0:00:05.440,0:00:06.669
What if I said to you

0:00:07.058,0:00:11.320
that the violent criminals[br]and sex offenders inside Taipei Prison

0:00:11.792,0:00:13.927
are much better[br]at controlling their emotions

0:00:13.927,0:00:16.428
than our university students?

0:00:17.036,0:00:18.421
Would you believe me?

0:00:20.170,0:00:21.824
Since I do psychological research,

0:00:21.824,0:00:24.712
I often have the opportunity[br]to go to different places

0:00:24.712,0:00:26.957
and get to know[br]different kinds of people.

0:00:26.957,0:00:28.399
Over the past few years,

0:00:28.399,0:00:30.901
in addition to working[br]with university students,

0:00:31.363,0:00:34.474
I've also visited Taipei Prison often.

0:00:36.364,0:00:41.151
What I just mentioned[br]is the result of our latest study.

0:00:41.294,0:00:42.705
When we started,

0:00:42.705,0:00:44.307
we were a little surprised too.

0:00:44.831,0:00:47.506
Emotion. What is it exactly?

0:00:47.506,0:00:48.907
Is it good or bad?

0:00:49.369,0:00:51.207
Do you want to have them?

0:00:51.900,0:00:54.549
I started working part time[br]when I was in high school.

0:00:54.549,0:00:55.795
I was told very early on,

0:00:55.795,0:00:59.795
"When you come to work,[br]leave your emotions at the door."

0:01:00.370,0:01:03.795
Then I learned what people meant[br]by the word "professional."

0:01:03.795,0:01:06.885
A very important part of it[br]is to not have emotions.

0:01:07.258,0:01:10.023
Not to get angry when you [br]encounter someone unreasonable.

0:01:10.023,0:01:12.633
Not to cry when you feel sad.

0:01:13.061,0:01:14.779
That's in the workplace.

0:01:14.779,0:01:17.643
At home, if you have a [br]disagreement with your family,

0:01:17.646,0:01:22.108
they might say to you,[br]"Don't be so emotional."

0:01:22.627,0:01:26.446
Emotions: when you have them, it's like[br]you've become a second-class citizen.

0:01:26.446,0:01:29.176
What you say is reasonable but useless.

0:01:30.471,0:01:31.966
Now you might say,

0:01:31.966,0:01:35.472
"That's just your generation.[br]Kids today are different.

0:01:35.472,0:01:40.250
They have a well-rounded[br]training from a young age."

0:01:40.610,0:01:41.765
Is that so?

0:01:42.014,0:01:44.513
Early this year,[br]we started a research project

0:01:44.814,0:01:48.423
to get elementary students to identify[br]their emotions and develop their EQ.

0:01:48.744,0:01:50.607
In class we asked the children,

0:01:50.936,0:01:52.656
"What is anger?

0:01:52.936,0:01:55.341
Do you remember[br]the last time you were angry?"

0:01:55.603,0:01:57.082
The children replied,

0:01:57.082,0:01:58.493
"I don't know.

0:01:58.512,0:02:01.400
I don't. Mom and Dad [br]say I shouldn't get angry.

0:02:01.723,0:02:04.121
Our teacher says it's bad to get angry."

0:02:04.486,0:02:09.429
As we can see, nobody[br]seems to like having emotions.

0:02:09.934,0:02:13.668
Why hasn't evolution[br]just gotten rid of them?

0:02:13.945,0:02:16.197
How have they managed[br]to survive until today?

0:02:16.557,0:02:17.903
There are many reasons.

0:02:18.015,0:02:20.284
An important one is[br]that they can save lives.

0:02:20.414,0:02:23.553
Maybe not as many lives [br]as the previous speakers have,

0:02:23.553,0:02:25.235
but they can still save lives.

0:02:25.240,0:02:26.240
(Laughter)

0:02:26.240,0:02:27.660
I once had a patient

0:02:27.660,0:02:30.214
who was a successful[br]career woman on Wall Street.

0:02:30.758,0:02:33.972
She first came to me hoping[br]to get to know herself better

0:02:33.978,0:02:37.933
so she could develop her leadership skills[br]and become a better leader.

0:02:38.313,0:02:43.255
She shared with me that when working[br]in a male-dominated environment,

0:02:43.255,0:02:47.185
you can't reveal your [br]weaknesses and frailties.

0:02:47.203,0:02:50.998
After a long time working like this,[br]you learn to suppress your emotions.

0:02:51.400,0:02:54.682
During the time I counseled her, [br]she started having marital problems.

0:02:54.682,0:02:57.536
Her relationship with her [br]husband became unstable.

0:02:58.119,0:03:00.276
One time during a fight,

0:03:00.284,0:03:03.067
he picked up a glass from the table[br]and flung it at her.

0:03:03.067,0:03:04.720
She quickly got out of the way.

0:03:04.720,0:03:05.928
The glass hit the wall,

0:03:05.928,0:03:07.969
and there were[br]shards of glass everywhere.

0:03:08.576,0:03:10.299
Afterwards, I asked her a question

0:03:10.299,0:03:13.729
that all psychologists [br]eventually ask their patients:

0:03:14.949,0:03:16.507
"How did you feel?"

0:03:16.793,0:03:18.172
"How did you feel?"

0:03:18.692,0:03:22.587
She said, "I felt angry.[br]How can he treat me like this?"

0:03:22.620,0:03:24.145
I said, "What else?"

0:03:24.165,0:03:27.175
She said "I felt hopeless.

0:03:27.176,0:03:30.805
When I first married him,[br]he wasn't like this."

0:03:31.866,0:03:34.145
Are there any emotions

0:03:34.145,0:03:36.425
that you think[br]you'd have in this situation,

0:03:36.425,0:03:38.695
that she hadn't mentioned?

0:03:39.745,0:03:40.853
Fear.

0:03:41.381,0:03:42.869
What happens when we're scared?

0:03:43.288,0:03:44.298
We flee.

0:03:44.670,0:03:47.083
What happens when we are angry?

0:03:47.809,0:03:49.445
We attack the other person.

0:03:49.445,0:03:51.716
If we can't correctly[br]identify our emotions,

0:03:51.716,0:03:53.988
instead of running away in fear,

0:03:53.988,0:03:56.922
we might think we're angry[br]and attack someone;

0:03:56.922,0:03:59.459
this can lead to[br]very serious consequences.

0:03:59.869,0:04:02.873
This woman had stifled

0:04:02.877,0:04:06.179
and ran away from her emotions[br]and insecurities for so long

0:04:06.179,0:04:08.542
that she had forgotten[br]what it is to feel fear.

0:04:08.996,0:04:10.419
Her situation was urgent,

0:04:10.429,0:04:12.541
and I couldn't teach her[br]in such a short time

0:04:12.541,0:04:14.513
how to experience fear again.

0:04:14.513,0:04:20.325
So I don't have the chance to reestablish[br]this kind of "circuit" in her brain.

0:04:20.692,0:04:23.886
This is a diagram of the brain,[br]the one you've just seen.

0:04:25.306,0:04:27.754
When we experience fear,

0:04:27.777,0:04:30.726
the information[br]from the body's five senses -

0:04:30.726,0:04:33.214
what we see, [br]what we hear and so on -

0:04:33.232,0:04:37.106
is passed from the thalamus

0:04:37.126,0:04:40.930
to the sensory cortex for processing.

0:04:41.418,0:04:44.090
The hippocampus,[br]which is in charge of memory,

0:04:44.090,0:04:48.691
will download the relevant[br]information from the situation

0:04:49.101,0:04:51.584
and send it to the amygdala[br]for comparison.

0:04:51.620,0:04:55.556
The amygdala stores[br]our previous experiences of fear.

0:04:55.836,0:04:58.781
It evaluates the level of danger[br]compared to past experiences

0:04:58.781,0:05:04.565
and then orders the hypothalamus[br]to make an appropriate response.

0:05:04.567,0:05:07.159
You can see that in this circuit,

0:05:07.159,0:05:11.716
past experiences and memories[br]play a very important role.

0:05:11.716,0:05:16.250
But we didn't have enough time[br]to reestablish it.

0:05:16.250,0:05:18.690
So we could only work[br]on awareness and recognition.

0:05:19.371,0:05:23.454
I told this woman,[br]"The next time this happens,

0:05:23.894,0:05:29.149
no matter how you feel,[br]you have to call 911 immediately."

0:05:29.497,0:05:32.125
We went over it repeatedly,

0:05:32.133,0:05:34.813
and in the end, there was a time[br]when they fought again.

0:05:34.834,0:05:37.744
This time, her husband grabbed a knife.

0:05:38.311,0:05:41.973
Afterwards, she told me [br]she was angry at the time,

0:05:41.973,0:05:44.691
she looked at him[br]and hesitated for a few seconds,

0:05:44.691,0:05:49.043
but because of what we practiced,[br]she eventually called 911.

0:05:49.074,0:05:52.158
Fortunately, the police[br]arrived within 7 minutes

0:05:52.158,0:05:54.712
and tragedy was avoided.

0:05:55.733,0:06:00.472
Emotions can direct our actions[br]and decide their consequences.

0:06:00.481,0:06:03.703
Correctly identifying emotions [br]can save your life.

0:06:04.337,0:06:06.414
Of course, this is a more extreme example.

0:06:06.414,0:06:08.540
On the less extreme side,

0:06:08.544,0:06:14.028
our research keeps telling us[br]that our physical and mental health,

0:06:14.056,0:06:17.346
our academic achievements[br]and job performance,

0:06:17.346,0:06:19.180
our leadership skills and creativity

0:06:19.187,0:06:21.654
are all intimately related[br]to our emotions.

0:06:21.682,0:06:24.130
But what exactly are emotions?

0:06:24.837,0:06:27.926
In fact, they're a kind of feeling,

0:06:27.926,0:06:30.681
our own subjective experience.

0:06:31.072,0:06:33.457
They can be influenced by many things.

0:06:33.482,0:06:35.537
Like our thoughts and opinions.

0:06:35.551,0:06:40.145
They can also lead to different actions,[br]like attacking someone.

0:06:40.173,0:06:43.047
"I'm so angry because[br]I think you tricked me!

0:06:43.047,0:06:44.696
So I'm going to hit you."

0:06:45.697,0:06:48.562
My thinking could be wrong[br]because I misunderstood you.

0:06:48.562,0:06:50.112
My behavior could also be wrong,

0:06:50.112,0:06:52.800
because I shouldn't hit people[br]when I'm angry.

0:06:52.800,0:06:55.386
But feelings themselves[br]aren't right or wrong,

0:06:55.387,0:06:58.974
correct or incorrect, good or bad.

0:06:59.587,0:07:02.371
In the United States,[br]you'll often hear people say,

0:07:02.372,0:07:05.461
"You shouldn't feel that way."

0:07:05.706,0:07:07.425
I hate it when people say that.

0:07:07.425,0:07:10.558
It's like if I said to you, "I'm so cold!"

0:07:10.558,0:07:13.206
And you replied, "Then stop feeling cold!"

0:07:13.206,0:07:14.387
(Laughter)

0:07:15.242,0:07:18.871
This is your own subjective experience.

0:07:18.871,0:07:21.511
Nobody has the right to tell you

0:07:21.511,0:07:25.058
that what you're experiencing[br]is right or wrong, good or bad.

0:07:25.517,0:07:26.977
At this point you might ask,

0:07:26.985,0:07:29.125
"Are you saying[br]that the criminals in prison

0:07:29.532,0:07:32.824
got there just because of[br]emotional problems?"

0:07:32.856,0:07:37.286
I remember when I was in [br]Taipei Prison evaluating them,

0:07:37.309,0:07:40.371
I asked them the same kind of question:

0:07:40.389,0:07:43.494
"How did you feel when you did this?"

0:07:43.841,0:07:48.098
They immediately responded,[br]"I know. Pissed off!"

0:07:49.378,0:07:53.414
Then I asked, "So what could you do[br]to feel a little better?"

0:07:53.855,0:07:55.680
They said, "I know!" right away.

0:07:55.680,0:07:57.753
"I felt much better [br]after beating them up."

0:07:57.753,0:07:59.111
(Laughter)

0:07:59.112,0:08:02.721
On the other hand, when I ask[br]college students, "How do you feel?"

0:08:03.035,0:08:05.048
They say, "I don't know."

0:08:05.048,0:08:06.232
(Laughter)

0:08:06.252,0:08:08.567
"Then, what could you do to feel better?"

0:08:08.575,0:08:09.950
"I don't know ..."

0:08:09.950,0:08:11.269
(Laughter)

0:08:11.809,0:08:12.967
So it would appear

0:08:12.967,0:08:17.977
that the prison inmates are much better[br]at identifying and regulating emotions

0:08:17.977,0:08:20.728
than college students.

0:08:21.427,0:08:25.137
The problem is how you[br]express your emotions.

0:08:25.140,0:08:27.407
All feelings are okay.

0:08:27.872,0:08:30.864
But even though it's okay to get angry,[br]I shouldn't hit people.

0:08:30.864,0:08:34.348
We taught elementary students[br]about EQ, emotional quotient.

0:08:34.368,0:08:36.556
How to correctly identify your emotions,

0:08:36.556,0:08:39.920
and the correct way of expressing them.

0:08:40.633,0:08:43.190
All feelings are okay.

0:08:43.200,0:08:47.494
That doesn't mean all perceptions are true[br]or that all behaviors are acceptable,

0:08:47.516,0:08:49.235
but all feelings are okay.

0:08:49.579,0:08:52.912
Even though all feelings[br]are subjective experiences,

0:08:52.939,0:08:56.272
there are a few fundamental emotions

0:08:56.309,0:08:59.545
that every person will frequently have.

0:08:59.569,0:09:00.905
This goes across cultures.

0:09:00.905,0:09:02.656
Today, if you met someone

0:09:02.681,0:09:06.874
with a completely different [br]background, culture, or language,

0:09:06.874,0:09:10.272
you'd still be able to correctly identify[br]the six fundamental emotions

0:09:10.272,0:09:14.037
through their facial expressions.

0:09:14.242,0:09:18.354
Other emotions can be hard to distinguish [br]because of cultural differences,

0:09:18.429,0:09:23.049
but everyone will frequently have [br]these fundamental emotions.

0:09:23.532,0:09:25.640
Every time I talk about this in Chinese,

0:09:25.641,0:09:29.851
I'll hear people whisper the phrase[br]"Happiness, anger, sorrow, joy."

0:09:29.851,0:09:30.905
(Laughter)

0:09:30.905,0:09:32.722
Happiness and joy are the same thing!

0:09:33.706,0:09:37.478
So since we speak Chinese,[br]we can guess those three.

0:09:37.478,0:09:39.048
What about the other three?

0:09:40.060,0:09:42.880
Surprise. Fear. Disgust.

0:09:43.371,0:09:46.905
Everyone regularly[br]experiences these emotions.

0:09:46.905,0:09:51.518
But the intensity and outward[br]expression of these emotions

0:09:51.518,0:09:55.116
will vary from person to person,[br]and also depending on the situation.

0:09:55.511,0:09:59.291
I once had a colleague[br]who was a developmental psychologist.

0:09:59.326,0:10:01.800
He was also a very typical American.

0:10:01.800,0:10:05.400
He once asked me,[br]"Hey, how often do you cry?"

0:10:05.738,0:10:09.659
I said, "One or two times a year.

0:10:09.659,0:10:10.881
Maybe three."

0:10:11.175,0:10:13.989
He said, "Ah! That's so unhealthy!"

0:10:13.989,0:10:15.406
(Laughter)

0:10:15.731,0:10:17.655
Obviously you don't think so, right?

0:10:17.679,0:10:21.391
I said, "So how many times[br]do you cry in a year?"

0:10:21.412,0:10:24.851
He said, "Three times I cry a little,[br]and five times I cry a lot."

0:10:24.851,0:10:25.961
(Laughter)

0:10:26.005,0:10:27.923
Is that healthier?

0:10:27.923,0:10:32.882
Everyone gets sad, but that's not to say[br]that whenever someone feels sad,

0:10:32.901,0:10:35.116
they necessarily will cry.

0:10:35.455,0:10:38.653
The intensity and outward [br]expression can differ.

0:10:39.232,0:10:42.832
I just said, everyone has [br]these emotions regularly.

0:10:43.056,0:10:44.883
Looking at these six emotions,

0:10:44.892,0:10:47.862
can you tell me, or rather tell yourself,

0:10:47.869,0:10:50.610
when was the last time you had them?

0:10:51.337,0:10:53.663
If you say, "I don't remember,"

0:10:53.699,0:10:56.315
or you haven't felt them [br]for a few months or a year,

0:10:56.315,0:10:58.541
that doesn't mean you haven't had them;

0:10:58.580,0:11:01.810
rather, it means you haven't noticed them.

0:11:01.810,0:11:03.196
You ignored them,

0:11:03.196,0:11:06.248
or perhaps you suppressed them[br]or distracted yourself from them.

0:11:06.248,0:11:09.653
If we look once more[br]at the six fundamental emotions,

0:11:09.690,0:11:14.302
only one of them is positive: happiness.

0:11:14.311,0:11:16.168
Surprise can be good or bad.

0:11:16.307,0:11:19.039
The other four are all negative.

0:11:19.521,0:11:22.028
Nobody likes negative emotions.

0:11:22.336,0:11:23.759
They feel bad.

0:11:24.015,0:11:28.217
But they still have[br]a reason for existence.

0:11:28.263,0:11:30.893
They can warn you and let you know

0:11:30.893,0:11:34.279
that if you don't make some changes,[br]there could be danger.

0:11:35.790,0:11:37.567
It's just like pain.

0:11:37.567,0:11:38.966
Nobody likes pain.

0:11:38.966,0:11:41.921
But if I accidentally put my hand[br]on top of a hot stove

0:11:41.933,0:11:45.183
and I didn't feel pain,[br]I wouldn't know to withdraw my hand.

0:11:45.521,0:11:50.414
Recently, there has been a worrying trend [br]in developed countries:

0:11:50.414,0:11:54.981
people are trying very hard [br]to avoid having negative emotions.

0:11:55.546,0:11:58.765
Recently when I was in the United States,[br]I went into a drugstore.

0:11:59.140,0:12:01.766
Their drugstores are a bit like [br]Watsons here in Taiwan.

0:12:01.766,0:12:05.272
They don't just sell medicine there, [br]but also many daily necessities.

0:12:05.272,0:12:08.506
I couldn't help but take [br]this picture when I was there.

0:12:09.046,0:12:11.181
(Laughter)

0:12:11.896,0:12:16.751
There was an entire wall [br]just selling pain killers, pain relief.

0:12:16.751,0:12:21.587
What we call OTC, over the counter drugs,[br]which are very easy to obtain.

0:12:22.453,0:12:27.075
If you look at sales data for OTC drugs,[br]you'll see that for the past few years,

0:12:27.075,0:12:30.715
pain killers are always number one.

0:12:31.311,0:12:34.348
The question is, Now what?

0:12:34.886,0:12:38.279
After you've taken pain killers,[br]will the problem just go away?

0:12:38.829,0:12:43.012
Maybe, but there's also a chance[br]that the problem will get worse.

0:12:43.810,0:12:46.749
It's the same as the feeling of pain.

0:12:47.077,0:12:50.269
I used to work as an EMT.

0:12:50.269,0:12:55.145
That is, working in an ambulance as[br]an emergency medical technician.

0:12:55.752,0:12:57.678
When we got to the site[br]of the emergency,

0:12:57.678,0:13:00.735
no matter how much pain [br]someone was experiencing,

0:13:00.735,0:13:04.456
we couldn't give them [br]any painkillers or anesthetics.

0:13:04.456,0:13:07.554
If we did that, then they[br]wouldn't feel pain anymore,

0:13:07.560,0:13:09.313
and we might make an error.

0:13:09.327,0:13:12.404
We might delay giving first aid[br]or make a misdiagnosis.

0:13:12.703,0:13:15.151
Negative emotions are the same way.

0:13:15.476,0:13:19.290
If you try to escape from them[br]by ignoring or suppressing them,

0:13:19.426,0:13:21.166
the problem won't just go away.

0:13:21.166,0:13:23.829
It might fester[br]until it becomes more serious.

0:13:23.872,0:13:25.634
Recently in the news,

0:13:25.634,0:13:29.103
you hear about people[br]who explode without warning

0:13:29.103,0:13:31.216
and commit some unspeakable action.

0:13:31.326,0:13:33.458
One reason for this could be

0:13:33.458,0:13:37.743
that they've suppressed warnings[br]from their emotions.

0:13:39.056,0:13:43.326
In fact, negative emotions[br]are very important.

0:13:44.194,0:13:48.371
It's here to stay[br]and isn't going to be phased out.

0:13:48.378,0:13:49.998
Since we don't have a choice,

0:13:50.020,0:13:53.503
can we try to look at them[br]from a different perspective?

0:13:53.503,0:13:55.241
They're actually not that scary.

0:13:55.958,0:13:58.481
There are times[br]when they can be very intense,

0:13:58.481,0:14:00.454
but they don't last forever.

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I once had a patient tell me,[br]"I'm trying really hard not to cry!"

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I asked, "Why?"

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He said, "I'm afraid if I cry,[br]I won't be able to stop."

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I said to him, "Don't worry.

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That's impossible."

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(Laughter)

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Have you ever known or heard of someone

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who started crying and never stopped?

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Emotions don't last forever.

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That's the nature of emotions.

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So while happiness won't last forever,[br]neither will sadness.

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Emotions make the finer things in life[br]more clear and distinct.

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For example, someone[br]who has never experienced loss

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will have a limited understanding[br]of what it means to have something.

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We innately have so many[br]different kinds of emotions,

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just like the colors[br]on an artist's palette.

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If we use a little more color

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and attentively experience each emotion,

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maybe, just maybe,

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we can create a more colorful,[br]elegant, and enriching life.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)