CLOA - extent of interaction of cognitive & biological in emotion

Question 1

Define emotion

Answer 1

• a physiological or bodily change
• the cause of this change is ‘appraised’ by an individual
• one then decides on an appropriate behavioural response based on the interpretation

Question 2

evolutionary explanation of emotion

Answer 2

• useful survival mechanism
• ‘fight or flight’ mode allows animals to react to quickly to possible dangers
• cognitive „factors (e.g. appraisal) may help moderate physiological and psychological reactions to stimuli

Question 3

biological role in emotion

Answer 3

• amygdala: associated with processing emotions and emotional memory
• hippocampus: integral to the process of encoding explicit memory (e.g. semantic, procedural, episodic, etc)

Question 4

importance of amygdala in emotion

Answer 4

• during stressful situations, the hormones adrenaline and cortisol are activated
• humans can only control irrational fear to some extent, and in those cases where they can’t control it, they experience panic attacks
• anxiety, phobias, panic disorders, and PTSD indicate a malfunction in the brain€s ability to control fear
• damage to the amygdala causes 0 fear response – this may endanger survival in dangerous situations

Question 5

evidence against the interaction of cognitive and biological

Answer 5

Zajonc (1980): in some cases emotional responses may be directly triggered without the prior involvement of cognition

Question 6

conclusion: to what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?

Answer 6

• cognitive and biological factors are both essential to emotion
• Zajonc (1980) has a different interpretation of cognition than what was meant – in this case cognition means basic, automatic, and largely unconscious perceptual processes
• cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion to a significant extent, but in complex ways that are not fully understood
• emotions may influence cognitive processes such as memory, and cognitive processes may influence emotions, but not much is known about how physiology ties in with all of this

Question 7

“to what extent”

Answer 7

• discuss the validity of an argument
• give both sides of the argument
• give judgment by emphasizing the strengths of some arguments over others
• give judgment on the relative importance of factors (biological/cognitive/sociocultural), on the theory/behaviour: how important is ____? Why is it ____? Is it culture- or gender-specific?
• present all opinions with evidence