Emotions

Question 1

Limbic System

Answer 1

• A set of structures in the brain, and many structures play an important role in regulating emotions.
• Experts can’t agree on what structures make up the entire limbic system.

Question 2

Thalamus

Answer 2

• sensory relay station, everything you hear/taste/etc.
• Senses come through your nerves and end up in thalamus, which directs them to appropriate areas in cortex, and other areas of the brain.
• Emotions contingent on senses.
• Smell is only one that bypasses the thalamus – goes to areas closer to amygdala.

Question 3

Amygdala

Answer 3

• aka aggression center.
• If you stimulate amygdala, produces anger/violence and fear/anxiety.

Question 4

Hippocampus

Answer 4

• key role in forming new memories.
• Convert Short Term Memory -> Long-Term Memory.
• If destroyed, still have old memories intact, just can’t make new ones (anterograde amnesia).

Question 5

Hypothalamus

Answer 5

• it regulates the Autonomic Nervous System - (fight or flight vs. rest and digest).
• Controlling endocrine system by triggers hormones like epinephrine/norepinephrine.
• Responsible for hunger, sleep, thirst, sex

Question 6

Three Components of Emotion: Cognitive

Answer 6

• vary person to person, they’re mental assessments that can include appraisal of what is happening, thoughts and expectations about the situation.
• Cognitive experiences result from emotions, and can cause emotions.

Question 7

Three Components of Emotion: Behavioural

Answer 7

• emotions produces different behavioral responses evident from body language or facial expression.
• Expressions vary by individual and interpreted differently culture to culture.

Question 8

Paul Ekman: 6 Main Universal Emotions

Answer 8

• happiness
• sadness
• fear
• disgust
• anger
• surprise.

Question 9

Theories of Emotion: James-Lange Theory

Answer 9

• Experience of emotion is due to perception of physiological responses.
• Event -> Physiological Response -> Interpretation of Physiological Response -> Emotion

Question 10

Theories of Emotion: Cannon-Bard Theory

Answer 10

• disagreed with James-Lange, and found flaws in idea that physiological response triggered emotion.
• Flaws:
  1. They first said that you could experience physiological response w/o emotion
  2. Noticed many different emotions had same physiological responses.
• Event -> Physiological Response + Emotion
• Cannon-Bard: physiological + emotion

Question 11

Theories of Emotion: Schachter-Singer

Answer 11

• physiological and cognitive responses simultaneously form experience of emotion.
• If we become physiologically aroused, we don’t feel a specific emotion until we’re able to label/ identify reason for situation.
• Event -> Physiological Response + Identify reason for the situation -> Emotion
• Schachter-Singer: physiological + cognitive -> emotion

Question 12

Theories of Emotion: Lazarus Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Answer 12

• experience of emotion depends on how the situation is cognitively appraised (labelled).
• If we label emotion as good, it is positive
• If we label emotion as bad, it is negative
• Lazarus: cognitive -> emotion + physiological

Question 13

Frustration Aggression Hypothesis

Answer 13

• not personality based, but more emotional.
• the hypothesis stated that frustration always precedes aggression, and aggression is the sure consequence of frustration.

Question 14

Aggression

Answer 14

• any physical/verbal behavior intended to harm or destroy