College 1: overview of emotions Flashcards
The principle of serviceable associated habits (Darwin)
Emotions had a purpose during evolution, but now not anymore. Like your nose and eyes open when you experience fear.
Principle of antithesis (Darwin)
Most emotions have a counterpart. Emotions come in pairs:
- The anti-face of anger is surprise.
- The anti-face of disgust is dissapointment.
Why should we elicit (veroorzaken) emotions in the lab?
- To diagnose mental disorders
- To infer well-being
- To look at the impact of good vs. bad
Emotional Stroop Task
People react a lot slower to negative words than to positive words, because negative stimuli interfere with the task.
James-Lange theory of emotions
Our physiological experiences influence our phenomenal experience (like fear).
James: focused on the conscious experience of emotion.
Lange: made the theory testable.
Both agreed that if physiological sensations were removed, there would be no emotional experience.
James-Lange experiment (pencil)
If people’s facial expression was in line with the emotion they processed, people recognised the emotions way better. Your face provides feedback to the brain. (Botox influences this).
The cognitive inhibitions of your emotions also really inhibits them.
Botox
When someone has botox, you can express emotions less, experience them less and the amygdala is less activated during emotions.
Cannon’s criticism on the James-Lange theory
- Visceral changes (changes in the nervous system) are too slow to be a source of emotions –> false, because some visceral changes are very fast.
- Separating the body form the CNS does not alter emotional behaviour in animals –> false, because lesion in the CNS does alter emotions (makes them less intense).
- The relation between bodily states to emotional states is not 1:1 –> true.
- Artificial induction of visceral changes typical for emotions do not produce them –> false, it doen change the way that people interpret their emotions.
Cannon’s experiment
Separated a cat’s brain form the CSN. Its was still able to express emotions. This is why Cannon thought that the James-Lange theory was incorrect, and you can still experience emotions without having a bodily response.
Adrenalin and emotion perception (Schagter-singer)
(Cannon’s argument against the James-Lange theory)
Group 1: got adrenaline and were informed about the consequences.
Group 2: got adrenaline and were not informed about the consequences.
Group 3: control, no injection.
The participants that went to a room with happy people or with sad people:
- The uninformed participants rated their mood according to the mood of the other people in the room.
- The informed participants rated their mood according to the bodily changes they felt.
–> The same physiological state can in one group be interpreted as joy and as fury in the other group.
Cannon-Bard theory
We feel emotions and experience physiological responses due to these emotions.
Adaptation to James-Lange theory
- Not all physiological changes show the same pattern per emotion and cognition sometimes is necessary to know which emotions is experiences.
- Adrenaline injection induces appraisal-dependent emotions.
Schachter’s 2 factor-theory of emotion
There are 2 factors that work together to interpret the emotion and cause a phenomenal experience:
1. The context / cognition / appraisal of the stimulus.
2. The arousal / physiological pattern at the time of the stimulus.
Emotion = arousal + cognitive component.
Ortony & Turner (dimension of emotions)
There is no objectie way to investigate which emotions are basic. Neuroscience cannot fully dissociation emotion categories. Language and valence influences this.
Psychological construction approach (Barrett)
Emotions are learned or socially constructed and not given to us by nature.
