Schachter and Singer Flashcards
Two-factor theory of emotion
any emotional experience is a combination of physiological arousal and a cognitive interpretation of the situation
Epinephrine (adrenaline)
causes discharge of the sympathetic nervous system
Placebo
an injection given which the participant believes is a drug but which, in reality, has NO EFFECT
Event sampling, what data did E collect
when the observer is looking for certain behaviours and a tally chart is kept of every instance these behaviours are observed.
In this study, observer recorded objective data from the behaviours displayed by the participants.
Structured observation
the collection of data according to a set of predefined rules and procedures.
What is the background
Early theories were based on physiological factors only
assume that every emotion has a distinct physiological state
but some theory showed no evidence for this as many emotions appeared to have similar physiological state
So psychologist want to assess the role of psychological factors, in our ability to label and distinguish emotion
What is the aim
- To test the Two-Factor Theory of Emotion
If, given a state of physiological arousal for which the individual has no adequate explanation, cognitive factors can lead the individual to describe their feelings with any of a number of emotional labels.
What are the hypotheses
- If a person is physiologically aroused and there is no immediate explanation, the arousal will be labelled as a particular emotion based on the information available
- If a person is physiologically aroused and there is an appropriate explanation, there is no need to seek further information to label that emotion
- If there is no physiological arousal, even if emotion-inducing cognitive circumstances are present, there is no emotional experience
What is the method of collecting data?
- Laboratory experiment
- with controlled, structured observation
- and self-report questionnaires
Arousal
being alert (physically and mentally).
Euphoric
a state of unusually high energy with heightened excitement and happiness.
What is the experimental design?
Independent group design
What are the first IVs (injection), and one control condition
EPI INF (epinephrine informed) - injected with epinephrine and told true effect of epinephrine
EPI MIS (epinephrine misinformed) - injected with epinephrine and told false effects
EPI IGN (epinephrine ignorant) - injected with epinephrine and told nothing more
Placebo - injected with saline solution and told nothing more
What are the second IVs (emotion)
euphoria situation or anger situation
What are the DVs
- observational data recorded by two observers through a one-way mirror during the emotional arousal element of the experiment
- self-report that the participants completed following the emotional arousal element of the experiment
What are the pps? Did they do a health check?
- 185 participants
- all male college students taking classes in introductory psychology
- received course credit for participating.
The university health records of all pps were checked prior to the experiment to ensure no harmful effects would result from the injections.
- volunteer sampling
- 2 more marks for their final exam per hour they participated
Describe the first IV condition - introduction
deception, injection
- They were told that the aim of the experiment was to test the effects of vitamin supplements on vision
- A doctor entered the room, repeated the instructions, and took pps pulse and INJECTED pps
adrenaline or placebo (saline) - Adrenaline people put into one of the three experimental condition
What did the E tell pps in EPI INF group, and why?
told that expect to see side effects. “Your hand will start to shake, your heart will start to pound, and your face may get warm and flushed”
- so that pps would have an explanation for any feelings
What did the E tell pps in EPI MIS group, and why?
expect side effects. “Your feet will feel numb, you will have an itching sensation over parts of your body, and you may get a light headache”.
- these are not the side effects of the injection, so the pps would not have any explanation for the actual side effect they would experience
What did the E tell pps in EPI IGN group, and why?
told no side effect
- also no explanation for the actual side effect that they experience as the result from the injection
After the injection in euphoria, what happened?
Immediately after the injection, the doctor left the room and the experimenter returned with a stooge
What did the stooge tell the pps about the injection? What they do after the injection is absorbed?
the stooge was introduced as another participants, experimenter stated that both had the SUPROXIN injection which could take 20min to be absorbed into the bloodstream, after which they would both be given the same tests of vision
Exposed to one of the two emotional states: euphoria or anger
What did the E apologies after he left in Euphoria condition? How does the room like?
apologetically added that if they needed any rough paper, rubber bands or pencils they should help themselves
the waiting room had been arranged to look in a state of disarray
What did the stooge start with in, and what did he do in euphoria? Give examples.
As soon as E left, stooge introduced himself, made a few icebreaker comments, then began his routine. - Which consists of playing with items left in the room
(doodling on paper, make paper plane, play with hula hoop)
Did the stooge invite pps to join?
YES
Was the routine standardised? What is the only variation?
the routine was standardised as far as was possible
However, its pace varying depending upon the pps’s reaction. The only variation was those forced by the pps. If pps originated some nonsense on his own and invited stooge to join in, he would, and respond to any comments initiated by the pps.
Does stooge know which condition pps is in?
The stooge never knew which condition the pps was in.
After the injection in anger, what happened?
the experimenter introduced a stooge and explained that it was necessary to wait 20 mins to let the Suproxin enter bloodstream. Pps were asked to complete a questionnaire during this time.
What was the stooge instructed to do and how did he achieve this? Give examples of the comments he made.
The stooge was instructed to create a feeling of anger in the room and this was achieved through a variety of comments that he made as the 20 mins passed.
“it’s unfair for them to give you shots”
“this really irritates me”
“i’m not wasting any more time”
How did the comments change in anger condition?
These increased in intensity and were linked with the questions in the questionnaire.
How did the questions, and the reaction of stooge change in anger condition?
Give two examples.
As the pps worked through the questionnaire the questions become more personal, and the stooge became increasingly irate in his behaviour.
7-list the foods you would eat in a typical day
34- with how many men (other than your father) has your mother had extramarital relationships?
What did the E do after the session with stooge is completed? Give examples of the questions.
- E returned back to room
- took pulses
- told pps there was one final questionnaire, that considered their physical response to Suproxin
e.g.
“How irritated, angry or annoyed would you say you feel at present?”
“How good or happy would you say you feel at present?”
After pps complete the questionnaire, what did E do at the end of the experiment?
The experimenter announced the experiment was over, explained the deception and its necessity in detail, answered any questions and swore the pps to secrecy.
Any pps suspicious of the experiment?
11 pps suspicious, data discarded
What did they do to further protect the pps?
The injection was administered by a trained doctor who was around for the duration of the experiment to monitor the pps.
What are the 4 controls?
- All pps were given an injection
- All pps in each condition received the same instructions
- The stooges repeated the same behaviour, saying and doing the same thing each time
- Double-blind technique
What are the results in SELF REPORT for all EPI groups (side effects)
All EPI groups had higher pulse rates, and more tremors and palpitations than the control group, which shows that they were, in general, experiencing the physiological effects of the epinephrine.
From self report, what are the findings from euphoria condition?
EPI INF group reported significantly lower emotional state score than EPI MIS and IGN groups, (MIS happiest) so were the least susceptible to the stooge’s mood, LESS HAPPY
From self report, what are the findings from anger condition?
EPI INF had the highest emotional state score and EPI IGN had the lowest (higher score = happier, less angry)
From observation, what are the findings from euphoria condition?
EPI INF had significantly less instances of euphoric activity than EPI MIS
From observation, what are the findings from anger condition?
EPI IGN had the highest observational anger score and EPI INF had the lowest.
What are the differences in results comparing EPI and PLACEBO group
- EPI more
1. sympathetic arousal
2. palpitations and tremor
3. physiological response (change in pulse rate)
Application of the study
To treat people who suffer with anxiety and panic attacks as it will allow them to identify environmental triggers that may cause them to become physiologically aroused and fearful.
What are the conclusions
- findings supports two-factor theory of emotion
- which suggests that the physiological arousal in different emotions is entirely the same and we label our arousal according to the cognitions we have available - all hypotheses supported
Describe the activity index
From scale 0-5
0 = does nothing
5 = hula hooping
Higher score, more euphoric
What did experimenter say after returning with the stooge?
- both of you had the Suphroxin shot
- you’ll both be taking the same test of vision
- wait for 20 mins
- allow 20 mins for the Suphroxin to be absorbed into bloodstream
- at the end, we will begin the tests of vision
Before looking at the questionnaire, what did the angry stooge say?
- I really wanted to come for an experiment today
- but i think it’s unfair for them to give you shots
- at least they should have told us about the shots when they called us
- you hate to refuse, once you’re here already
What is observation through one way mirror considered as?
“semiprivate index of mood”
- subject emotional behaviour could only be known to the other person in the room
What is self report considered as?
public indices of mood
- they would be avaliable to the experimenter
What did experimenter say after they took the pulse?
- there are many things beside Suphroxin that affect how well you see in the test
- how hungry, tired, even the mood
- we must be able to figure out which effects are due to such causes and which are caused by Suphroxin
- hand out questionnaires, answer them as accurately as possible
Why EPI MIS and EPI IGN behaved differently?
- EPI IGN might provide one explanation for himself which is not derived from interaction with the stooge
- he could decide this way because of injection
- EPI MIS more difficult to hit on alternative explanation, so more susceptible
What did they find when used open-end questions between EPI IGN and EPI MIS?
- 28% in EPI IGN made some connection between injection and bodily state
- 16% in EPI MIS did so
What are results found in Placebo group?
- less euphoric than EPI MIS or EPI IGN
- more euphoric than EPI INF
What problem did they find when using questionnaire?
- pps refuse to endanger the points (2 extra mark) by publicly blowing up, admitting their irritation
- hesitated to do so on material that the experimenter might see
- so force them to rely on behaviour indices derived from observation
How is the weighting on activity index decided?
- using student raters who said how euphoric they thought each one was
- activities were given numbers, higher number means more euphoric
