Lecture week 8 - Emotion 1

Question 1

what does emotion involve?

Answer 1

– Reaction to an (external or internal) event
– Bodily responses
– Action tendency or readiness
– (Often, but not necessarily) subjective experience

Question 2

feeling

Answer 2

internal state, we are aware of something happening

Question 3

difference between emotion and mood

Answer 3

“emotion” refers to an episodic reaction to a specific event,

“mood” refers to more diffuse and long-lasting affective states not necessarily linked to specific events

Question 4

Darwin’s (1872) view of emotion - what did he assume?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

how did Darwin study emotion? What did he find?

Answer 5

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 cross- species 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 6

Darwin said that emotional expression of humans are the product of what?

Answer 6

evolution

Question 7

What did James assume about emotions?

Answer 7

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)

Question 8

theory of emotions the James came up with?

Answer 8

James-Lange theory

Question 9

first theory of emotion

Answer 9

James-Lange theory (1884)

Question 10

if the James-Lange theory was correct, what would be suggested?

Answer 10

if the James-Lange theory is correct then it would suggest there would be emotional change after everything - e.g. drinking coffee might increase heart rate, this would be expected to induce the emotional response of nervousness - however it doesn’t

Question 11

what did James say the explanation for why emotions are experienced differently is?

Answer 11

Different emotions are experienced differently because they arise from different constellations of physiological responses

Question 12

the James-Lange theory was later called what?

Answer 12

the peripheral theory of emotions

Question 13

why was the James-Lange theory later called the peripheral theory of emotions?

Answer 13

because it emphasizes the importance of bodily responses for the emergence of emotions.

Question 14

what type of approach is the peripheral theory of emotions?

Answer 14

constructivist approach - assumes there is no separate and specialised emotion centre in the brain

Question 15

for a theory to be a theory, what must it be?

Answer 15

falsifiable

Question 16

flow chart of James-Lange theory

Answer 16

stimulus –> bodily responses –> emotion

Question 17

wha did Cannon and Bard hypothesise?

Answer 17

the subjective experience of emotion occurs simultaneously and independently of autonomous bodily changes

Question 18

what did Cannon and Bard say about emotional events and their effects on the brain?

Answer 18

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 19

another name for Cannon and Bard’s theory

Answer 19

the thalamic theory of emotion

Question 20

why is Cannon and Bard’s theory also known as the thalamic theory of emotion?

Answer 20

they highlighted the importance of the thalamus in triggering emotion and the 2 separate pathways

Question 21

explain Cannon and Bard’s theory of emotion (1927)

Answer 21

the physiological arousal, mediated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS), is general and non- discriminatory, and is not causal for emotion

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

Question 22

flow diagram of Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

Answer 22

stimulus –> (pathway splits at thalamus) –> bodily responses (physiological arousal, mediated by ANS, general and non-discriminatory)

stimulus –> (pathway splits at thalamus) –> emotion (subjective feelings of emotion is mediated by the cerebral cortex)

Question 23

what did Schachter and Singer propose emotion is determined by? (1962)

Answer 23

determined by an interaction between two components: a physiological arousal and a cognition regarding the recognition to the situation triggering this physiological arousal

Question 24

what is physical arousal considered to be in Schachter and Singer theory?

Answer 24

undifferentiated by nature, diffuse and non-specific to an emotion

It is the interpretation of the situation which leads to the identification of the emotion felt

Notably, for an emotion to occur, the person needs to establish a link between the physiological arousal and a relevant explanation for the latter

Question 25

flow diagram of Schachter and Singers (1962) two-factor theory of emotion

Answer 25

stimulus –> bodily responses –> cognitive interpretation –> emotion

bodily responses - Undifferentiated physical arousal non-specific to an emotion

cognitive interpretation - Interpretation of the situation determines the emotion felt

Question 26

evidence of two-factor theory

Answer 26

To test their theory, Schachter and Singer (1962) had participants received an injection of a solution which will cause palpitations, tremor, and redness of the face, and gave participants either correct, incorrect, or no information about the effects

Then participants filled out a questionnaire in a separate room where a confederate “participant” pretended to behave either cheerfully or angrily after the injection

Result: participants who did not know correctly what to expect from the injection experienced feelings of either euphoria or anger matching the confederate’s behavior

(according to James-Lange theory there should be no differences between the groups as they all experienced the same bodily experiences)

Question 27

Matsumoto and Eckman (2009) definition of emotions

Answer 27

“transient, bio-psychological reactions designated to aid individuals in adapting to and coping with events that have implications for survival and well-being”

Question 28

Matsumoto and Eckman (2009) - what they thought in terms of basic emotions theories

Answer 28

They proposed the existence of a limited number of fundamental universal “basic emotions”, each having an evolutionary function (e.g. Ekman, 1982).

More complex emotions would originate as a mixture of these basic emotions (Ortony & Turner, 1990)

Question 29

Eckman 1992 characteristics of basic emotions

Answer 29

• present in non-human species, be triggered rapidly and automatically, and appear spontaneously & for a short duration
• have specific trigger conditions for each emotion
• have specific patterns of activity of the autonomic
  nervous system
• have specific patterns of neural activities
• have specific expressive patterns

Question 29

Eckman 1992 characteristics of basic emotions

Answer 29

• present in non-human species, be triggered rapidly and automatically, and appear spontaneously & for a short duration
• have specific trigger conditions for each emotion
• have specific patterns of activity of the autonomic
  nervous system
• have specific patterns of neural activities
• have specific expressive patterns

Question 30

study on facial expression of basic emotions

Answer 30

Ekman (1971) - universality of emotional facial expressions by showing that western facial expressions were well recognised in a preliterate New-Guinea culture

Ekman 1982 - facial expressions considered as pivot in communication between humans

facial expressions of each basic emotion have distinct adaptive functions

Izard and King 2009 - expressive behaviour suggested to be fundamental in child development

Question 31

basic emotions (Matsumoto and Ekman 2009)

Answer 31

happiness
surprise
sadness
anger
fear
disgust

Question 32

problems with basic emotion theories

Answer 32

• no consensus about the precise number of basic emotions
• Evidence of the distinctness of physiological patterns of basic emotions has been inconsistent
  –> For instance, the patterns of emotional responses of fear and anger did not overlap, but their differences were better explained by appraisal (Stemmler et al., 2001)
  –> While fear has been found to be processed by the amygdala and disgust by the insular cortex, amygdala is better thought of as a “relevance detector”, and the insular cortex is not specifically linked to disgust

Question 33

Evidence for dimensional approach of emotion

Answer 33

Feldman-Barrett (2006) - emotion is functional and very likely the result of evolution which does not necessarily mean that anger, sadness and fear are useful categories

Wundt’s theory (1897) - three basic dimensions to describe emotional feeling were proposed: pleasure/displeasure, excitement/inhibition, and tension/relaxation

A commonly used model today is Russell’s (1980) circumplex, which represents emotion as a subjective experience on two continuous dimensions: valence and arousal

Question 34

what type of approach of emotion is the circumflex model of affect (Russell 1980)

Answer 34

dimensional approach

Question 35

circumplex model of affect

Answer 35

scales of arousal (vertical) and valence (horizontal) crossing each other with valence ranging from unpleasant to pleasant and arousal from activated to deactivated.

emotions are around the outside circle

Question 36

orthogonal positive and negative affect dimensions and the circumflex model of affect

Answer 36

The orthogonal positive and negative affect dimensions emerge after rotating the pleasantness-arousal circumplex model (Watson & Tellegen, 1985)

Question 37

evidence that positive and negative affects are linked to what?

Answer 37

different neurobiological networks (Rohr et al., 2013)

Question 38

suggested positive and negative affect correspond to what?

Answer 38

positive affect corresponds to extraversion
negative affect corresponds to neuroticism

(Meyer and Shack, 1989)

Question 39

criticisms of dimensional theories of emotion

Answer 39

• ability to differentiate between some emotions, e.g., fear and anger, has been questioned
• As these models are based on verbal reports, the bi-dimensional structure may actually reflect the structure of the language
• no real consensus on the elementary dimensions. –> Different proposals of a third dimension have been raised. And Fontaine et al. (2007) have shown with multi-national data that four dimensions are necessary
• The dimensional approach centres only on subjective feeling; yet the underlying elicitation mechanisms are likely not bipolar

Question 40

types of theories of emotions

Answer 40

basic
dimensional
appraisal

Question 41

two central premises of appraisal theories

Answer 41

– emotion is an information processing system
– an evaluative cognitive processing, known as appraisal, determines the elicitation of an emotion

Question 42

characteristics of the evaluations made in appraisal theories

Answer 42

automatic and unconscious

Question 43

in terms of appraisal, how can different emotions be described?

Answer 43

by different patterns of appraisal

Question 44

what essentially happens in appraisal theories of emotion?

Answer 44

when an event occurs, an individual would evaluate the event based on a set of standard criteria

Question 45

Lazarus’ theory of emotion 1990

Answer 45

appraisal process results in identification of a core relational theme ad each theme results in an emotion

Question 46

2 global appraisal issues in Lazarus’ theory

Answer 46

primary appraisal and secondary appraisal

Question 47

primary appraisal

Answer 47

whether and how the encounter is relevant to the person’s wellbeing

Question 48

secondary appraisal

Answer 48

the persons resources and coping options

Question 49

what is emotion according to schemers appraisal theory? 2001

Answer 49

emotion is multidimensional and comprises five components:

a) a stimulus or situation appraising component enabling the elicitation and differentiation of emotions

b) a physiological component (bodily changes);

c) a motor expression component both in terms of facial and vocal expression as well as posture and gestures;

d) a motivational component including action tendencies (e.g. approaching or avoiding) and finally

e) a subjective feeling component reflecting felt emotional experience

Question 50

component process model (CMP) - Scherer 2001

Answer 50

cognitive appraisal as a process where we continuously appraise and reappraise our environment

Question 51

4 stages of appraisal in CPM

Answer 51

1) relevance check
2) implications check
3) coping potential check
4) normative significance evaluation

Question 52

what does each stage of the CPM contain?

Answer 52

specific appraisal dimensions called stimulus evaluation checks

Question 53

problems with appraisal theories

Answer 53

 The claim that appraisal is a cause of emotion is incompatible with the claim that appraisal is a part of emotion

 That appraisal is a cause of emotion is difficult to test, as it requires manipulation of appraisal independent of other variables (e.g. the event)

 whether appraisal and emotion are dissociable is questionable

 not all theorists accept the idea of automatic and unconscious appraisal, which is difficult to measure empirically

Question 54

recent development of emotion psychology

Answer 54

The cognitive approaches to emotion (e.g. appraisal theories) dominated the psychology of emotion from 1980s to 2000s, and go on to be widely accepted today

However, with increasing advancement of neuroscience, the neurobiological basis of emotions have been more and more emphasised

In the past two decades, a group of emotion theorists proposed a constructionist approach: that the experience of emotion is a psychological construction, a perspective which has received considerable attention – as well as debate