do not actively try to manage the emotion, simply because happiness is an emotion that puts me in my most stable
being. I also try to find attachment in objects that would provide me with happiness (Rockett & Carr, 2014) In case of anger however, I actively attempt to evaluate
the situation in order to find a justifiable reason behind my anger. Once I successfully evaluate the reason, it becomes easy for me to cope with my intents. However,
that doesn’t help much when the trigger is too intense. I realised that I need to work on my evaluation and patience in order to achieve a civic conduct in extreme
cases of anger as well.
There have been times where in desperation or out of anger, I wanted to exercise violence or instances of demonstration of hostility on people that are close to
me. My sister for instance, almost became a victim of my verbal abuse. In that moment, I was able to evaluate her situation better. I realised that she is a child and
would not understand the values of attachment with a particular object. I was able to draw a correlation between this understanding of mine and the feeling of the
neighbour’s child when a couple of weeks after their cat had broken an expensive cutlery in our house, it died in roadkill. Grief as an emotion often shadows anger
and rage, however depending on the strength of the attachment can also be vice versa. In my case, my attachment with an inanimate object invoked anger in me
whereas in the case of the neighbour’s child, it invoked grief. I understood that attachment that the child shared with the cat and realised that inanimate objects are
easier to replace than animals or humans. That is why different emotions work differently in these scenarios.

References
Bernstein, M. H. (2015). The moral equality of humans and animals. Springer.
Demir, M., Özen, A., & Procsal, A. D. (2014). Friendship and happiness. Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research, 2359-2364.
Gilbert, P. (2011). Shame in psychotherapy and the role of compassion focused therapy.
Gimpelson, V., & Monusova, G. (2014). Perception of inequality and social mobility. Higher School of Economics Research Paper No. WP BRP, 84.
Hagan, J., Shedd, C., & Payne, M. R. (2005). Race, ethnicity, and youth perceptions of criminal injustice. American sociological review, 70(3), 381-407.
Harviainen, J. T., Brown, A. M., & Suominen, J. (2018). Three waves of awkwardness: A meta-analysis of sex in game studies. Games and Culture, 13(6), 605-623.
Haybron, D. M. (2013). Happiness: A very short introduction(Vol. 360). Oxford University Press.
Held, P., & Owens, G. P. (2015). Effects of self‐compassion workbook training on trauma‐related guilt in a sample of homeless veterans: A pilot study. Journal of
clinical psychology, 71(6), 513-526.
Krajewska-Kułak, E., Kułak, W., Stelcer, B., Jasiński, M., Kowalczuk, K., Łukaszuk, C., ... & Lewko, J. (2016). The perception of violence in children’s
drawings. Progress in Health Sciences, 6(1), 78-85.
Lawton, T. A. (2014). U.S. Patent No. 8,798,453. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Long, E. C., & Christian, M. S. (2015). Mindfulness buffers retaliatory responses to injustice: A regulatory approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(5), 1409.
Martens, P., Enders-Slegers, M. J., & Walker, J. K. (2016). The emotional lives of companion animals: Attachment and subjective claims by owners of cats and
dogs. Anthrozoös, 29(1), 73-88.

Petty, R. E., & Wegener, D. T. (2014). Thought systems, argument quality, and persuasion. In The content, structure, and operation of thought systems (pp. 155-
170). Psychology Press.
Roberts, W., Strayer, J., & Denham, S. (2014). Empathy, anger, guilt: Emotions and prosocial behaviour. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue
canadienne des sciences du comportement, 46(4), 465.
Rockett, B., & Carr, S. (2014). Animals and attachment theory. Society & Animals, 22(4), 415-433.
Wood, A. M., Maltby, J., Stewart, N., & Joseph, S. (2008). Conceptualizing gratitude and appreciation as a unitary personality trait. Personality and individual
differences, 44(3), 621-632.