emotions

Question 1

emotional reaction

Answer 1

• quick: sec-mins
• fluctuating
• visceral/primal response to specific stimulus (ANS)
• related to survival
  
  • avoid harm
  • gain resources

Question 2

affective state

Answer 2

• long-lasting (min-hr)
• stable
• broad mood
• two-axes
  
  • valence (+/-)
  • arousal (high/low)

Question 3

valence vs arousal

Answer 3

• high arousal & — valence ➞ fearful, anxious
• high arousal & + valence ➞ excited, playful
• low arousal & — valence ➞ bored, depressed
• low arousal & + valence ➞ calm, relaxed

Question 4

evolutionary advantages of emotions & affective states

Answer 4

• advertisement/communication = evolutionary advantage
• fear: avoidance of predators ➞ survival (remembering cues, sights, smells)
• disgust: avoiding harmful foods ➞ survival
• excitement: communicating best resources to ↑ chances of mating & reproductive success
• calm: conserve energy

Question 5

physiological indicators of affective states

Answer 5

heart rate variability
* how stable is the HR
* series of inter-beat intervals over specific period of time
* variability ≠ HR
* low HRV = sympathetic ANS (FOF)
* system must be coordinated/focused
* no indicator of +/— valence, both can have low variability
* high HRV = parasympathetic ANS (rest & digest)
* high variability = calm
* no need for system to be coordinated

eye/nose temperature
* infrared thermography can tell where blood is in body
* anywhere skin is thin can see blood flow
* redirection of blood from peripheral regions to internal organs = blood needs to be ready to pump to muscles in FOF response to survive
* immediate drop in temp = pain
* immediate increase in temp = fear
* non-invasive

Question 6

indicators of affective states

Answer 6

• physiological
• behavioral
• cognitive

Question 7

behavioral indicators of affective states

Answer 7

• facial action units (FAUs) aka grimaces
  
  • lack of signals could be neutral
  • contortions of face indicates emotions (ex: muscle tightening)
  • scoring for diff regions of face based on how they scrunch (eyes, nose, ears)
  • consistent across mammals
  • some animals much harder to tell (e.g. sheep)
  • a lot of info can be communicated through face
    
    • ewes can discriminate between calm & stressed/anxious facial displays for conspecifics
    • prefer neutral faces of unfamiliar ewes over stressed face of familiar ewes
    • they can remember friends for up to 2 years

vocalizations
* quality of sound changes with arousal
* ex: rats “giggle” = ↑ arousal & + state
* pigs squeal = ↑ arousal & —state
* receiver must be able to

Question 8

limitations to physiological & behavioral indicators

Answer 8

• just addressing arousal (not valence)
• ex: cortisol surge, ↑ movement, pupil constrictions, defecation, ↑ HR, ↑ freq vocalizations could =
  
  • ↑ arousal — valence (e.g. fear)
  • ↑ arousal + valence (e.g. excited)
• can also be somewhat subjective
• vulnerable to anthropomorphism

Question 9

cognitive indicators of affective states

Answer 9

• process, store, & act of envir info
• cognitive bias testing: changes in cognitive fx (info processing/thinking) can be indicators of emotional state (valence) filtered by affective state
  
  • person in negative affective state (anxiety/fear) will:
    
    • appraise “unknowns” negatively ➞ judgement bias
    • give more attention to threats ➞ attention bias
    • retrieve more negative memories ➞ memory bias

Question 10

judgement bias

Answer 10

person in negative affective state (anxiety/fear) will appraise “unknowns” negatively
* judgement bias testing in rats, calves, & pigs
* + stimulus conditioned “GO” response ➞ easily trained to go quickly
* spacious, enriched environments for rats & pigs
* sheep given anti-anxiety meds
* those that approached anticipated reward showing positive bias
* — stimulus conditioned “NO GO” response ➞ stay still/do not approach
* post-dehorning in dairy calves
* sheep given serotonin inhibitor
* those that DID NOT approach anticipated punishment showing negative bias

Question 11

attention bias

Answer 11

person in negative affective state (anxiety/fear) will give more attention to threats

• attention bias testing in sheep: placed in box with hay in center & window with/without dog
  
  • dog = threat
  • sheep with + affective state did not pay much attention to the threat, just continued to eat & smell ground
  • sheep with — affective state pay a lot of attention to threat
• potential threat attention level in brain clouded by emotions