Emotions

Question 1

What is an emotion?

Answer 1

An automatic physiological, behavioural and cognitive reaction to external or internal events

Question 2

Emotions are accompanied by 2 things; what are they?

Answer 2

Emotional experience (subjective feelings labeled to identify particular emotions)
and Emotional expression (over and covert behaviours)

Question 3

What was the evolutionary theory of emotions about? Who was the author of this theory?

Answer 3

Darwin: Emotions have evolutionary/adaptive value

Question 4

What is the James-Lange theory of emotions about?

Answer 4

• Stimuli > physiological arousal > emotion

Emotion is the brain’s interpretation of arousal

Question 5

What is the Cannon Bard theory of emotions about?

Answer 5

• Stimuli > arousal + emotion (both independently, but happening simultaneously)

Question 6

What was the

Schachter and Singer’s Two-Factor Theory of emotions about?

Answer 6

• Stimuli > arousal > cognitive label associated w arousal + situation (appraisal) > emotion

Question 7

What is the relation between emotions and bodily changes?

Answer 7

Emotions are Partly Induced by Patterns of Bodily changes

Emotions can be differentiated by the patterns of bodily changes to which they give rise

Question 8

What is the discrete theory of emotions about?

Answer 8

Discrete Theories: propose that a small set of emotions (basic emotions) can be distinguished from one another and are universal
• Basic emotions have now grown to 22

Question 9

What is the dimensional theory of emotions about?

Answer 9

Dimensional Theories: argue that emotions do not neatly fit into categories - there are basic elements but emotions differ across individuals

Question 10

What are the basic elements of emotions according to the dimensional theory of emotions?

Answer 10

○ Emotional valence (perception of whether an emotions is + or -)
○ Arousal (how strongly the emotion is felt)
○ Potency (feelings of power/weakness)
○ Unpredictability

Question 11

What is the theory of constructed emotions about?

Answer 11

Emotional experiences result from the brain’s analysis (through introspection and then categorization) of physiological arousal
Like colours, it can differ from person to person and its the brain that makes sense of it

Question 12

Describe 2 structures of the Papez circuit and their roles in emotions

Answer 12

• Hypothalamus: responsible for behavioural responses part of emotional expression
Cingulate cortex: produce emotional experience
**Go see pic in notes for more detailed circuit

Question 13

What structure did McLean add to the Papez circuit?

Answer 13

The limbic system

Question 14

WHat are the parts of the limbic system?

Answer 14

Amygdala, septum, prefrontal cortex

Question 15

What is today’s view on the Papez circuit?

Answer 15

A meta-analysis proposed that the basic emotions used different parts of the brain (fMRI)

Therefore the circuit of emotions is not a single one

Question 16

What is the Klüver-Bucy Syndrome?

Answer 16

A set of symptoms, including a loss of fear and flattened emotions, that follow the removal of the temporal lobes. (including hippocampus and amygdala)

Question 17

What is fear conditioning?

Answer 17

procedure allowing to express fear

the tone causes the rats to freeze in place, a conditioned response (CR) when they hear the tone (Figure 11.8a, left). This reaction is taken to be a display of fear

Question 18

Describe the location of the amygdala

Answer 18

Deep within the temporal lobes

Part of the limbic system

Question 19

Describe the functions of the amygdala

Answer 19

Autonomic responses associated w fear
Emotional responses
Processing/consolidating memory
Hormonal secretions

Question 20

What is the direct pathway to the amygdala? What is the main function of this pathway?

Answer 20

From the thalamus direclty to the amygdala - fear perception

Question 21

What is the indirect pathway to the amygdala? What is the main function of this pathway?

Answer 21

thalamus, cortex, then amygdala (hippocampus also involved - decides if emotion is relevant)
Fear experience

Question 22

What happened to SM, who had a degenerative disease causing the deterioration of the temporal lobes and of the amygdala?

Answer 22

• Cannot feel fear, cannot be conditioned to fear stimulus, cannot recognize fear in others

People who have damage to amygdala struggle to recognize facial expressions in others

Question 23

How is the amygdala possibly related to racial prejudice? What was the experiment done in relation to this?

Answer 23

The amygdala can learn to respond to threats without awareness of the stimuli causing the response (people feared angry faces previously paired with unpleasant noise without seeing them consciously) -subliminal stimuli

Question 24

What is the story of Phineas Gage?

Answer 24

metal rod through his cheek and prefrontal cortex during an explosion
• After the accident his personality changed and he changed from being well-mannered to confused and unable to make decisions, sometimes engaging in profanities

Question 25

What is the story of Elliott?

Answer 25

damages to prefrontal cortex after tumor surgery
• Ability to take decision impaired
• Abilities to speech/maths, etc were not affected, as well as senses and memory

Question 26

Both Gage and Elliott suffered injuries to the:

Answer 26

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC)

Question 27

What is the somatic marker hypothesis?

Answer 27

The hypothesis that the unconscious activation of past emotional experiences informs decision making.

According to the SMH, bodily changes induced by autonomic nervous system activity, as well as changes in posture and muscle tension that result from emotionally arousing stimuli, are stored within the brain assomatic markers.

Question 28

What is the Iowa Gambling task?

Answer 28

Participants are given play money (like 2000$) and have to choose out of 4 decks of cards (A,B,C,D); 2 of them makes them loose a little money and gain a little, and the 2 others makes them loose a lot more, but also gain a lot more
The task is designed to make sure that it is impossible to learn consciously which decks to choose to win, the learning has to take place implicitly.

Patients with damages to the VMPFC failed to learn to avoid the 2 decks making bigger losses