Emotion and Motivation Flashcards
in interacting with others,
we use emotional expressions as powerful nonverbal communications
humans’ evolutionary need to belong to social groups
survival was enhanced for those who lived in groups; those who were
expelled would have been less likely to survive and pass along their genes
emotion
A strong feeling. Typically interrupt whatever is
happening, or trigger changes in thought and behavior
mood
A diffuse, longer-lasting state of mind or feeling.
Rather than interrupting what is happening, they
influence thought and behavior.
primary emotions
Emotions that are evolutionarily
adaptive, shared across cultures, and
associated with specific physical states.
ex: anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness
Secondary emotions
blends of primary emotions: remorse, guilt, submission, anticipation
circumplex map
one proposed mapping of emotions, with 2 dimesions of affect: valence and activation
valence
how positive or negative an emotion is
qualitative metric
activation (arousal)
physiolgical activation (increased brain activity) or increased autonomic responses (increased heart rate, sweating, muscle tension)
quantitative metric
James-Lange Theory of Emotion
a person’s interpretation of the physical changes in a situation leads that person to feel an emotion
ex: when a grizzly bear threatens you, you start to sweat, experience a pounding hear, and run. these responses generate the emotion of fear
facial feedback hypothesis
implication of the James-Lange Theory
if you mold your facial muscles to mimic an emotional state, you activate that emotion, even if its forced
proposes that facial expressions trigger the experience of emotions, not the other way around,
evidence against the James-Lange Theory
little difference in the physiological responses associated with different emotions, such as anger, fear, and sorrow
Cannon-bard theory
proposes that the mind and body experience emotions independently
the info form an emotion-producing stimulus is processed in subcortial structures so we experience two separate things at roughly the same time: an emotion and a physical reaction
ex: when a grizzly bear threatens you, you experience the physical reaction of arousal (heart pounding, trembling) and the emotion of fear
prefrontal cortex
right and left prefrontal cortices are associated with neg and pos affect aka cerebral asymmetry
people also can be dominant in one hemisphere of their frontal lobes and that dominant hemisphere can bias their emotions
amygdala
a subcortical structure that processes the emotional significance of stimuli and generates immediate emotional and behavioral reactions
brain structure most important for emotional learning (cc)
damage to the amyygdala
some people still show fear when confronted with dangerous objects, but they do not develop conditioned fear responses to objects associated with dangerous objects
ex: study participants receive an electric shock each time they see a picture of a blue square.
usually, the participant will develop a CR to the blue square, but people with amygdala damage do not show classical conditioning to the blue square
two pathway theory
Some theories posit that that when sensory information reaches the
thalamus, it can take two paths.
The fast path and the slow path enable us
to assess and respond to emotion-producing stimuli in different ways.
evidence against cannon board theory
According to the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion, the
information from an emotion-producing stimulus is
processed in subcortical structures.
This assumes that the amygdala is capable of processing
visual information, (along the ‘fast path’) all on its own
By suggesting that the ‘Fast Path’ component of the
subcortical model directly feeds visual information
to the Amygdala, it ignores the complexity involved
in the processing of inputs.
As we learned, transforming sensation into a
meaningful percept involves a huge chunk of cortex
to carry out.
2 factor theory
A situation evokes a physiological response and an emotion label
whatever the person believes caused the emotion will determine how the person labels the emotion
a person experiences physiological changes, applies a cognitive label to explain those changes and translates that label into an emotion
ex: a grizzly bear approaches you, you then experience arousal (heart pounds, trembles), you apply a cognitive label (“That is a scary bear. Im afraid of it!), then you label your emotion, which would be fear
prediction of the two factor theory
physical states caused by a situation can be attributed to the wrong emotion
misattribution of arousal
when people misidentify the source of their arousal
need
a state of biological or social deficiency. needs lead to goal-directed behaviors
need hierarchy
arrangement of needs, in which basic survival needs must be met before people can satisfy higher needs
needs pyramid
1) physiological needs (hunger, thirst)
2) safety
3) belonging and love
4) esteem
5) self actualization (living to full potential)
self actualization
occurs when someone achieves his or her personal dreams and aspirations
drive
a psychological state that, by creating arousal, motivates one to satisfy needs
ex: biological needs like thirst or hunger, basic drives help animals maintain equilibrium
when an animal is deprived of some need, a drive increases in proportion to the amount of deprivation
homeostasis
the tendency for bodily functions to maintain equilibrium
drive underlying behavior can come from
internal or external forces
intrinsic motivation
Motivation to perform an activity because of the value or pleasure associated with
that activity, rather than for an apparent external goal or purpose
ex: painting for fun
extrinsic motivation
Motivation to perform an activity in order to achieve external rewards
ex: painting for a paycheck
extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation
Kids were given markers to play with, which started as Intrinsically Enjoyable
One group was given a reward for playing with markers.
Later on, the kids who received the reward no longer
had interest in marker playing w/o a reward.
why would they play with the pens for free when they were used to being paid
self-regulation
The process by which people change their behavior to attain personal goals
ex: Children able to delay gratification at
age 4 were rated 10 years later as
being more socially competent and
better able to handle frustration.
A followup study actually showed that
the ‘self regulators’ in the originator
went on to have higher SAT scores
challenge in self regulation
postponing immediate
gratification in the pursuit of long-term goals
hot cognitions to cold cognitions
mentally transforming the desired object into something undesired
hot=rewarding aspects of desired objects
cold= symbolic meanings
ex: kids imagined a marshmallow as clouds or a pretzel as a log
hypothalamus
organizes eating behaviors
monitors various hormones and nutrients and operates to maintain a state of homeostasis
brain region considered most important for stimulating sexual behavior
damage to the hypothalamus
alters eating behavior and body weight
ventromedial region: eat far more than normal: leads to obesity
lateral region: eat far less than normal: leads to weight loss and death unless force fed
Ghrelin
hunger hormone
originates in the stomach; surges before meals, then decreases after people eat; plays an important role in triggering eating
leptin (satiation hormone)
released from fat cells as more fat is stored and travels to the hypothalamus, where it acts to inhibit eating behavior
Males have a greater quantity of
androgens
females have a greater quantity of
estrogens and progesterone
males need a certain amount of (Blank) to be able to engage in sex
testosterone
the more testosterone women have,
the more likely they are to have
sexual thoughts and desires (higher sex drive).
menstrual cycle
in women, the release of hormones varies according to a cycle that repeats itself approx every 28 days: the menstrual cycle
sexual strategies theory
women are more cautious about having sex bc having offspring is a much more intensive commitment for them than it is for men
