emotion - week 9 part 1 Flashcards
what is emotion?
comprise biological responses as well as subjective feelings
6 core emotions
happiness
saddness
anger
fear
suprise
disgust
how are the 6 core emotions defined
in relation to the facial expression that characterise each emotion
(cultural differences?)
what is emotion for?
aid survival and protection
eg. fear helps avoid danger
can emotion be maladaptive?
yes
phobias
drugs
PTSD
fear
when we are in a state of fear there are characteristic bodily responses that accompany the subjective feeling
autonomic –> changes in HR, blood pressure and breathing rate
physiological –> release of corticosterone
also behavioural responses
- fight or flight response
- more detailed memory of a fearful experience (changes in cognition)
subjective feeling
james-lange theory
posed q in relation to fear of how we should interpret the situation of a man meeting a bear, being frightened and running away
assumption that man becomes frightened when seeing the bear
- the emotional feeling
and hence runs away
- the emotional response
instead argued that:
the bodily manisfestations must first be interposed
- the man runs away because he sees the bear
- hence he is frightened
in order to feel an emotion we must experience these bodily manifestations which are the aforementioned biological responses
the man is afraid because he runs away
james - lange diagram
stimulus —-> perception —-> peripheral response —> interpetation -> emotion
the stimulus is in the environment
it is perceived in the brain and produces a peripheral response
- hormonal changes
- behavioural changes
- physiological changes
by the brain interpreting and recognising these changes and the specific pattern of the changes a subjective emotion is felt
only with a peripheral response being interpreted do we feel an emotion
james-lange - args for
can feel bodily changes
- what if emotion is stripped of bodily response?
if the subjective feeling preceeds and triggers the bodily response, the bodily response should be unimportant to the nature of emotional feeling
‘a purely disembodied emotion is a nonenity’
evolutionary perspective
- if we accept survival value of emotional responses makes sense that such a value is optimal if the responses are triggered as quickly as possible
- why should the mechanism that enables us to escape threat require first that the feeling of fear isi experienced?
- our experience shows bodily responses take place almost instamtaneously and often before any feeling of emotion
also species exist that shows an emotional response that do not have emotional feeling eg. a worm recoils when you touch it
james-lange - how our bodies give rise to different responses and how can we explain the fact we experience the apprpriate emotion with little or no confusion?
points to differences in bodily responses
- fear - adrenaline
- anger - noradrenaline
specific body pattern gives rise to different and relevent emotions
cannon-bard theory
theory that emotional feelings and physiological responses occur in parallel
if it is a requirement that bodily responses be produced and then monitored in order to feel an emotion, how can this be reconciled with the speed we feel the subjective emotion?
- seems to be a long and complex process for situations where we feel emotions very rapidly
this is not subjective feelings triggering the biological response, rather perception of the emotional stimulus triggers in parallel both the bodily responses and subjective feeling
- however, does place emphasis on the ability of subjective feeling to modulate the bodily response
—> if we consciously decide to be in a state of fear, the bodily responses associated with fear will be more intense should a fearful stimulus be encountered
cannon-bard diagram
stimulus —> perception —–> peripheral response
|
|
emotion
subjective experience of emotion does not depend on peripheral response
are bodily changes different enough to account for specific emotional feelings?
many of the bodily responses to emotional stimuli are coordinated by activation of the sympathetic nervous system
– sympathetic nervous system control internal organs
– stimulated in times of fear, anger, and non-emotional conditions (fever)
so how does body distinguish?
- not just an individual response
- specific patterns associated with specific emotion
1983
- induced emotions using instructions to produce a distinct emotional facial expression
6 core emotions investigates
- could partically be distunguished on the basis of HR and skin temp. alone
- therefore, remains possible that distinct emotions are characteriserised by specific patterns of many biological responses
are bodily changes different enough to account for specific emotional feelings? - issues of time
some bodily resonses are rapid in onset
many others slower
- stress hormone corticosterone peaks many minutes after induction of stress
if it is the integration of all these responses that defines an emotion, how is it that our subjective experience can begin within one second of stimulus presentation, while many of the bodily responses lag behind?
does prevention of peripheral feedback abolish emotional feelings?
james-lange vs cannon-bard
james-lange
- yes
if able to prevent preception of bodily responses there should be an absense of subjective feelings
cognitively might think a situation is fearful but would have no emotional sensation of that fear
cannon-bard
- no
evidence from sherrington 1906 showing that when spinal cord of dogs was severed (preventingn body —> brain)
emotional behaviour remained relatively intact
however such emotional behaviour may be part of teh pattern of bodily responses ratehr than indirect measure of subjective feelings in experimental animals (no idea how the dog feels, barking is a behavioural response)
does prevention of peripheral feedback abolish emotional feelings?
- most relevant evidence
george hohann 1966 - a paraplegic
interviewed other patients with spinal cord damage to determine whether there were any changes in emotional feelings as a result of tehir injuries
when evaluating sexual excitment, fear and anger it was clear that there as a decrease in emotional feeling
- especially when the spinal cord had been damaged at a higher level, thereby depreving the patient of senesory feedback from a greater portion of the body
in contrast grief was often enhanced and almost all patients reported increased episodes of weeping and getting choked up
- for example when saying goodbye to someone (loved one)
does prevention of peripheral feedback abolish emotional feelings?
- evidence is mixed
why should deprivation of peripheral feedback impair some emotions but enhance others?
the patients reported being conscious of the absence (or lessening) of the bodily symptoms
therefore, it cannot be determined whether the decreased emotional feeling was as a result of distruption of the james-lange process or whether it is simply a cognitive appreciation that the emotional experience has changed as a result of the spinal injury
does artificial stimulation of bodily responses induce emotional feelings?
if james-lange correct we would expect this to happen
- early attempts involved giving humans (volenteers) a dose of adrenaline
- adrenaline activates the sympathic nervous system and many bodily functions associated with emotion
- noted by maranon 1924 effects were not clearly in favour of james-lange theory
- while subjects because consciously aware of the cardiac and pulmonary effects of adrenaline there was no real experience of emotion
—-> subjects reported feeling ‘as if’ they were afraid but without true emotional feeling
could be that a single administeration of adrenaline does not create the specific body pattern response, so doesnt trigger an emotional feeling
role for peripheral responses enhancing emotional experience?
within the maranon 1924 study
supports role for peripheral responses in enhancing emotional experience
- in a subset of cases adrenaline induced a real emotion of grief/sorrow
- only seen when subjects had shortly before been talking about their sick children or dead parents
- so when an emotion pre-exists stimulation of the periphery it strengthens the intensity of the feeling
to some extent this goes against cannon-bard
–> cannon bard does the opposite it, instead emphasises the effect of subjective feeling to modulate bodily response
schachter-singer theory
physiological responses activate emotion, but cognitive interpretation determines the emotion felt
referred to as the cognitive labelling or two-factor theory
represents one approach to reconciling the interaction between cognitive and periphery in emotional experience
an acceptance of certian aspects of james-lange and cannon-bard
- argued that there is no real distinction between the bodily response to different emotions (c-b)
- however the bodily responses that ar common to all emotions do trigger the subjective feeling (j-l)
schachter-singer theory
how is it possible that a common bodily response can elicit different emotional states
argue that it is the role of cognition
stimulation of bodily response (1st factor) tell us we should be experience an emotion
it is the process of cognitive labelling (2nd factor) dependent on the context of the situation that determines which emotion should be felt
stimulus —-> perception —-> peripheral response
|
which emotion?
|
interpretation (context)
|
emotion
schachter-singer theory
study (1962) what?
gave their subjects adrealine
however were told they were recieving a novel vitamin supplement ‘suproxin’
half were prepared cognitively for the physiological effect of adrealine
- told what they might happen eg. heart will pound
half were given no cognitive explaination for effects
as a second manipulation after being given adrenaline half the subjects were placed in a room with another person who was acting euphorically
- other half angry ((context!!)
schachter-singer theory
study (1962) results
the subjects who had been cognitively informed displayed no emotional behaviour, nor did they report feeling emotion
the subject w/ no explanation of physiological effects began to behave in the same manner as the actor
- reported feeling happiness or anger
this pattern of results supports the notion that adrenaline triggered emotion but the precise subjective feeling experienced was determined by cognitive context
schachter-singer theory
study (1962)
however observed differences…
fear –> adrenaline
anger–> noradrenaline
therefore bodily patterns of responses may place some constraint upon the range of emotions that can be experienced
however, subjects successfully moved to anger even though given adrenaline
key points
james-lange theory suggests…
pattern of response activates and determines emotional feeling
key points
cannon-bard theory suggests….
the responses and feelings occur in parallel with the feeling influencing the responses
key points
serveral points of contention between james-lange and cannon-bard
fast enough
different enough
sensitive enough
key points
schachter-singer suggests ….
that the biological responses trigger the subjective emotion
but the nature of the emotion is determined by cognitive interpretation of the environment (the contetxt)
