CH 17: Biopsychology of Emotion, Stress & Health Flashcards
Summarize the major events in the history of research on the biopsychology of emotion -
(1) PHINEAS GAGE
- Phineas Gage:
- Accident led to thick iron rod through his face, skull, brain & out the other side
- Survived & recovered
- -> Changed personality & emotions
- -> Unreliable & undependable
- Damage to his brain affected both medial prefrontal lobes
- -> involved in planning, decision making & emotion
Summarize the major events in the history of research on the biopsychology of emotion -
(2) DARWIN’s THEORY OF THE EVOLUTION OF EMOTION
- Darwin’s theory of the evolution of emotion
- Argue that particular emotional responses (ie. human facial expressions) tend to accompany the same emotional states in all members of a sp
- Expressions of emotion evolve from behaviours that indicate what an animal is likely to do next
- If the signals provided by such behaviours benefit the animal that displays them, they’ll evolve in ways that embrace their communicative function, their original function may be lost
- Opposite messages are often singled by opposite movements & postures, an idea called the ‘principle of antithesis’
Summarize the major events in the history of research on the biopsychology of emotion -
(3) JAMES-LANGE & CANNON-BARD THEORIES
- James-Lange Theory:
= Emotion-inducing sensory stimuli are received & interpreted by the cortex
–> Triggers changes in the visceral organs via the autonomic NS & skeletal muscles via the somatic NS
–> Then autonomic & somatic responses triggered experience of emotion in brain
- aka autonomic activity & behaviour triggered by emotional events (ie. rapid heartbeat) produce feelings of emotion, not vice versa
- aka emotional experience depends on feedback from autonomic & somatic NS activity
Cannon-Bard Theory:
= Emotional stimuli have 2 independent excitatory effects
–> Excites both feeling of emotion in brain & expression of emotion in the autonomic & somatic NS
- aka opposite of James-Lange theory
- aka views emotional experience & emotional expression as parallel processes that have NO direct causal relation
- aka emotional experience is independent of feedback from autonomic & somatic NS
Summarize the major events in the history of research on the biopsychology of emotion -
(4) SHAM RAGE
Sham Rage:
= the exaggerated, poorly directed, aggressive responses of decorticate animals
- Decorticate = had cortex removed
- Elicited in cats whose cerebral hemispheres removed down to, but not including, the hypothalamus
- *Findings:
- HYPOTHALAMUS = critical for expression of aggressive responses
- CORTEX = functions to inhibit & direct these aggressive responses
Summarize the major events in the history of research on the biopsychology of emotion -
(5) LIMBIC SYSTEM & EMOTION
- Limbic System:
= Collection of interconnected nuclei & tracts that ring the thalamus
- Propose that emotional expression controlled by limbic system
- -> Emotional states are expressed through the action of the other structures of the circuit on the hypothalamus & that they’re experienced through their action on the cortex
Summarize the major events in the history of research on the biopsychology of emotion -
(6) KLUVER-BUCY SYNDROME
- Kluver-Bucy Syndrome:
= Syndrome of behavioural changes (ie. lack of fear & hyper-sexuality) that’s induced in primates by bilateral damage to the anterior temporal lobes
- Most of the symptoms resulted from damage to the AMYGDALA (structure playing major role in emotion)
Discuss the 1st finding on the relationship b/w the Autonomic NS & emotions.
Total specificity vs. total generality.
- The degree to which specific patterns of ANS activity are ass. w/ specific emotions
- James -Lange Theory = diff emotional stimuli induce diff patterns of ANS activity
–> Prod diff emo experiences
= Total SPECIFICTY
- Cannon-Bard theory = all emotional stimuli produce the same general pattern of sympathetic activation
–> Prepares the organize for action (ie. ^bp)
= Total GENERALITY
–> The specificity of ANS reactions lies somewhere b/w the extremes of total specificity & total generality
Discuss the 2nd finding on the relationship b/w the Autonomic NS & emotions.
- The effectiveness of ANS measures in polygraph (lie detection)
- Polygraph employs ANS indexes of emotion to infer the truthfulness of a person’s responses
- Compare the physiological responses of unknown questions to questions of answers they do know
- -> Detects ANS activity
- Assume lying ass. w/ ^sympathetic activation
- 80% success rate
Explain the concept of, ‘Universality of Facial Expression’.
- Ppl of diff cultures make similar facial expressions in similar situations
Explain the concept of, ‘Primary Facial Expressions’
- Facial expressions of the following 6 emotions are primary:
1. Surprise
2. Anger
3. Sadness
4. Disgust
5. Fear
6. Happiness - All other facial expressions of genuine emotion are composed of mixtures of the 6 primaries
Describe the FACIAL FEEDBACK HYPOTHESIS.
- Our facial expressions can influence the emotions we experience
Explain the concept of, ‘Voluntary Control of Facial Expression’.
Distinguish true facial expression from false ones via _________ &_________.
- Able to inhibit true facial expressions & to substitute false ones
- ie) smile during lie (negative)
- ie) smile to reassure worried friend (positive)
- Distinguish true expression from false ones via:
i) micro expressions = brief facial expression of real emotion that break through the false one
ii) subtle differences b/w genuine facial expressions & false ones
Describe 4 current perspectives of facial expressions.
- Ekman’s 6 primary facial expressions of emotion rarely occur in pure form
- Existence of the primary emotions have been recognized
- Body cues, not just facial expressions, play a major role in experience of emotions
- Evidence that Ekman’s 6 primary facial expressions may not be as universal as originally believed
Describe the work that led to the distinction b/w aggressive & defensive behaviours in mammals.
- Behavioural observation of interactions b/w cats & mice
- -> Some cats were efficient mouse killers
- -> Some cats reacted defensively
- -> Some cats played w/ mice
- Analysis of aggressive & defensive behaviours led to development of the Target-Site Concept
Describe the TARGET-SITE CONCEPT.
- Idea that the aggressive & defensive behaviours of an animal are designed to attach specific specific sites on the body of another animal while protecting sites on its own
