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Psychology of Emotions > Chapter 1: Theories of Emotion > Flashcards

Chapter 1: Theories of Emotion Flashcards

1
Q

What are emotions?

A

Brief, specific states of body and mind that are responses to challenges and opportunities we meet in daily life.

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2
Q

How is a mood different from an emotion?

A

Moods are longer and not a specific response.

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3
Q

Who proposed the two factor theory of emotion?

A

Schachter and Singers.

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4
Q

The two factor theory of emotion proposes that emotions come about from a combination of what two factors?

A
  1. Autonomic arousal - caused by almost anything.

2. A label that describes the experience in terms of the current situation.

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5
Q

What did Darwin think about why facial expressions exist? (2)

A
  1. He thought they were serviceable habits.

2. He thought they were used for the communication of feelings.

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6
Q

What are serviceable habits?

A

Gestures that solve whatever problem elicited the emotion in the first place.

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7
Q

What are adaptive problems according to evolutionary theory?

A

Challenges to survival and opportunities for reproduction.

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8
Q

What are signal stimuli?

A

Signs of danger that result when they signal when a problem of survival is being experienced

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9
Q

What does an action tendency, in theory do?

A

Makes the person ready to perform specific behaviors to successfully address challenges and take advantage of opportunities.

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10
Q

Why is the term “action tendency” used instead of “action”?

A

Because “action tendencies” suggest that the action is not inevitable. It could be adapted to best fit the specific situation or even prevented from occurring if necessary.

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11
Q

According the to the evolutionary perspective of emotions, what are the criteria to be a basic emotion? (4)

A
  1. Universal Expressions.
  2. Discrete physiology.
  3. Presence in other primates.
  4. Autonomic appraisals or evaluations of the environment.
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12
Q

What are the basic emotions? (7)

A
  1. Fear.
  2. Disgust.
  3. Anger.
  4. Surprise.
  5. Joy.
  6. Sadness.
  7. Contempt.
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13
Q

What is the peripheralist position of emotions?

A

Proposed that Emotions were composed largely of specific activity in the peripheral nervous system.

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14
Q

Do some emotions elicit different ANS profiles?

A

Yes.

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15
Q

Why was the peripheralist position attacked for over a century?

A

Because scientist thought that arousal was nonspecific and that the ANS responds too slowly to support discrete emotional states.

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16
Q

What is the Directed Facial Action task?

A

A task that has the experimenter point at muscles on a participants face and ask them to contact the muscle.

17
Q

Describe the study done by Levenson et al on ANS profiles and emotions.

A

Participants completed the directed facial action task to create the 6 basic emotions without knowing it. During this, they measured the activity of the ANS (skin conductance, heart rate, finger temperature).

18
Q

Describe the results of the study done by Levenson et al. on emotions and ANS profiles.

A

They found that emotions did have discrete ANS profiles.

19
Q

According to evolutionary theorists, why do all of the components of emotions happen together in concert every time you have an emotion?

A

Because they are integrated in an affect program.

20
Q

What is an affect program?

A

Innate brain systems that are present to tell the body what to do when faced with a particular event.

21
Q

Describe the general evolutionary perspective of emotions.

A

Stimulus -> Affect Program -> Emotion.

Biologically prepared signal stimuli reliably elicit affect programs designed to respond adaptively.

22
Q

What do appraisal theorists of emotion claim? What do they think about signal stimuli?

A

That very few objects or events inevitably cause the same emotion in all people. - They do not recognize the existence of signal stimuli.

23
Q

What do appraisal theorist think about the existence of emotions?

A

They link emotions to people’s immediate evaluation of their circumstances.

24
Q

What are appraisal theories of emotion designed for?

A

Explaining the variation, not the sameness, of emotional life.

25
Q

What is an appraisal?

A

The mental process that allows you to detect objects and events in your environment and evaluate their significance for your immediate well-being.

26
Q

How are appraisals measured?

A

On a continuum called a dimension.

27
Q

The claim that people can experience different emotions in response to the same event as a function of their appraisals of the circumstance was demonstrated in what study?

A

In a study in a Geneva airport where they video taped travelers who had lost their luggage.

28
Q

According to appraisal theorists, do specific emotions result from distinct patterns of appraisals?

A

Yes, but some have backed away from that assertion recently and think that appraisals may serve to describe an emotion rather than cause one.

29
Q

What are the characteristics of a primary appraisal? (2)

A
  1. Innate

2. Adaptive in being fast, and clear cut.

30
Q

What are the characteristics of a secondary appraisal? (2)

A
  1. Involve high order mental processes

2. Probably learned.

31
Q

What do appraisal theorists who consider themselves componential theorists claim?

A

That different components of emotion can be caused independently by different appraisals.

32
Q

Do psychological constructionists think there are basic emotions?

A

No.

33
Q

Psychological constructionism has theoretical roots in which two models?

A
  1. William James’ model. 2. Two-factor theory.
34
Q

What do psychological constructionists believe causes emotions to occur? (2)

A
  1. Learned associations between an event or stimulus and an emotion category. 2. Applying that category causes feelings, expression and behavioral components of the emotion.
35
Q

What is a biological given of the psychological constructionist model of emotions? What is the model called?

A

That all supposedly discrete emotion states can be described by 2 dimensions. The circumplex model.

36
Q

What are the two dimensions that psychological constructionists believe in?

A
  1. Valence (Pleasant vs. unpleasant). 2. Arousal/Activation.
37
Q

Do psychological constructionists believe that the components of emotions have to be integrated? What do they believe?

A

No. The experience is integrated by the category.

Psychology of Emotions (16 decks)

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