Biopsychology of Emotion Flashcards
Name the 3 important qualities of fear
- It is the easiest emotion to infer(afleiden) from behavior in various species;
- It plays an important adaptive function in motivating the avoidance of threatening situations;
- Chronic fear is one common source of stress.
1848 case of Phineas Gage
- Tamping iron through face, skull, and brain
- Before accident: responsible, intelligent, socially well-adapted person
- After: irreverent(oneerbiedig) and impulsive, abundant profanity(gescheld), unreliable and undependable.
- Damage in both medial prefrontal lobes
Name the 3 main ideas of Darwin’s Theory of The evolution of emotion.
- Expressions of emotion evolve from behaviors that indicate what an animal is likely to do next.
- If this benefits the animal that displays them, evolve to better communicative function, original function may be lost.
- Antithesis(tegenovergestelde): opposite messages signaled by opposite movements and postures
James-lange theory in 1884
Sensory stimuli received & interpreted by the cortex –> triggers changes in visceral organs via ANS and in skeletal muscles via somatic nervous system. Then, these both trigger experience of emotion in brain.
Limbic(border) system
The amygdala, mammillary body, hippocampus, fornix, cingulate cortex, septum, olfactory bulb, and hypothalamus. (see figure)
Sham rage (Bard in 1920)
Exaggerated, poorly directed and aggressive responses of decorticate animals.
The modern biopsychological view of emotions
Perception(waarneming) of emotion-inducing(veroorzakende) stimulus, the autonomic and somatic responses to the stimulus, and the experience of emotion—can influence the other two.
Cannon-Bard theory in 1915
Emotional stimuli 2 independent excitatory effects: feeling of emotion in the brain and expression of emotion in the autonomic and somatic nervous systems. Emotional experience and emotional expression are parallel processes that have no direct causal relation.
Limbic system theory of emotion Papez in 1937 –> Paul MacLean revised and expanded in 1952
Emotional states:
- Expressed through the action of the other structures of the circuit on the hypothalamus
- Experienced through their action on the cortex
Klüver-Bucy syndrome in 1939
Behaviors after removing anterior temporal lobes in monkeys:
- Eating everything
- Increased sexual activity often directed at inappropriate objects
- Tendency to repeatedly investigate familiar objects also with the mouth
- Lack of fear
Evolution of threat displays (Darwin)
In combat enemies began to recognize aggressive behaviors –> survival advantage for attackers: communicate aggression and intimidate victims without actually fighting. –> elaborate threat displays evolved, and actual combat declined.
medial prefrontal lobes
involved in planning, decision making, and emotion
Decorticate
cortex has been removed
Sham Rage can be elicited in…
Cats with removed cerebral hemispheres but not the hypothalamus; Conclusion: hypothalamus = critical for expression aggressive responses
cortex = to inhibit(remmen) and direct these responses.
Polygraphy
Method of interrogation that employs ANS indexes of emotion to infer the truthfulness of a person’s responses. Can be a useful addition to normal interrogation, but far from infallible.
Guilty-knowledge technique (concealed information test)
Polygrapher has information concerning the crime which only the guilty person knows. Checks suspect’s reaction to list of actual details of crime. Innocent suspects react to all details the same because they know nothing of the crime the guilty react different.
Mock-crime procedure
Volunteers participate in mock crime then subjected to a polygraph test by examiner who is unaware of their “guilt” or “innocence.”
Control-question technique
Usual interrogation method –> physiological response to target question compared with physiological responses to control questions whose answers are known. Lying = greater sympathetic activation.
Universality of facial expression
People of different cultures make similar facial expressions in similar situations & can correctly identify the emotional meaning.
6 primary facial expressions by Ekman and Friesen
Surprise, anger, sadness, disgust, fear, and happiness. Other facial expressions are mixtures of the above.
Facial feedback hypothesis
Our facial expressions influence our emotional experience
Rutledge and Hupka in 1985
Participants feeling more happy and less angry when they viewed slides while making a happy face and less happy and more angry when they viewed slides while making an angry face.
Name 2 ways to check if an expression is true or false
- micro-expressions of the real emotion often break through the false one(last 0,05 seconds)
- subtle differences between real and false expressions
Both can be detected by skilled observers.
French anatomist Duchenne in 1862
Fake smile can be distinguished from real smile, by checking facial muscles:
1. orbicularis oculi —> encircles eye, pulls skin from cheeks and forehead toward eyeball
2. zygomaticus major —> pulls lip corners up
Second can be controlled voluntarily, whereas first only contracted by real smile. Ekman named the genuine smile the Duchenne smile.
Facial expressions: 4 current perspectives
Video recording technology changed Ekman’s original theory.
- Six primary facial expressions rarely occur in pure form—they are ideals with many subtle variations.
- Existence of other primary emotions has been recognized.
- Body cues also play major role in expressions of emotion
- Six primary facial expressions may not be as universal as originally believed.
Name 2 issues on which research on the role of ANS in emotion has focused on
- Degree to which specific patterns of ANS activity are associated with specific emotions
- Effectiveness of ANS measures in polygraphy.
Emotional specificity of the autonomic nervous system
The specificity of ANS reactions lies somewhere between the extremes of total specificity and total generality.
- Not all emotions associated with same pattern of ANS activity;
- No evidence that each emotion is characterized by a distinct pattern of ANS activity.
