AP Psychology Flashcards: Emotion
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 11 cards to help you master important concepts.
What is the key difference in focus between positive and negative emotions according to the broaden-and-build theory?
Positive emotions broaden awareness and encourage exploration, while negative emotions narrow awareness to focus on immediate problems or threats.
Card 1 of 11
All Flashcards (11)
What is the key difference in focus between positive and negative emotions according to the broaden-and-build theory?
Positive emotions broaden awareness and encourage exploration, while negative emotions narrow awareness to focus on immediate problems or threats.
What are "elicitors" of emotional expression?
Elicitors are the stimuli or events that trigger an emotional response. What serves as an elicitor can vary significantly based on culture, gender, and age.
How do theories of emotion apply to behavior and mental processes?
Theories of emotion provide frameworks for explaining how our feelings are connected to, and subsequently influence, our actions and thought patterns.
What are emotional "display rules"?
Display rules are social norms that dictate when, where, and how it is considered appropriate to express emotions, and they can differ among cultures, genders, and ages.
A person feels angry after being cut off in traffic but forces a smile when they see the other driver is their boss. What concept does this demonstrate?
This demonstrates the use of display rules, where the individual modifies their expression of anger to conform to social expectations related to workplace hierarchy.
Define the broaden-and-build theory.
This theory proposes that positive emotions broaden a person's awareness and encourage novel thoughts and actions, while negative emotions narrow awareness.
Besides culture, what other factors can cause display rules for emotion to differ?
In addition to culture, display rules for emotional expression can also differ based on factors such as gender and age.
How do social norms and experiences influence emotional expression?
Social norms and past experiences shape an individual's display rules, determining which emotions are shown and how intensely they are expressed in various situations.
What does research suggest about the universality of emotional expressions?
Research has found that some emotional expressions, such as those for anger, fear, and happiness, show commonality and are recognizable across different cultures.
What was the central debate in early theories of emotion?
Early theories of emotion debated whether the physiological experience of an emotion occurred before, after, or simultaneously with the cognitive experience.
According to the broaden-and-build theory, how would feeling fear while lost in a forest affect your mental processes?
The negative emotion of fear would narrow your awareness, causing you to focus intently on immediate threats or a path to safety, rather than the broader scenery.