Chapter 15: Emotions, Aggression, and Stress Flashcards
four aspects of emotions
feelings, actions, physiological arousal, and motivation
feelings
private and subjective
actions
defending or laughing
physiological arousal
somatic or autonomic responses
- increased heart rate
motivation
programs to coordinate responses and solve problems
common sense view
autonomic responses
stimulus»_space; perception/interpretation»>particular emotion experienced»_space;> specific pattern of autonomic arousal
james lange theory
emotions we feel are caused by bodily changes
stimulus»_space;> perception/interpretation»_space;> specific pattern of autonomic arousal»_space;> particular emotion experienced
problem with james lange theory
autonomic changes can be slow and are often the same across different emotions
cannon-bard theory
emotions precede physiological responses and also activates the sympathetic response
stimulus»_space;> perception/interpretation/general autonomic arousal and particular emotion experienced
schachter and singer cognitive theory
physiological responses are interpreted in terms of the stimuli
stimulus»_space;> perception/interpretation»_space;> specific pattern of autonomic arousal»_space;> cognitive appraisal of current context »_space;> attribution of emotion responsible for arousal
experiment to prove schachter-singer theory
gave participants inject of epinephrine and put them in a room with happy or angry confederate»_space; subject given epinephrine reported emotions similar to confederate that was present in room
polygraph
based on assumption that lying produces an emotional and physiological response
is a polygraph reliable?
no because anxiety produces similar responses
paralinguistic
accessory to communication
example: displaying more facial expression to stimuli when others are around
darwins theory on expressions and emotions
comes from common ancestor
- similar facial musculature and nerves in humans and nonhuman primates
evolutionary psychology
research field that asks how evolutionary selection pressures have shaped the behavior of humans and other animals
what things could have required emotional adaptation?
cooperating with a group, choosing a mate, and avoiding predators
what genes were passed onto next generation through evolution?
successful fear response (escaping or fighting off predator)
are emotions present at birth?
some are
at how many months are basic emotions present?
9 months
what happens between 18-24 months?
self-awareness develops, along with embarrassment, empathy, and envy
what develops by 2-3 years?
evaluative emotions like pride, guilt, regret and shame
individual response sterotypy
tendency of individuals to have same response patterns throughout their lives
example of individual response sterotypy
infants who are high reactives to stimuli, with exceptionally strong reactions, may later have increased phobias or fear responses
brain self-stimulation
refers to animals working to provide electrical stimulation to particular brain sites, also possible in humans
medial forebrain bundle
tract that rises from midbrain through the hypothalamus and it contains many sites for self-stimulation
what is an important target involved in the dopaminergic circuit?
nucleus accumbens
what can effect emotions?
brain lesions
decorticate rage
sudden intense rage in dogs with their cortex removed
- suggests cortex inhibits rage
papez circuit
developed to explain emotions
limbic system
widespread group of brain nuclei that supply each other to form a network and these nuclei are implicated in emotions
kluver-bucy syndrome
emotion changes such as reduction of fear and anxiety, after bilateral amygdala damage in monkeys
amygdala
located in temporal lobe is a key structure in the mediation of fear
classical conditioning
a previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with shock, causing the individual to act fearful in response to stimulus
- the first stimulus by itself can produce fear-associated behaviors; freezing and autonomic changes
central nucleus
transmits information to brainstem center and produces autonomic changes indicative of fear and it evokes three types of emotional responses
three types of emotional responses
central gray pathway, lateral hypothalamus pathway, and bed nucleus of stria terminalis pathway
central gray pathway
emotional responses
lateral hypothalamus pathway
autonomic pathway
bed nucleus of stria terminalis pathway
hormonal responses
disgust
activates the insula and putamen
laughter
activates prefrontal cortex which relieves depressed moods
right hemisphere
better at discerning other people’s emotions
what is controlled by right hemisphere?
left side of the face and is more expressive than right side
what ear projects more strongly to right hemisphere?
left ear
how does the right hemispehre react?
more quickly and accurately
what is the right hemisphere dominant in?
expressing emotions
what is the right hemisphere good at discriminating?
facial expressions in others and identifying emotional tone
patients with damage to right hemisphere are ____
very cheerful
damage to left hemisphere produce ______
depressive symptoms
what is the left hemisphere better at?
interpreting the meaning of a message
what ear projects strongly to left hemisphere?
right ear
what type of emotions bilaterally increase activity in some areas and decrease in others?
love and envy
what brain structures does love increase activity in?
insule and anterior cingulate
what brain structures does love decrease activity in?
posterior cingulate, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex
what other emotions show several brain regions involved?
sadness, happiness, anger and fear
aggression
physical aggression and violence between individuals is the primary focus
intermale aggression
seen between males of same species
- common in vertebrate world
what does testosterone promote?
aggression, but correlation in humans is less clear
what can affect testosterone levels?
experience and dominance
examples of testosterone and dominance
males show increase in testosterone when watching their sports teams win but decrease if their team loses
what is the correlation between serotonin and aggression?
negativve
what type of individuals are low serotonin levels found in?
alcohol-induced violence, excessive military violence and children with poor impulse control
ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)
key role in triggering aggression on/off
- plays role in both sexes
emotional dyscontrol syndrome
refers to temporal lobe disorders that may underlie human violence
temporal lobe structures
amygdala, hippocampus, etc
psychopaths
people incapable of experiencing remorse
what brain structure do psychopaths have less activity and what is it important for?
prefrontal cortex, which is important for controlling impulsive behavior
stress
includes stress stimuli, processing and stress responses
what does stress refer to?
process in which body tries to restore homeostasis
during acute stress, what brain structure is activated?
hypothalamus activates sympathetic nervous system to cause fight or flight response
what else does the hypothalamus activate?
adrenal medulla which releases epinephrine and norepinephrine
hypothalamus also stimulates ____
anterior pituitary gland to release a hormone that drives adrenal cortex, to release adrenal steroid hormones such as cortisol
most stressors are ___
psychosocial nature
- such as taking an exam or crowding
stress immunization
idea that mild stress early in life makes it easier to handle stress later in life
psychosomatic medicine
emphasizes role of psychological factors in disease
how does brain affect immune system?
through autonomic nerves and monitors immune reactions
what does the immune system act as?
sensory receptor system, informing the brain
what other system does the brain and immune system interact with?
endocrine system
health psychology
studies psychological influences on health
psychoneuroimmunology
studies that interactions of the immune and nervous systems
what can suppress the immune system?
hormones released during stress
what systems have reciprocal relationships?
nervous, endocrine and immune systems
psychological stress
depression or grief, decreases immune function
what are behavioral patterns, type A and type D, marked by excessive drive, impatience and hostility, associated with?
heart disease
stress responses
beneficial in short run because they allow bodies to restore homeostasis and remove threat to homeostasis
