Arousal Is Central to Emotion and Conflict
Although affect is the most fundamental component defining emotion, changes in arousal levels, which are manifest in physiological reactions such as increased heart rate, blushing, and relaxed muscles, are also important.
Russell (2003) used the term core affect to describe the feeling that emerges based on both valence and the degree of arousal experienced. Scholars (e.g., Daly, Lancee, & Polivy, 1983; Russell, 1980) have also categorized emotions based on their affective valence (e.g., pleasant vs. unpleasant), their level of arousal change or activity (e.g., low arousal vs. high arousal or passive vs. active), and their intensity level (e.g., strong vs. weak). Emotions such as anger and fear are classified as unpleasant and active, sadness is classified as unpleasant and passive, joy is classified as pleasant and active, and contentment is classified as pleasant and passive. Within each category, emotions vary in terms of intensity.For instance, depression is more intense than sadness, rage is more intense than annoyance, and elation is more intense than happiness.
Conflict provides a context that often intensifies negative emotion, thereby making cooperation more difficult. According to Gottman (1994), when conflict contains especially high levels of negative affect and emotional intensity, people are likely to become so overwhelmed with emotion that they cannot react constructively. Instead, they either lash out at their partner or become defensive and withdraw as a way to cope with the high level of arousal they are experiencing. As shown in Figure 4.1, Gottman labeled this process emotional flooding. When partners are frequently flooded with negative emotion during conflict episodes, they are likely to be lonely and distant from each other, in addition to being more likely to divorce (Gottman, 1994).