Psych Ch. 12 Flashcards
What are the three components of emotion?
-A subjective thought and/or experience with…
-accompanying patterns of neural activity and physical arousal and…
-an observable behavioral expression
Define emotion
is a state of arousal involving facial and bodily
changes, brain activation, cognitive appraisals, subjective feelings, and tendencies toward action.
what are the functions of emotion?
-Provides rapid response to environmental stimuli
-communicates intent to others
-influences social behaviors and responses
Found in the parietal lobe and, if faces are viewed, in the _________________. Which _________ (does/doesn’t process information)
fusiform gyrus; doesn’t (saves it for later
What does the fast route do?
skips the visual cortex and goes strait to the
amygdala for an instant emotional reaction
What is the Amygdala
A brain structure involved in the arousal and regulation of emotion and the initial emotional response to sensory information
What does the amygdala to to assess the threat
Becomes activated during the perception of arousing or aversive/fear-inducing stimuli
What is the slow pathway
Sensory input is routed to the cortex for analysis and then transmission to the amygdala
What is the prefrontal cortex
the most forward part of the frontal lobes of the brain
Associated with emotional experience
and emotional regulation:
modifying and controlling what we feel
Left prefrontal cortex more tuned to_______________________. Tunes out ________ emotions
approach emotions;negative
Right prefrontal cortex:
more tuned to unpleasant emotions
Emotions also elicit activation in the
autonomic nervous system
What is the parasympathetic nervous system
rest and digest
what is the sympathetic nervous system
fight or flight
Most theories of emotion involve the following components:
*Physiological response
*Cognitive appraisal of the situation
*Expressive behavior
*Subjective emotional experience
What are the two main schools of thought when it comes to feelings and cognition
Does physiological arousal come before or after emotional feelings?
What did William James and Carl Lange think?
Emotions are caused by bodily sensations “i am sad because I cry”
What is the problem with the James-Lange theory?
The physical experience of arousal is not uniquely distinct for each emotion
What did Walter Cannon and Philip Bard think?
Emotions and arousal co-occur
*Stimulus activates body
* Bodily arousal
What is the two factor theory?
Physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation
Stanley Schacter and Jerome Singer
*Physical response
*Cognitive interpretation
*Conscious experience
What were the resultsof the Schacter and Singer experiment? (injection)
If participants expected the shot would increase arousal,
then it did not have an effect on their emotions
*However, if participants did not expect the shot to affect
arousal, participants interpreted it based on the situation:
Misattribution of arousal:
The feelings of arousal that the male hikers experienced on the bridge were misinterpreted as attraction
True or false. Emotion is determined, in part, by our appraisal/interpretation of a situation
true
What are the six basic universal emotions
*Happiness
*Sadness
*Anger
*Fear
*Surprise
*Disgust
expression Begins in infancy; babies convey
emotions and can interpret
parental expressions (6-7 months:
Infants more sensitive to adults’
fearful expressions) True or false.
true
What is a Duchenne smile
Traditionally, it was taught that few
people can fake a “genuine” or Duchenne
smile (involves raising the cheeks and
having crows’ feet appear at the eyes)
What are the three main types of smiles
Reward
Affiliation
Dominece
What are the purposes of the three smile types
*Reward smiles are displayed to communicate
positive experiences or intentions
*Affiliative smiles create and maintain social
bonds and signal appeasement
*Dominance smiles to signal status
Define body language
nonverbal signals of movement, posture, gesture, and gaze
What are the primary emotions
universal and biologically based
fear, anger, sadness, joy, surprise, disgust, and contempt
What are secondary emotions
Emotions that develop with cognitive
maturity and vary across individuals
and cultures
what are display rules
Social and cultural rules that regulate when, how, and where a person may express (or
must suppress) emotions
true or false. Some emotions are universal, and the content of what produces
each emotion does not vary from culture to culture
false.
Some emotions are universal, but the content of what produces
each emotion varies from culture to culture
What are emotional dialects
Variations across cultures in how common
emotions are expressed.
true or false. Humans are more accurate when examining emotions of someone in their own race
truw
What is health psychology?
the branch of psychology concerned with the
promotion of health and the prevention of illness
What is the placebo effect
The perception that one has received an intervention improves one’s symptoms
What is the nocebo effect
An intervention that is expected to cause harm or side effects creates those effects
Another study showed that when you
take participants off pills they think
are addictive (but are not), some will
experience withdrawal-like symptoms
true or false
true
True or false? People who are conscientious are more likely to avoid risky behaviors, eat well, maintain regular checkups (all of
which affect health and longevity)
True
Is anger a predictor of heart disease
yes
Define stress
A psychological and physiological reaction that occurs when perceived demands exceed existing resources to meet those demands
Define stressor
-An event, item, or experience that causes a stress response
-The stress response helps living things deal with stressors
Why is “strain” a better word for stress
“strain” in physics refers to what happens in the responseto the stress
What is the HPA axis
HPA axis –hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal glands
When a person is in danger or under stress,
the hypothalamus sends messages to the
endocrine glands along ________________
two major pathways:
What are the two major pathways
Hypothalamus>ANS(sympathetic)>Adrenal medulla> Secrete epi and norepi
Hypothalamus>Pituitary>Adrenal cortex> secretes cortisol and other hormones
Short term stress (fight or flight)
A set of physiological changes that occur in response to psychological or physical threats (Great for immediate responses!)
Long term stress (GAS)
A theory of stress responses involving stages of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
What is the alarm stage?
Recognition of the threat and the physiological reactions that accompany it including increases in blood pressure, muscle tension, heart rate, and adrenaline release
What is the resistance stage
Body attempts to resist or cope with
stressor that cannot be avoided
An individual uses his or her physical
and mental resources to respond to the
stressor in an appropriate way
What is the exhaustion stage
When the stressful experience
depletes your physical resources and
your physiological stress response
decline. This leads to physical problems and
eventually to illness
What are the impacts of acute stress?
*Enhances immunity (except for allergic responses)
*Increased number of lymphocytes (kills antigens) and macrophages
*Dependent on adrenal secretion; lasts 2-5 days
Impacts of chronic stress
*Suppresses immunity
*Reduced number of lymphocytes and macrophages
*Increases the severity of common illnesses
*impairs the bodies ability to heal itself
how much longer does it take stressed people to heal?
40%
What are common causes of stress
- Frustration –blocked goal
- Pressure –expectations to behave in certain ways
- Change –having to adapt
- Conflict –two or more incompatible motivations. Should I stay or should I go?
What are some more specific causes of stress
*Financial: Lack of money, unpaid bills
*Work/school: Exams, project deadlines, traffic
*Physiological: Lack of sleep, unhealthy eating, smoking/drinking
*Psychological: Personal relationships, conflict, bullying
*Social: Family conflicts, life events
*Societal: Racism, poverty, powerlessness
Type A personality
People who tend to be organized
but, impatient and worry about
time, and are ambitious,
motivated, and competitive but
easily angered
Type B personality
People who are more laid back
and characterized by a patient,
easygoing, and relaxed
disposition
What is the change aspect?
stress is the degree to which people have to
change and readjust their lives in response to an external event
Holmes and Rahe
devised the Social Readjustment Rating Scale quantifying the amount of stress due to different life events
true or false
Research finds that the amount of life stress correlates with anxiety and illness
true
What did Richard Lazarus come up with?
It is subjective stress that causes health problems
*An event is stressful for people only if they interpret it as such
What are microstressors
Cumulative effects of stress
What were the results of the test on control and aggression
People were much more aggressive in the
noisy environment –but not if they felt they could cope with it
What is Locus of control?
A general expectation about whether the results of your actions are under your own control (internal locus) or beyond your control (external locus)
Define appraisal
The cognitive act of assessing and evaluating
the potential threat and demands of an event
What is the challenge response?
When we think we have the resources to overcome the stressor, we experience a “challenge” response
What is the threat response?
When we think we don’t have the resources to overcome the stressor, we experience a “Threat” response
What is primary appraisal?
evaluation of an event to determine if it is a threat or not
what is the secondary appraisal?
Evaluation of coping resources either leads to deciding if you are adiquate or inadiquate. This leads to either challenge response or stress
What are the two categories of coping
Problem focused and emotion focused
What is problem focused coping?
Attempting to reduce stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor
What is emotion focused coping?
Trying to find ways of reducing effects of negative emotions
What is positive psychology?
Examines how positive emotions and
personality traits enhance well-being,
health and resilience
What is optimism?
The general expectation that things will go
well despite setbacks
What is Pessimism
The tendency to have a negative perception of life and expect negative outcomes
What are the three main attributes of pessimism
Negative: “Bad things will happen”
Internal: “They’re my fault”
Stable: “They’re not going to change”
Relaxation training has been used to
to help Type A personality heart attack survivors reduce their risk of future heart attacks
