Chapter 11 Flashcards
Emotion is a state of arousal involving:
- Physiological changes in the face, brain, and body
- Cognitive processes such as interpretation of events
- Cultural influences that shape the experience and expression of emotion
Primary Emotions
Emotions considered to be universal and biologically based
Generally include fear, anger, sadness, joy, surprise, disgust, and contempt
Secondary Emotions
Emotions that develop with cognitive maturity and vary across individuals and cultures. (ecstatic, hopeful, depressed, anxious)
Evolutionary explanations say that emotions…
are hardwired and have survival functions
The 7 universally recognized facial expressions
Anger, happiness, fear, surprise, disgust, sadness, and contempt
Universal facial expression
Emotions recognized cross-culturally
Genuine versus fake emotions can be distinguished
Facial Feedback hypothesis
The process by which the facial muscles send messages to the brain about the basic emotion being expressed
Emotions help us communicate emotional states & signal others. When does this begin?
Begins in infancy, babies convey emotions & can interpret parental expressions
What are the cultural and social limits to the readability of facial expressions? (3)
- People better at identifying emotions in own ethnic, national, or regional group
- Facial expressions can have different meanings within a culture
- Facial expressions do not always represent the emotion being experienced
Prefrontal cortex
The most forward part of the frontal lobes of the brain, linked to emotional regulation
Left prefrontal cortex
involved in motivation to approach others; damage results in loss of joy
Right prefrontal cortex
Involved in withdrawal and escape; damage results in excessive mania & euphoria
Emotional Regulation
modifying and controlling what we feel
Amygdala (3)
- A brain structure involved in the arousal and regulation of emotion and the initial emotional response to sensory information
- Assesses threat
- Damage results in abnormality in processing fear
Mirror Neurons
Brain cells that fire when a person or animal observes others carrying out an action, they are involved in empathy, imitation, and reading emotions
Examples of Mirror Neurones (2)
- Monkey see, monkey do… how they discovered it was in a lab in Italy. When the monkey took a peanut they made a sound, they made the same noise when a human took it. They could not distinguish the difference. Copying is the best way to learn.
- cringing at other people’s behaviour
Mood contagion
A mood spreading from one person to another, as facial expressions of emotion in the first person generate emotions in the other
-Nonverbal signals can cue emotional responses in others as well
What hormones are released when experiencing intense emotions or when one is under stress?
Epinephrine & norepinephrine
- Results in increased alertness and arousal
- At high levels, it can create the sensation of being out of control emotionally
Polygraph machine
- Machine used to measure emotional arousal of a person who is guilty and fearful of being found out
- Detects increased autonomic nervous system activity while responding to incrimination questions
- Typical measures galvanic skin response (sweat); pulse, blood pressure; breathing; fidgeting (people feeling guilt)
What are the possible problems with lie detectors?
- May end up falsely indicating that truthful people are lying
- Not admissible in court
Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT)
multiple choice questions to figure out what concealed knowledge they are hiding
What are the 2 factors experience of emotion depends on?
Physiological arousal & cognitive interpretation
Attributions
- The explanations that people make of their own and other people’s behaviour
- Your interpretation of behaviour generates the emotional response (e.g., how you explain outcome of winning silver medal instead of gold?)
- Relates to upwards & downwards social comparisons, complex emotions, and our ability to feel conflicting emotions at the same time
What is the correlation between cognitions and emotions?
- Cognitions affect emotions, and emotional states affect cognitions
- Some emotions require only simple cognitions or may involved conditioned responses (e.g., infants)
- Cognitive and emotional developments occur together, become more complex with age and experience
What happens in regards to children’s emotions as they age?
- Young children express prototypical emotions first through words- “I’m happy, I’m sad, I’m mad,”
- As children age, emotional distinctions specific to their language & culture emerge
What kind of effect does culture have on emotions?
Culture may influence which emotions are defined as basic or primary
Display Rules
Social & cultural rules that regulate when, how, and where a person may express (or must suppress) emotions