Emotion

Question 1

What are emotions?

Answer 1

Subjective mental states
Positive or negative reactions
Usually accompanied by distinctive behaviors and physiological changes

Question 2

Ekman’s primary emotions

Answer 2

Universality of facial expression (everyone makes similar facial expressions in similar situations)

Question 3

6 primary emotions

Answer 3

Fear
Anger
Happiness
Surprise
Sadness
Disgust

Question 4

Emotion expression

Answer 4

Hard to fake, automatic and involuntary
Right hemisphere plays more significant role for expression of emotions

Question 5

Communication of emotions

Answer 5

Communicate emotions through postural changes, facial expressions, nonverbal sounds, and verbally

Question 6

Facial expressions

Answer 6

Thought to be innate
Cross-cultural studies and studies of blind children
Early work of Ekman found 6 basic emotions consistently identified

Question 7

3 components of emotional response

Answer 7

Behavioral components
Autonomic components
Hormone components

Question 8

Behavioral components

Answer 8

Muscular movements appropriate to the situation that elicits them
Ex: dog adopting aggressive posture and growling to defend against intruder

Question 9

Autonomic components

Answer 9

Facilitate behaviors and provide quick mobilization of energy for movement
Ex: increased activity of SNS, dog’s heart rate increasing

Question 10

Hormone components

Answer 10

Reinforce autonomic responses
Growth hormone, cortisol, oxytocin, etc
Secreted by glands and work on long distances through the blood stream
Slow and long-lasting

Question 11

Theories of emotion

Answer 11

Folk psychology
James-Lange theory
Cannon-Bard theory

Question 12

Folk psychology

Answer 12

Feeling triggers autonomic response
Informal observation suggested that emotions cause the body to reach
Stimulus –> Perception/Interpretation –> Particular emotion experienced –> Specific pattern of autonomic arousal

Question 13

James-Lange theory

Answer 13

James and Lange argued that the bodily response evokes the emotional experience
Stimulus –> Perception/Interpretation –> Specific pattern of autonomic arousal –> Particular emotion experienced

Question 14

Cannon-Bard theory

Answer 14

Cannon and Bard insisted that the brain must interpret the situation to decide which emotion is appropriate
Stimulus –> Perception/Interpretation –> General autonomic arousal and particular emotion experienced (bodily response and emotion experience are simultaneous)

Question 15

Neural basis of emotion expression

Answer 15

The limbic system

Question 16

Emotion inhibition: ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Answer 16

Matures much later in life (early adulthood)
Plays important role in making people see negative consequences of a behavior
Helps inhibit expression of emotional responses

Question 17

Neural basis of emotion recognition

Answer 17

Amygdala and prefrontal cortex play a role
Lesions of the amygdala impair ability to recognize facial expressions of emotion, especially fear
prefrontal cortex aids in recognition of emotions through meanings of words and tone of voice