Lecture 6: Emotion regulation and executive function Flashcards
1
Q
What are emotions
A
- Subjective feelings
- Emerge and die out quickly
- 6 main types of emotions = others are a mix of these
- Motivate behaviours
2
Q
Bi-dimensional model of emotions
A
- Lang, 1995
- Every emotion can be describe on 2 way axis
- X = arousal level
- Y = valence of emotion (how positive or negative it is)
- High end of Y = motivational system
- Low end of Y = aversive system (fear)
3
Q
Emotion regulation importance= Past vs present
A
-Helps control emotions
Past:
- -> Strong expressions of emotion useful evolutionary terms
- -> Emotional impulses = adaptive
Present:
–> Useful to control emotions as it improves social functioning rather than promoting survival
4
Q
Emotion regulation strategy by Gross (1998)
A
Situation selection:
- Antecedent focussed
- Sub-concious
Situation modification:
- Antecedent focussed
- Sub-concious
Attentional deployment:
-Antecedent focussed
Cognitive change:
- Antecedent focussed
- Defence mechanisms (conscious or sub-conscious)
- In between intentional control and impulsive actions
Response modulation:
- Response focusses
- Control intentionally
- Control emotions by reappraisal and suppression
- Reappraisal = re-evaluating situation to see from other perspective
- Suppression = suppressing physiological expression of emotion
- Most effective way to control emotions
5
Q
Successful emotion regulation depends on…
A
- Amount of cognitive resources available at given moment
- Flexible alteration (switching) between strategies
- Context to which strategy applied
- Executive control process
6
Q
Other emotion regulation strategies
A
- Distraction:
- -> Works best with high arousal
- -> Simple strategy as doesn’t engage in cognitive processes
- -> Leads to short term goal
- Reappraisal:
- -> Works with low arousal
- -> Complex strategy
- -> Has a long term goal
7
Q
Emotion regulation in offenders
A
- Maladaptive emotion regulation
- Use lots of suppression, avoidance and over-regulation
This leads to:
- Negative decision making
- Increased physiological arousal
- Shallow processing of emotions
-Difficulties with ER associated with impulsive features of type 2 psychopathy
8
Q
Neurobiology of emotion regulation
A
- Associated with prefrontal lobe (lateral and medial_
- Increasing activity in areas in brain inhibit intrinsic parts of brain (limbic system)
- Amygdala inhibited by prefrontal cortex
- Prefrontal cortex associated with neurotransmitters
- When expressing NT’s they come closer to limbic system where they are transformed to inhibit the amygdala
9
Q
Amygdala responses and aggression
A
Intermittent explosive disorder:
- Reactive or impulsive aggression
- Exaggerated amygdala activity and diminished OFC activation to faces expressing anger
Callous-unemotional traits:
- Amygdala responses to fearful expressions negatively associated with CU
- Over and under expression of amygdala associated with aggression
10
Q
Executive functions
A
- Self-generated mechanisms that organise complex cognitive processes
- Inhibition of impulsive responses = ability to stop, break or pause dominant response
- Working memory = updating and temporary storage of ongoing info
- Attentional set shifting = ability to switch attention between tasks
11
Q
Executive function tests
A
- Inhibition of socially inappropriate behaviour and risk assessment = associated with orbitofrontal area, measured using porteus mazes (measure planning ability)
- Inhibition of task-irrelevant info = associated with inferior frontal gyrus and ACC, measured with stroop task
- Working memory tasks = associated with lateral PFC, measured with n-back paradigm
12
Q
EF in offenders
A
- Poor on tests of impulsivity and cognitive flexibility
- ASB worse on EF tests than comparison groups
- ASPD were poor on tasks on planning ability, set shifting and visual memory tasks
- Psychopaths:
- -> Selective attention deficit
- -> Unimpaired executive function
- -> Improved executive function in FACTOR 1 psychopathy
13
Q
Impulsivity and reactive aggression
A
- If someone has good EF and ER they can inhibit the impulsion follow stimulus
- If they dont have good EF and ER leads to compulsivity and impulsivity
- Compulsivity = link to substance abuse
- Impulsivity = link to reactive aggression
