emotion Flashcards
what are emotions (Ness, 1990)
specialised modes of operation shaped by natural selection to adjust the parameters of the organism in ways that increase capacity and respond adaptively to different situations
what are moods?
long-lasting diffuse affective state that is characterised by primarily a predominance of enduring subjective feelings without an identifiable trigger
what are the key components of emotions (Buck, 1998)
physiological reaction = changes in heart rate, sweating, etc
behavioural response = e.g., smiling, crying
a feeling = subjective experience of emotion
what are the 6 main emotions based on facial expressions according to Ekman (1971)
- sadness
- surprise
- happiness
- disgust
- anger
- fear
what are complex emotions
extended duration, no unique facial expressions
what is valence and arousal
valence = positive/negative
arousal = intensity
what are approach and withdrawal behaviours
emotions classified by the behaviours they motivate
approach = more towards opportunities
withdrawal = away from danger
what is the canon-bard theory
experience of the emotion and the physiological response are simultaneous
cognition is unconscious
1) signal sent to thalamus
2a) signals from thalamus to cortex, producing feeling
2b) signals from thalamus to hypothalamus, producing physiological response
3) behavioural response
canon-bard theory - evidence (sham rage)
Bard removed different parts of cat cortex to see whether emotions are impaired
removal of cortex resulted in sham rage (angry response to nothing)
if link between hypothalamus and midbrain is severed, no sham rage occurred
suggests subjective experience of emotion is dependent on cortex, while physiological depends on different systems (hypothalamus)
James-Lange theory
physical then emotion
1) conscious perception of stimulus
2) physiological response
3) behavioural response
4) subjective emotional feeling
James-Lange theory - evidence (emotion attribution task)
pure autonomic failure = no feedback from autonomic nervous system
emotion attribution task:
- short stories, PP has to describe how character might feel
- lower scores on test of emotion attribution, but not on identification of emotional facial expressions
suggests signals from ANS are important in experiencing emotion
James-Lange theory - evidence (muscle feedback)
botox may result in less muscle feedback associated with negative emotions
lower scores on irritability-depression-anxiety scale
suggests feedback from muscles used for frowning is involved in experiencing negative emotions
James-Lange theory - evidence (facial feedback hypothesis)
pen placed in PPs mouth to allow different muscles to activate when reading a comic
reported as funnier when pen was placed in a way that promoted smiling
Schachter-Singer theory
experience of emotion dependent on labels applied to it
cognition is conscious
1) conscious perception of stim
2) physiological response
3) behavioural response
4) subjective emotional feeling
Schachter-Singer theory - evidence (autonomic activation)
PPs given “vitamin” injection (actually saline or adrenaline), given different information about side effects
PPs who were told there would be no side effects attributed their feelings to how the confederate behaved
suggests cognitive appraisal is important in experiencing emotion
