Emotions Flashcards
What is emotion?
Essential feature is experience
What are the 2 dimensions of emotion?
Valence: how positive or negative
Arousal: how passive or active
James-Lange theory
Physiological response precedes emotion
Cannon-Bard theory
Physiological response and emotion occur simultaneously
Why is the Cannon-Bard theory better than the James-Lange?
- Emotions happen quickly, even if body reacts slowly
- People have difficulty detecting bodily response as emotional stimuli
- Not enough distinct responses for all emotions
Schacter and Singer’s Two-Factor theory
Context + interpretation determines emotions, though some physiological responses are limited to one emotion (e.g. red cheeks for blushing)
Role of amygdala
Involved in production of emotions (e.g. fear) and critical in making appraisals (evaluates emotional relevant aspects of stimulus)
What is the fast pathway for threat detection?
Stimulus -> thalamus -> amygdala
What is the slow pathway for threat detection?
Stimulus -> thalamus -> cortex -> amygdala
What’s the role of the cortex in threat detection?
It downregulates the amygdala by determining whether or not the emotion is appropriate
Describe behavioural strategy of regulating emotions
Avoidance of negative situations
Describe cognitive strategy of regulating emotions
Recruiting memories of desired emotions
What doesn’t work when it comes to regulating emotions?
Suppression, which is the inhibition of outward emotion or trying to push back thoughts about the situation. This can result in the rebound effect.
What does work when it comes to regulating emotions?
Affect labelling and reappraisal
Affect labelling
Putting feelings into words, which reduces the intensity of the emotion and identifies the cause.
