emotion and cognition

Question 1

Explain the difference between emotions and mood

Answer 1

emotion is the response to something and is intense, long-lasting and specific whereas moods are a baseline/vague with a shorter duration and no direct incentive to anything

Question 2

Define affect

Answer 2

a combination of emotions and mood

Question 3

Define valence

Answer 3

the positive OR negative character of emotional experience (i.e. the emotional value associated with a stimulus)

Question 4

Explain the 2D framework for emotion

Answer 4

-emotions previously put in contradiction to thinking (cognition)
-2 dimensions opposite to each other e.g.misery/pleasure
-can use the level of positivity and psychological type of arousal to classify emotion e.g. anger=high arousal sadness=low arousal
-fails to show the nature of connection to cognition

Question 5

What can emotions tell us?

Answer 5

it tells us something about reality e.g., fear=warning to something anger=preparing for a fight

Question 6

What’s the evolutionary purpose of emotions?

Answer 6

to warn us about something from the environment

Question 7

How are the bottom-up/top-down approach used in emotions?

Answer 7

B-U=automatic analysis of everything we see,mediating then reacting (evolutionary purpose)
T-D=what we anticipate and interpret in reality (more the social aspects)
-different brain activation areas with both processes

Question 8

How could emotion/cognition work together?

Answer 8

thinking+feeling same=emotional stability
thinking+feeling differs=emotional distress
(emotions are experienced/present all the time however just not consciously aware of it always)

Question 9

Why do some argue emotions are cognition?

Answer 9

could be seen as a form of information e.g. fear warning us but then the preparation of the body is a physiological process not cognitive so uncertain currently

Question 10

Explain the appraisal theories/system

Answer 10

-AS recognising meaning + it’s relevant=emotions are processed (emotions are a result of us appraising reality)
-the emotional response is an action tendency (whether done unconsciously or against choice)
-the evaluation of our reality affects our emotions

Question 11

Appraisal theories True or false: We have some control over our emotions

Answer 11

True, we can modify the appraisals of reality by focusing on the positives in a bad situation e.g.

Question 12

Appraisal theories: Explain emotional priming

Answer 12

positive facial expression=people more likely to do action e.g. drink (reasons why unknown)
-emotional priming (making someone feel an emotion for a short period of time but felt that a tad longer than the flashing image affecting their cognitive representation for a short time period)

Question 13

Give four strengths of the appraisal theory

Answer 13

1.The appraisal processes have determined whether we experience emotions and strongly influences the precise emotion experienced.
2.Allows individual differences in emotional experience be explained by appraisals.
3.Distinction between conscious and automatic processes proven valuable
4.Proves cognitive manipulations (thoughts) affect emotion

Question 14

True or false: faces need to be consciously perceived

Answer 14

false they don’t need to be

Question 15

Give 4 limitations of the appraisal theory

Answer 15

1.Situational appraisal not always crucial
2.Research focused on passive individuals (Parkinson 2011)
3.Theory focuses too much on the emotional experience due to the current situation not the future
4.Causal structure may not be unidirectional

Question 16

Define emotion generation

Answer 16

activating a spontaneous emotional response

Question 17

Define emotion regulation

Answer 17

controlling the emotional response/expression (i.e., job of cognition)

Question 18

Why is emotion regulation important?

Answer 18

-important for the functioning of society
-it prevents automatic emotional responses we may not truly want to do e.g. feeling the urge to slap someone after annoyed

Question 19

Explain the steps of the process model by Gross & Thompson 2007

Answer 19

-situation selection/modification occurs
-then attention is deployed
-then appraisal occurs (a cognitive change)
-a response is modulated

Question 20

What attentional deployment strategies can be used in emotion regulation?

Answer 20

distraction and reappraisal (Sheppes et al., 2014) which is deficit in depression
IN OTHER WORDS
source of problem controllable=focus on the problem
source of problem not controllable=focus on your emotions (proving emotions don’t need to be controlled all the time)

Question 21

What are the three stages in the neural network model?

Answer 21

1.emotion evaluation
2.initiation of regulation
3.execution of regulation
gap in this creates risk of impulsivity/aggression

Question 22

Give 4 strengths of emotion regulation

Answer 22

1.identified brain regions associated with regulation
2.effectiveness of strategies understood
3.processes can be implicit/explicit
4.influencing factors have been identified

Question 23

Give 5 weaknesses of emotion regulation

Answer 23

1.emotion generation and regulation distinction not clear cut
2.behavioural strategies of regulation more commonly used
3.environmental influences on successfulness of strategy unaccounted for
4.details about processing unclear
5.individual differences unaccounted for

Question 24

What’s the link between affect and cognition?

Answer 24

-attention for detail impacted by mood (better when positive)
-emotions are tightly connected to memory in the brain (mood-state-dependent memory better mood=better recall)
-our awareness and perception of our emotions affects our decision-making judgements

Question 25

How is decision making affected by anxiety/sadness? (affect and cognition)

Answer 25

-varying levels of risk-taking
anxiety=problem to be solved so less likely to take a risk
sadness=nihilist approach so whats the point of not taking a risk?
anger=risk blind

Question 26

Affect and cognition true or false: happy people are more likely to use a heuristic processing strategy than sad people (de Vries et al., 2008)

Answer 26

True, simple possibilities are considered rather than all (which people with anxiety/depression tend to do) when negative mood people tend to shift to analytical when there is a problem in their environment (evolutionary)

Question 27

Affect and cognition true or false: mood doesn’t affect how easy one is to persuade

Answer 27

False, under some emotions, people are easier to persuade even with weak arguments providing you put them in the emotion to be convinced

Question 28

When can emotions get in the way?

Answer 28

In moral dilemmas e.g.:
Trolly problem (no personal involvement/weak emotional reaction)
Footbridge problem (personal involvement/strong emotional reaction)

Question 29

Cognitive bias: define attentional bias

Answer 29

selective attention to threat-related stimuli

Question 30

Cognitive bias: define interpretive bias

Answer 30

the tendency to interpret ambiguous stimuli as threatening

Question 31

Cognitive bias: define explicit memory bias

Answer 31

the tendency to retrieve negative not positive memories

Question 32

Cognitive bias: define implicit memory bias

Answer 32

the tendency to exhibit superior performance for negative or threatening stimuli in tests not involving conscious recollection

Question 33

Define the cognitive vulnerability hypothesis

Answer 33

when negative life events interact with present biases

Question 34

Conclusion: how does cognition control emotion

Answer 34

controls emotional responses (emotion regulation)

Question 35

Conclusion: how does emotion influence cognition?

Answer 35

perceptual events where we draw attention, what we remember, how we perceive reality, the threshold of our decisions and influences the level of risk we’re willing to take. (is emotions a simple form of cognition? it is information)

Question 36

Conclusion: how does cognition control emotion?

Answer 36

has networks present to control emotional responses so that it makes us more adaptive to situations (emotional regulation)