L1 Theories of Emotion Flashcards
What are emotions?
The A in the A, B and C of psychology
Difficult to define but we know it when we see it
What are the difficulties in studying emotion?
Methodologically difficult to study as it is experiential
Often mistaken as being irrational and not worth study
What was Darwin’s (1872) theory?
Treated emotions as discrete entities
Focused on emotional expressions as communicating to others
Proposed that movements of animals reflected this and so do facial expressions
Facial expressions are universal but gestures are culture specific
What did Windt add to Darwins theory?
That emotions are dimensional and vary in pleasantness and activation
Came to this conclusion by tapping different rhythms on a tuning fork and looking at the responses
What were Darwin’s methods?
Had an evolutionary perspective, made lots of observations
His emphasis on facial muscles was later used by Ekman in developing his facial action codes
What was Darwin’s legacy?
The function of emotions - allowed emotions to be described in terms of their significance for increasing chance of survival and reproduction
Emotions can be seen as adaptations for orientation to the environment
He influenced later views of emotion as communication and social relationships
What was the James-Lange theory?
Proposed that emotions are no more than the experience of the sets of bodily changes that occur in response to emotive cues
When you meet a bear, you run and your fear is the experience of the bodily changes involved
How did Cannon critique the James-Lange theory?
Autonomic activity doesn’t differentiate all emotion states as it isn’t sufficiently sensitive
Separating organs from brain in animals doesn’t impair emotion behaviour
Body changes are too slow to generate emotions
Artificial activation of the body is insufficient to generate emotion
What is the current stance on James-Lange theory?
Body’s responses doesn’t fully differentiate between emotional states but the criticisms only partially hold up
A 2 factor theory is more common, where the body contributes to the crude sense of emotion which is then cognitively appraised and leads to nuanced emotional experience
What is Damasio’s Somatic Marker Hypothesis (1996)?
Bodily reactions to emotional events are recorded as somatic markers (e.g. associating increased HR with anxiety)
These somatic markers are learned and guide our decision making e.g. having an unpleasant gut feeling and avoiding that action
What is the Cannon-Bard theory?
Cannon (1927) described a neuroanatomical theory of emotion - was elaborated by Bard (1928)
The thalamus and hypothalamus are involved in producing an emotion response to stimuli and that this response is inhibited by the neocortex
What was Cannon-Bard’s theory influenced by?
Lesion studies e.g. found that thalamic lesions produced excessive pain reactions
Electrical stimulation studies were able to induce anger, fear, curiosity and lethargy in animals - identifying regions for pleasure-approach and distress-avoidance
Decortication studies produced a disinhibited response
What was Cannon-Bard’s legacy?
Hypothalamus shown to be part of a reward network in the brain
Cortex modulates output of the hypothalamus and limbic system, allowing emotional control
What was Arnold’s (1954) Appraisal theory?
Proposed that emotions are based on appraising events
Defined emotions as the felt tendency towards an object judged suitable the felt tendency away from an object judged unsuitable
Emotions seen as rational
What was Arnold’s legacy?
Automatic appraisal - Zajonc (1980) proposed that the primary appraisal system is automatic and immediate and secondary is complex and conscious
Discrete appraisal - people appraise in the context of ongoing relations with environment. You evaluate the relevance to one’s goals and then evaluate meaning and how to respond
Dimensional approach: use dimensions such as certainty, responsibility and legitimacy
