21 - Emotion and Mental Health

Question 1

What is mental health?

Answer 1

A sense of well-being

• A subjective, emotional state
• Positive

The absence of abnormality

Question 2

How do emotions differ from moods?

Answer 2

Emotions –> reactive and short-lived

Moods –> diffuse and persistent

Question 3

What was Ekman and Friesen’s study on emotion?

Answer 3

Basic emotional states

Happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust –> these are biologically programmed, distinctive facial expression

Others are a blend of these

Question 4

What was Hohman’s study on emotion?

Answer 4

Physiological arousal and emotional intensity

Interviewed patients with spinal injuries and recorded changes in fear, anger, sexual excitement, grief

Recorded decreases in fear, anger, sexual excitement

Disruption of the autonomic nervous system and its afferent return causes notable changes in experienced emotional feelings. The more extensive the disruption, the greater the decrease in some emotional feelings.

Higher spinal lesion = less peripheral feedback = less sensory information given

Question 5

How did Ekman study the physiological differentiation of emotions?

Answer 5

Using volunteers and actors, made them imagine or relive situations

Evoked anger, fear, sadness, disgust

Recorded heart rate, skin temp etc

Question 6

What was the outcome of Ekman’s study on the physiological differentiation of emotions?

Answer 6

Only anger associated with change in skin temp

Sadness, happiness and fear associated with increased heart rate

Heart rate low with happy, disgust and surprise

Idea that specific physiological events change with emotion

Question 7

What are the 2 broad theories of emotion?

Answer 7

• Pattern theory

- Cognitive theory

Question 8

Who came up with the pattern theory?

Answer 8

James-Lange

Question 9

What is the pattern theory?

Answer 9

Encounter –> specific physiological arousal and overt behaviours –> experience of emotion

Question 10

Who came up with the cognitive theory?

Answer 10

Schachter and Singer

Question 11

What is the cognitive theory?

Answer 11

Encounter –> general physiological arousal –> cognitive appraisal of arousal –> experience of emotion

Question 12

How did Schachter and Singer conduct their experiment?

Answer 12

3 stage experiment

1. Injection of adrenaline/saline
2. Information (correct, incorrect, none)
3. Waiting room with accomplice of experimenter (increasingly emotional behaviour e.g. anger or happiness)

Who experiences greatest change in mood?

Question 13

What was Schachter’s interpretation?

Answer 13

People need to make sense, need evaluate and appraise their emotion

Question 14

What were the results of Schachter and Singer’s experiment?

Answer 14

With explanation:
Peripheral physiological arousal –> label the emotion –> experience emotion, behave accordingly

Without explanation:
Peripheral physiological arousal –> Evaluative needs –> search environment for label and explanation –> label the emotion –> experience emotion, behave accordingly

Question 15

What are appraisal theories?

Answer 15

Emotions mostly appraised responses to events
certain appraisals associated with specific emotions

Encounter + appraisal of encounter –> experience of emotion

Certain appraisals are associated with specific emotions

Predictable how you will feel (e.g. good/bad exam results)

eg. desirable + occurs = happiness

undesirable + occurs = distress

Question 16

How does gender/culture etc influence emotion?

Answer 16

Self-regulation and display rules

e.g. men typically not meant to show emotion

Question 17

How can we detect each other’s internal states?

Answer 17

• Facial expression (key)
• Tone of voice
• Body language
• Emotion expression and regonition

Question 18

What is the theory of mind?

Answer 18

Theory of mind refers to the ability to understand the desires, intentions and beliefs of others, and is a skill that develops between 3 and 5 years of age

Absent in autism

Question 19

Explanation of acquisition and regulation of emotion?

Answer 19

• Brain systems and neurotransmitters (e.g. serotonin)
• Amygdala and emotion processing (fear conditioning, rapid processing)
• Social learning approaches (imitation via observational learning, reinformcement by reward/punishment)

Question 20

What is the amygdala?

Answer 20

A roughly almond-shaped mass of grey matter inside each cerebral hemisphere, involved with the experiencing of emotions.

Question 21

What was the case of SM?

Answer 21

An American woman with a type of brain damage that prevents her from experiencing fear (failure to recognise fear from facial expressions). First described by scientists in 1994, she has had exclusive and complete bilateral amygdala destruction

Question 22

What was Bandura’s conclusion regarding acquisition of emotion?

Answer 22

Imitative aggression

Children influenced more by ‘live’ model than viewing cartoon

Question 23

How do happiness and health relate?

Answer 23

• Happy people have better life outcomes – marriage, friendship, income, health
• Happiness predicts longevity in healthy populations

Evolutionary bias to negative events – avoid situations in the future