Michel Aubé Université de Sherbrooke The Commitment Theory of Emotions Tentative applications to...

Michel AubéMichel AubéUniversité de SherbrookeUniversité de Sherbrooke

The CommitmentThe CommitmentTheory of EmotionsTheory of EmotionsThe CommitmentThe CommitmentTheory of EmotionsTheory of Emotions

Tentative applicationsTentative applicationsto the diagnosis to the diagnosis and treatment and treatment of affective disordersof affective disorders

Tentative applicationsTentative applicationsto the diagnosis to the diagnosis and treatment and treatment of affective disordersof affective disorders

A sample storyA sample storyabout my uncle’sabout my uncle’sGRIEFGRIEF and and GUILTGUILT

…….…….

The words that came to my mind that day

were directly inspired by my modeland by the way

I envision emotions through it

A sample storyA sample storyabout my uncle’sabout my uncle’sGRIEFGRIEF and and GUILTGUILT

…….…….

The words that came to my mind that day

were directly inspired by my modeland by the way

I envision emotions through it

When I started working on emotions,I soon realized, as so many theorists before,

that emotions and needs were related,that they actually shared a common structure

 I also realized that they both were kind of

motivations,actually they were motivational structures

and they belonged to MOTIVATION as the larger set

Motivational systems havea prototypical control circuitry

1986

When you look closer into whatactually gets compared

between actual and desired states

you essentially find resources :nutriments, water, rest, shelter,

etc.

Motivation is essentially about RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

(acquisition, maintenance, protection, replenishment)

Question

If emotions do constitutea motivational system,

and if such systems are thereto manage ressources, thenwhat kind of resources

do emotions manage?

A little hint from Herbert Simon :

In human behavior, situations involving interactions with other human beings are characteristically more heavily laden with emotions than any other situations.

(H. Simon, 1967: Motivational and emotional controls of cognition.Psychological Review, 74, p. 37).

The essentially interactive nature of emotions

a) The argument from neurosciences

b) The argument from the antecedents

c) The argument from expression

d) The argument from psychopathy

e) … and the opinion of (a lot of) researchers

Question

If emotions are interactive,could the resourcesbe other agents…

even if they are unreliable?

Actually, things are more subtle:the resource is not the agentsbut their predisposition to be

helpful

The baby’s distress cry is not addressed

to the caregiver herselfbut to the attachment structure

that relates her to the baby

I tried to find a conceptcapturing this predisposition

and I found one that had appearedat about the same time

between the mid-fifties and the mid-sixties

in three domains of the social sciences,

three domains actually ignoring each other :

THE CONCEPT OF COMMITMENT

Genealogy of the Commitment concept

1957

1962

1960

Points of convergence between the domains at the root of the concept

Each domain: • reflects upon the enactment of intentions

• sees commitments as a coordination device

• stresses the cost in terms of resources involved

• stresses the motivational character of commitments

• sees commitments as dynamic processes

So I adopted the concept and gave it my personal color :

I envisioned commitments as 2nd-order resources,

resources that one can’t get directly but only

through an agent disposed to offer them 

The processes that manage these resources

are the emotions :

EMOTIONS ARECOMMITMENTS HANDLERS

Basic structure of commitments

Going back to myGoing back to mya sample story …a sample story …

Commitments are all overCommitments are all overat the very core of at the very core of

emotions!emotions!

How use this to help How use this to help relieverelieve

those suffering fromthose suffering fromattachment wounds?attachment wounds?

Going back to myGoing back to mya sample story …a sample story …

Commitments are all overCommitments are all overat the very core of at the very core of

emotions!emotions!

How use this to help How use this to help relieverelieve

those suffering fromthose suffering fromattachment wounds?attachment wounds?

One interest of the modelfor this Workshop’s theme

is that it pinpointsvarious locus of intervention

for the therapist involvedin treating affective

disorders

One interest of the modelfor this Workshop’s theme

is that it pinpointsvarious locus of intervention

for the therapist involvedin treating affective

disorders

Locus of action forEmotionally Focused Therapy

Locus of action forEmotionally Focused Therapy

Locus of action forCognitive Behavioral Therapy

Locus of action forCognitive Behavioral Therapy

Michel AubéMichel AubéUniversité de SherbrookeUniversité de Sherbrooke

The CommitmentThe CommitmentTheory of EmotionsTheory of EmotionsThe CommitmentThe CommitmentTheory of EmotionsTheory of Emotions

Tentative applicationsTentative applicationsto the diagnosis to the diagnosis and treatment and treatment of affective disordersof affective disorders

Tentative applicationsTentative applicationsto the diagnosis to the diagnosis and treatment and treatment of affective disordersof affective disorders