head in the clouds Flashcards
aim of the rollercoaster “love at first fright” article
examine effects of residual nervous system arousal on perceptions of sexual attraction. So what the effects of excitation transfer are in regards to sexual attraction
in “love at first fright” article, what was the difference in results of ppl with romantic partners and non romantic partners when they rated the photo?
For all genders riding with a non romantic partner→ higher rating for the photo when they came out of ride than when they went in
Riding with romantic partner → no significant difference when entering or exiting the ride.
excitation transfer theory - by who
Zillman (1971)
Proposes that residual excitement from a previous arousing stimulus or event, can transfer onto later events resulting in making ones emotional states intensified
step by step role of sympathetic nervous system in excitation transfer
- when it’s aroused, it doesn’t just abruptly go back to neutral when the stimulus that is eliciting the arousal stops, it gradually declines
-Then if a person is in an emotion-eliciting situation, they can misattribute the residual excitement to their current situation, intensifying it.
what’s the difference between residual arousal and excitation transfer
residual arousal is just the mere state after ur nervous system reacts to a emotion-eliciting stimulus and it is in the period where its declining. excitation transfer is precisely when u misattribute that residual arousal and use it to heighten the emotion u feel fr another situation/person
what does anxiety relief have to do with the resuts of the study
it is an additional explanation as to why ppl that exited the rollercoaster
what does anxiety relief have to do with the results of the study
it is an additional explanation as to why ppl that exited the rollercoaster rated the photo higher for attractiveness. stress from getting on may have blocked their feelings of attraction but now that there is no danger they can relax and feel attraction.
what are the general speculations of article 2 (sexual attraction and anxiety)
theres a connection between aggression and sexual attraction
A lot of speculation and evidence suggesting that sexual attraction is more likely to happen when you’re experiencing strong emotion
Barclay and haber (1965) classroom experiment
- control group: class with teacher
- other class had teacher that provoked/angered students
- both groups tested on aggressive feelings and how sexually aroused they felt atm.
- result: way more sexual arousal from provoked group
Aron (1970) agrees there’s am aggression-sexuality link in his experiment, but…..
he says it’s more general. proposes that any form of arousal can enhance sexual arousal. his study shows how residual arousal from role playing with attractive female confederate increases arousal. more intense role play scenarios, more desire to kiss confederate. also,
Schacter & singer theory of emotion
environmental cues are used in certain circumstances to provide emotional labels for unexplained or ambiguous
when does Aron think strong emotions are labeled as sexual attraction?
when there is someone they can attribute it to and when their whole focus doesnt have to be on what is making them aroused in the first place.
James-lange theory of emotion
physical reaction determines emotion. see a stimulus–> have a physiological response –> emotion.
e.g at cinema watching a movie, you start crying, THEN realize you’re sad
Cannon-bard theory of emotion
Stimulis → both brain and arousal happen at same time
example:
Schachter and singer’s 2 factor theory of emotion
there are 2 factors that cause emotion experience
1. physiological (arousal)
2. the interpretation of that feeling
Physical response + cognitive attribution = interpretation of the situation then decide how to act
epinephrine experiment
- 3 groups
- 1: informed that they were injected with epinephrine (attributed arousal to the injection) so made neutral reaction
- 2: not informed they were injected didnt know why they were aroused so relied on the environment. if a confederate acted happy they’d think they had arousal happiness and vice versa for angry confederate.
- 3→ injected with placebo???
misattribution of arousal main topics studied
- bridge experiment
- excitation transfer
-zillmans excitation transfer model
bridge experiment
rollercoaster experiment
Aim: examine effects of residual nervous system arousal on perceptions of sexual attraction. So what the effects of excitation transfer are in regards to sexual attraction
- Results: study was consistent with excitation transfer theory.
- For all genders riding with a non romantic partner→ higher rating for the photo when they came out of ride than when they went in
- Riding with romantic partner → no significant difference when entering or exiting the ride. [full details on notes]
what is arousal
something that stimulates actio
makes body ready for activities
physiological (heart rate, breathing)
emotional (
LG how does arousal affect our later behavior?
-james-lange theory of emotion
LG what factors lead us to misattribute our emotions?
- Schachter & singer 2 factor theory of emotion
- experiment on attribution of emotion
- appraisal
- bridge experiment
- excitation transfer/ Zillman’s model
what’s the difference between cannon bard theory of emotion and james lange theory of emotion?
cannon bard is more complex than james lange because it add in a cognitive element (the emotion and arousal tate that appears after the brain processes the source of danger)
criticism of epinephrine experiment
Repeated experiments dont always show the same results
When the unexpected reaction is too strong, it will most likely be linked to a negative emotion whereas if a more subtle physiological reaction was given, they have the chance to see for themselves what they will attribute this emotion to (turning towards the environment for a decision).
Link to bridge experiment: This above experiment is about attribution while the bridge one is about misattribution if there is something(the stimuli) extraordinary, we heighten our emotional response. The same way that people who had the epinephrine, attributed their emotions, the men on the higher suspension bridge wrote more arousing stories.
what is attribution
Our own attempt to interpret and understand what happened
We do not always know the source of our emption so we might find other stimuli to link our emotions to (usually stimuli that activates our nervous system
James olsen (1990) experiment with the noises
Everyone exposed to minor noise. A few people told noise is soothing, Others told that noise would be disruptive
results:
Why men on suspension bridge were willing to talk to the interviewer
Schachter explains that when we feel more vulnerable, we are open to having company even if it is a stranger
what does Zillman propose about excitation transfer
Proposes that residual excitement from a previous arousing stimulus or event, can transfer onto later events resulting in making ones emotional states intensified
what is the role of the sympathetic nervous system in excitation transfer
when it’s aroused, it doesn’t just abruptly go back to neutral when the stimulus that is eliciting the arousal stops, it gradually declines
Then if a person is in an emotion-eliciting situation, they can misattribute the residual excitement to their current situation, intensifying it.
whether or not excitation transfer occurs (what does it depend on)
the awareness the person has about the fact that they are still a bit aroused by the previous situation. In fancy words: whether environmental cues from the original source of arousal are readily apparent. When the individual connects the residual state of excitation to the prior inducing source.
Nervous system activation examples that have been shown to enhance perceptions of attractiveness
anger, emotional role-play, fear-arousing situations, exercise.
