Emotion, Lecture 6 Flashcards
Darwin and Emotional Expressions
Darwin proposed that many species of animals, including humans, communicate through changes in posture, facial expression, and nonverbal sounds.
Emotional expressions are innate and biologically determined, according to Darwin’s theory (1872).
Darwin made observations of his own children and corresponded with people in isolated cultures around the world to support his theory.
Basic Emotions Theory by Ekman
Ekman’s Basic Emotions Theory suggests that basic emotions are associated with distinctive facial expressions, voice intonation, body movement, and distinct neural substrates.
Each emotion has evolved to deal with different survival problems and occurs automatically.
According to this theory, there are six basic emotions: sadness, happiness, disgust, surprise, anger, and fear.
These emotions are universal and mostly culture-independent.
Cross-Cultural Studies of Emotion
Ekman and Friesen (1971) conducted a study to investigate if members of an isolated tribe in New Guinea could recognize facial expressions of emotion produced by Westerners.
Results showed that people in the New Guinea tribe could recognize western emotional expressions.
Ekman, Sorenson, and Friesen (1969) conducted another study to investigate if Westerners could recognize emotion expressions of different cultures.
Results showed that Westerners could recognize these expressions.
The conclusions drawn from these studies indicate that the expression of emotions is unlearned as they are the same in cultures that have not been exposed to each other.
James-Lange Theory
The James-Lange Theory suggests that emotion-producing situations elicit physiological responses such as trembling, sweating, and heart pounding.
Certain behaviors may also be exhibited, such as running away or feeling queasy.
The feedback from the organs and muscles involved in these responses constitutes how we feel emotion, which determines our own emotional feelings based on what we find ourselves in.
Cannon-Bard Theory
The Cannon-Bard Theory proposes that the thalamus sends simultaneous signals to the cortex (for conscious experience) and the autonomic nervous system (for arousal) in response to an emotion-producing stimulus.
According to this theory, emotions do not arise solely from bodily reactions, but rather from both physiological and cognitive processes occurring simultaneously.
Somatic Marker Hypothesis by Damasio
The Somatic Marker Hypothesis suggests that bodily states are the basis of emotions and decisions.
A threatening stimulus can instinctively generate a physiological response, such as an accelerated heartbeat, which sends interoceptive signals to the brain.
These signals are experienced as somatic markers, which mark the emotional value of stimuli and events and facilitate decision-making, particularly in ambiguous situations.
Theory of Constructed Emotions by Feldman-Barret
The Theory of Constructed Emotions proposes that there are no distinct emotional categories, and the emotions we feel are constructed based on the current situation and our previous experiences.
Emotions depend on core affect, memory of previous similar situations, theory of mind, language, and assumed control over the situation and emotions.
According to this theory, all emotions are constructed, and facial expressions cannot be innate either.
Basic Emotions Theory vs. Theory of Constructed Emotions
The Basic Emotions Theory (BET) proposes that facial expressions are innate for basic emotion categories.
The Theory of Constructed Emotions (TCE) proposes that all emotions are constructed, and facial expressions cannot be innate either.
BET acknowledges that some emotions might be constructed, while TCE argues that all emotions are constructed.
Overall, these two theories offer different perspectives on the nature of emotions and how they are generated in the human body and mind.
Amygdala Overview
The amygdala is a small mass of gray matter located in the tip of the left and right temporal lobes. It receives a great deal of sensory input and is often referred to as the “fear center” of the brain. The amygdala plays an important role in learning and storing the emotional value of stimuli.
Fear Conditioning and Amygdala
The amygdala plays a critical role in fear conditioning, in which meaningless stimuli come to acquire fear-inducing properties. If the amygdala is lesioned before learning, the animal does not learn the conditioned response. However, if the amygdala is lesioned after learning, the animal forgets the conditioned response, and objects lose their learned emotional value.
Amygdala and Memory
The amygdala is also important for learning and storing conditioned fear response in memory. However, normal fear-evoking stimuli can still elicit a fear response, indicating the amygdala’s role in learned fear responses.
Amygdala and Fear Recognition
Bilateral amygdala damage impairs the recognition of fear expression in faces. In an fMRI study, participants presented with fearful faces showed left amygdala activity, while different brain areas were activated in response to happy faces.
Amygdala Activation without Conscious Awareness
The amygdala can be activated without conscious awareness through fast and slow routes to the amygdala. Studies have shown that images of spiders and snakes presented subliminally can evoke emotional responses, as measured by skin conductance response, even when participants do not report seeing the images.
Amygdala and the Wider Fear Network
Amygdala activity can lead to enhanced activity in other brain areas, including the visual cortex, hypothalamus, anterior cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortex. This affects the autonomic system, leading to the generation of a fight or flight response.
Amygdala and Positive Associations
The amygdala is involved in learning positive associations, such as when a certain food is hidden under a certain shape. The amygdala also shows activation in response to pleasant and unpleasant smells, but not neutral smells.
