emotion and cognition Flashcards
Charles Darwin and emotion
first to propose a limited number of basic and universal human emotions
universality of emotional expression implies a common emotional experience
Ekman’s study of basic emotions
studied facial expression of emotion
suggested there a 6 basic expressions
similar in range, appearance and interpretation across cultures
characterised by a unique subset of facial muscle movements
innate
Ekman’s 6 basic emotions
anger
disgust
fear
happiness
sadness
surprise
all innate, universal and have a unique subset of facial movements
valence
value we give a stimulus of whether it is good or bad
middle of continuum = no valence
basic emotions and the brain
each relies on its own neural substrate
- not clearly identified for all
more complex emotions are less clearly linked to specific facial displays and neural correlates
neural substrate of anger
involves many regions depending on different aspects
neural substrate for disgust
insular cortex
basal ganglia
involved in experiencing and recognising disgust in all forms
- moral, social, physical etc
neural substrate for fear
amygdala
those with amygdala damage struggle to perceive and recognise fear in others
also mediates valence in all cognitive domains
neural substrate of sadness
reduced cortical activation and connectivity
neural substrate of happiness
some candidate regions
neural substrate of surprise
unknown
perceiving basic emotions
involves a much wider network of brain areas
shows them interacting with each other
dimensional approach to classify emotions
not experienced as an on/off but as a continuum
attempt to capture complexity of emotions
eg nervous and excited
similar emotions with high levels of arousal
but differ in valence
arousal
overall term for bodily changes that occur in emotion
such as changes in heart rate, sweating and hormones
circumplex model of human emotion
emotions defined and classified on a spectrum of arousal and valence
subjective experience of emotional quality, good vs bad
Geneva Emotion Wheel
similar to circumplex model
but spectrum is along pleasantness and control (definition between states)
approach vs withdrawal approach
classifies emotions according to motivation
different emotions lead to different goals for action
approach and withdrawal emotions
approach and withdrawl emotions
approach - evoke desire to approach the stimulus (object or situation)
eg happiness, surprise and anger
withdrawl - evoke desire to withdraw from object or situations associated with these emotions
eg sadness and disgust
manipulating emotions
critical form of social regulation
critical aspect of investigating the interaction of emotions and cognition for scientific study
done by:
evocative stimuli
mood induction
evocative stimuli
stimuli that elicit emotional responses - evoke strong emotions
eg pictures of faces with difference emotional expressions
words that vary in valance and arousal (use of mirror neurons)
mood induction
mood is a more stable state of emotion
longer lasting and not necessarily linked to a specific event or object
eg watching films, playing music
result in positive or negative mood states
2 ways of measuring emotions
direct assessment
indirect assessment
direct assessment
relies on introspection
affected by cultural conventions
self report measures eg questionnaires
indirect assessment
assess behaviour eg decisions and physiological responses
pupil elation, skin conductance, heart rate, facial movements etc
can measure emotions with electrodes on body
peripheral nervous system also effected by emotional states
eg stress increases heart rate