history of emotion

Question 1

Charles Darwin

Answer 1

• After his seminal book “On the origin of species” (1859), Darwin extended his theory of evolution to mental states, and to human emotions
• Darwin assumed that emotions: 1) are a class of mental states; 2) are usually caused by emotion-specific appraisals of events; and 3) often cause emotion-specific bodily changes
• Hence, the bodily changes that occur in emotion indicate the presence of the mental states
• In his book “The expression of emotions in man and animals” (1872), Darwin asserted that emotional expression of humans are the product of evolution
• He used a range of research methods: intra- and intercultural studies of facial emotion recognition; observations of emotional expressions in children and in blind-born people, and crossspecies comparisons of emotional expressions
• Based on the data, Darwin concluded that facial expressions of emotions, as well as recognition of others’ emotional expression, is inherited

Question 2

Darwins influence on emotion science

Answer 2

• Darwin’s theory of evolution had found widespread acceptance in psychology soon after publication of his books
• Leading psychologists at that time, such as William James, were inspired by Darwin’s idea that the theory of evolution applies not only to bodily but also to mental traits
• Darwin’s idea that emotion expression correspond to different emotion categories in a one-on-one manner also inspires contemporary basic emotion theorists
• Moreover, Darwin’s research methods also influenced most of the methods for studying emotional expressions today

Question 3

William James

Answer 3

• William James is one of the most widely cited historical figures in the science of emotion
• Counterintuitively, James (1884)assumed that subjective emotional experience is caused by changes in the body resulting from perception of an important event. A similar view was outlined simultaneously by Lange (1885)
• E.g. we experience fear because we are trembling
• This theory is called the James–Lange theory, the first theory of emotion
• His approach to emotion:
•  James (1884) defined that “the bodily changes follow directly the perception of the exciting fact, and that our feeling of the same changes as they occur is the emotion”
• Different emotions are experienced differently because they arise from different constellations of physiological responses

Question 4

The James Lang Theory

Answer 4

• The James–Lange theory was later called the peripheral theory of emotions because it emphasizes the importance of bodily responses for the emergence of emotions.
• It is also a constructivist approach to emotion, as it assumes there is no separate and specialised emotion centre in the brain

stimulus leads to bodily responses which leads to emotion
Bodily responses=physiological responses are specific to different emotions
Emotion= experience of emotion is caused by interpretation of physiological responses

• The effect of benzodiazepines supports the james lang theory; tense muscles signal anxiety to the brain, so when they relax the brain no longer receives this info and the subject becomes less anxious
• Only applicable to emotions which accompany a ‘specific physical reaction’
• This theory was testable, and refutable

Question 5

Cannon and Philip Bard

Answer 5

• Cannon (1927) and Bard (1928) hypothesised that the subjective experience of emotion occurs simultaneously and independently of autonomous bodily changes
• Particularly, emotional events have two separate effects on the brain:
• 1) stimulate the ANS to elicit the physiological arousal that prepares the body to respond to a threat, and simultaneously,
• 2) cause the cerebral cortex to perceive emotions

Question 6

Cannon and Bard theory of emotion

Answer 6

• Cannon and Bard highlighted the importance of the thalamus in triggering emotion. Hence, their theory is also called the thalamic theory of emotion
• According to their theory, the physiological arousal, mediated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS),
• Moreover, the brain is capable of eliciting emotion even without receiving information from the peripheral nervous system
• While the thalamus controls experience of emotion, the cerebral cortex controls the expression of emotion

More specifically, it is suggested that emotions result when the thalamus sends a message to the brain in response to a stimulus, resulting in a physiological reaction.1

centralist approach to emotion

For example: I see a snake –> I am afraid, and I begin to tremble.

When an event occurs, the thalamus transmits a signal to the amygdala. The amygdala is a small, oval-shaped structure in the brain that plays an important role in emotional processing, including emotions such as fear and anger. The thalamus also sends signals to the autonomic nervous system, resulting in physical reactions such as muscle tension, shaking, and sweating.