What do you think and feel about the emotions in Inside Out 2? Let’s unpack the science and how you can use the film to keep developing emotional intelligence skills for you, your faculty and students.
Emotion Science with Inside Out 2 – EQ Education News
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source: Photos from Disney/PixarWith this film series, Disney/Pixar have done more than anyone else to lift emotions and emotional literacy into the mainstream. Their storytelling talent and artistry brings the ideas of emotion to life. Their work is such a gift for everyone in the emotional intelligence universe! How can we use it?
Don’t miss the new free eBook on emotional intelligence lessons from the movie.
What’s in this edition:
🔴 Thinking About: Big Lessons from Inside Out 2
🟡 Research says: Emotional Granularity for Wellbeing
🟢 Try it Yourself: 10 Inside Out 2 Conversations Starters with your child
🔵 Mark your calendar: Events for educators – will you join us?
Photos from Disney/Pixar
🔴 Thinking About: Big Lessons from Inside Out 2
I can’t seem to get enough Inside Out 2 content these days! I hope that you’ve seen the thoughtful and engaging posts on Josh Freedman’s LinkedIn and our Instagram feeds. We plan to create an ebook with all the posts so you can have a printable format. Sign up here to get the ebook (released Aug 1). Because I’m such a fan, I recently attended a discussion on the creation of Inside Out 2 with GGSC Faculty Director and emotions expert Dr. Dacher Keltner, Dr. Lisa Damour who focuses on adolescent girls and perfectionism, and Inside Out 2 Film editor Melissa Horwitz. Dr Keltner and Dr Damour were consultants on the film and shared some insights into the intersection of psychology and cinema. I thought I’d share some highlights from their conversation.
What is important about the Inside Out film series?
These films are an opportunity to visualize emotions, to teach people about how they influence our thoughts, behaviors and have an impact on our lives. These films have become so widely seen they are the biggest promoters of emotional literacy, giving everyone a shared vocabulary, a cast of characters to help people better understand emotions.
This second film centers on Anxiety especially and allows us to have very important conversations about mental health for young people which has become such an issue.
What are some lessons for parents?
Dr Lisa sees many families in her practice that are so worried about their kids being unhappy and doing the wrong things as parents. She loves the movies because it normalizes the disruption and discomfort of adolescence. She wants families to know that nothing is wrong or broken with your family, because big emotions are normal during adolescence. In Riley’s mind, “Family Island” has faded into the background and “Friendship Island” is flashy and huge. Parents recognize that they are much less appealing now. That doesn’t mean anything is wrong but this can feel isolating and scary to parents. InsideOut2 supports both adults and kids to navigate the emotions of adolescence.
The images to the right are from Six Seconds’ social media feeds — and our new free eBook on emotional intelligence lessons from the movie.
Fun InsideOut facts-
Did you know there was a shape language for each emotion? For example:
Joy- star shaped to reflect her excitable personality
Fear- nerve (neuron) shape
Sadness- teardrop shape
Embarrassment– wants to be invisible but is the biggest looming over the others
Did you notice who’s in the command position in the Mom and Dad character’s control room?
In Mom’s it is Sadness at the command and in Dad’s it’s Anger. Dr. Dachner explained there is research to support some patterns of “prevalence” for certain emotions by gender.
What is the big takeaway from the film?
Uncomfortable emotions are a normal part of adolescence (and life). Emotions are essential, natural and valuable.
One of the most important skills we need to develop with our emotions is to “right size” them. Are we letting this emotion (Anxiety) take up too much space for this situation? Can we reassure and get Anxiety to sit down and drink tea until we need her?
What wisdom does each emotion have for us? When we get more skilled with our emotions we can use them to help us reach our goals.
🟡 Research says: Emotional Granularity for Wellbeing
A study published in Frontiers in Psychology (2022) examined the connection between emotional granularity and well-being. Emotional granularity “is the level of specificity that characterizes verbal representations of an affective experience.” People using emotional granularity have more nuanced interpretations and vocabulary about emotional experiences.
Researchers report that people with low emotional granularity use words like “angry,” “afraid,” and “sad” interchangeably, not distinguishing between discrete emotion terms. But people with higher emotional granularity report their emotional experience in more precise, differentiated terms, using discrete emotion labels that capture the distinctiveness in these words. Here’s a link to Six Seconds top resources on emotions.
The findings show that individuals who are higher in positive emotional granularity report being better at coping with stressful experiences. This skill may also have benefits for social relationships; “Aptitude in emotional granularity may translate to one having a more accurate understanding of the emotional states of others, and facilitate interpersonal communication.”
To conclude, researchers recommend “programs that promote emotional intelligence and social emotional learning.. [with] a focus on emotion labeling and differentiation.”
What does this mean for our classrooms? Teaching emotional literacy is linked to improved academic performance and social behavior but now we can expand the learning. Let’s get beyond the emotional ABCs of just knowing and naming emotions and create a more nuanced understanding of them. Bringing it back to Inside Out 2 content– In the movie they introduce a new character Anxiety which is different from Fear. That is emotional granularity– understanding that those different emotions have unique wisdom for us. In a classroom setting we can develop emotional granularity by using emotions in all aspects of student learning. Let’s expand and integrate emotional literacy into art, history, music, writing and other forms of expression. Let’s support the development of emotional granularity for all children.
🟢 Try it Yourself: 10 InsideOut2 Conversations Starters with Your Child
We’re superfans of the new Disney/Pixar movie Inside Out 2 and are delighted that there is another film to capture your child’s interest in emotions. To help you have deeper understanding and connection with your child or students, here’s a list of 10 Conversation Starters you can try.
10 Inside Out 2 Conversations Starters With kids:
- What moments of the movie felt real for you?
- There were lots of emotion characters in this movie. What are some emotions that were new to you?
- Joy is the lead emotion for Riley most of the time. Which one is at the control panel for you?
- What were some moments that made you uncomfortable?
- What was one of your favorite emotions? What was good about them?
- Riley makes bad decisions a couple times. What pushes her towards problematic decisions? What gets her back on track?
- Think about the meltdown that Riley had during the game. What did you notice?
- What are some things that Riley does in her meltdown to help herself? How do you deal with a meltdown?
- In the movie the emotions work as a team to help Riley. How do your emotions help you sometimes?
- The creators of this movie wanted people to have more experience with uncomfortable emotions. It’s normal to have big feelings. What is something you appreciate about your emotions?
🔵 MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Events for educators – will you join us?
Free online events EQ Café “Unwinding Anxiety” about shifting from reaction to response – multiple dates
Emotional intelligence mini-workshops online – multiple dates
SEL for Educator Wellbeing certificate program in partnership with Antioch University, online – multiple dates
SEL Leadership Institute in partnership with Teachers College, Columbia University, in-person – July 29 – 30, 2024 in New York, NY
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