Semester 2- Emotions

Question 1

What was DArwin’s theory of emotions?

Answer 1

He believed we developed emotions as they allowed us to survive and reproduce. Understanding the emotions of other animals also gave an adaptational advantage as it allows us to avoid danger

Question 2

How has Darwin’s theory helped us develop our current understanding of emotion?

Answer 2

It helped us see emotions as having a function rather than just being there, as he proposed the idea that they help us orient ourselves to our environment by coordinating different bodily systems

Question 3

What is the James-Lange theory of emotions?

Answer 3

The two psychologists whose research makes up the theory suggest that emotion is purely physical- they are the bodily changes we experience in response to environmental cues.

Question 4

What are four points that counter the James-Lange theory?

Answer 4

autonomic arousal does not differentiate/explain all emotional states.
Animal studies that separated viscera from the brain also did not show changes in emotional behaviour
Artificial activation of the nervous system is also often insufficient to generate emotion

Question 5

What is the Canon-Bard theory of emotions?

Answer 5

Also referred to as neuroanatomical theory- it suggests that the brain generates emotion
They specifically linked emotion to the physiological responses produced by the thalamus and hypothalamus

Question 6

What are 3 research discoveries that support the Canon-Bard theory of emotions?

Answer 6

Electrical stimulation studies- you can induce emotions in animals based on what brain regions you electrically stimulate
Decortication studies- if you remove cortices in the brain it affects people’s behaviour
The hypothalamus has been shown to be part of the brain’s reward system

Question 7

What was Arnold’s theory of emotions?

Answer 7

We have emotions based on appraising events- our emotion relates to the stimulus causing the emotion either creating repulsion or attraction

Question 8

What was Arnold and Zajonc’s model of automatic appraisal?

Answer 8

It automatically judges stimulus as good or bad first, using the primary appraisal system. It then uses the secondary appraisal system to create a more complex, conscious assessment of what the stimulus means and how it relates to us

Question 9

What was Arnolds model of Discrete appraisal?

Answer 9

In primary appraisal, we evaluate the stimulus’ relevance to our goals and in secondary appraisal we evaluate it’s meaning and how to respond.

Question 10

What was Schachter and Singer’s theory of emotion?

What is one piece of research evidence that supports this?

Answer 10

180 male participants
All Injected with adrenaline, but told it was a drug to test their eyesight
One group were informed of the side effects associated with adrenaline, the second group were not
They were then placed in a room w a confederate who either behaved in a happy or angry way
Uninformed pps mirrored the emotions of how the confederate was acting (happy or angry). Those informed of the side effects did not act as happy and angry- they assumed the emotion they/the confederate was feeling was due to side effects

Therefore, emotion comes from physiological arousal and the cognitive appraisal- biopsychosocial- this is the nature of Sachter and Singer’s theory

Question 11

How did Dutton and Aaron show that emotion comes from both physiological arousal AND cognitive appraisal (supporting Sachter and Singer)?

Answer 11

Male participants were asked to either walk across a wobbly or sturdy bridge. Halfway across the bridge a female researcher interviewed them on their emotions. In the debrief, she gave them her number. The participants who met her on the rickety bridge were more likely to contact her, confusing physical arousal and sexual arousal- as they paired the physiological arousal with the sexual stimulus.

Question 12

What are affects? What are the 3 types?

Answer 12

An affect is any mental state that is a direct correlation with the environment.

Emotions: short-lived affects, directed towards an intentional object
Mood- a more general state, not directed specifically, but more long-lasting
Affective Well Being- the evaluation of your affect that is more enduring than mood (this being impaired is a feature of affective disorders such as depression)

Question 13

What are the components that emotions are made up of?

Answer 13

A reaction to a stimuli (i.e. physiological response or attentional orientation)
Appraisal- relevance to goals, evaluation of meaning of stimulus,
organisational response- i.e. overt actions or facial expressions

Question 14

What are the two main types of models for how emotions relate to each other?

Answer 14

Dimensional models and discrete/categorical models

Question 15

What is one example of a dimensional model?

Answer 15

The circumplex model of affect- each emotion of mood is defined by the extent to which it involves the underlying dimension of pleasure and arousal (i.e. calmness= high pleasure and low arousal, anxious = low pleasure, high arousal)
This model also involves the dimensions of how highly these emotions reflect positive or negative affect.

Question 16

How do discrete/categorical models to explaining how emotions relate to each other work?

Answer 16

They suggest there are a limited set of innate, basic, universal emotions that correspond to different neurophysiological systems. More complex emotions are then derived from these.
Basic discrete emotions- joy, sadness, disgust, fear and anger
Basic emotions have to be triggered by an ecologically valid stimulus (a real world thing)

Complex emotions- surprise, shame and love

Question 17

What is one criticism of discrete/categorical models?

Answer 17

it is ambiguous what should be considered a basic or complex emotion

Question 18

What is the conceptual act model of how emotions relate to each other?

Answer 18

It suggests an ongoing primitive emotional response of core affect (dimensional) plus conceptual knowledge (categorical)

Question 19

What research evidence supports the conceptual acts model?

Answer 19

Neuroimaging has shown emotions are based on core affect. Ratings of please and arousal evoked fear and happiness etc (OFC and amygdala)

Question 20

What are 5 ways to measure emotion?

Answer 20

Self Report Scales
Diary studies 
Affect Grids 
Non linguistic measures
Alternative linguistic measures

Question 21

What are the focuses/main elements of self report methodology?

Answer 21

Usually have multiple items for each dimension/category of affect (i.e. nervousness)
Usually use a Likert-type scale.
You must consider the time scale you are asking about and the nature of experience you are asking about
Word anchors in the Likert scale (i.e. not at all, all the time etc)
You can also use faces in Likert scales- less culturally specific but more ambiguous

Question 22

What are three critiques of self-report scales?

Answer 22

• require self-awareness and understanding of emotion, which is not the case for every participants and could create exclusion criteria
• They can Only capture a person’s response at that time
• They are susceptible to social desirability bias

Question 23

What are the main elements of diary studies?

Answer 23

Affect recorded at regular intervals or use experience sampling to track people emotion in response to a specific event
Can use smartphones to send reminders to record response
Can help us see how emotion fluctuates over time/throughout the day

Question 24

What are 3 non-linguistic measures of emotions and their key elements/critiques?

Answer 24

Neuroimaging- restrictive environment, the emotions experienced in scanner need consolidation w self report
Physiological measure- i.e. skin conductance/heart rate- cannot distinguish all emotions/imprecise
Record Facial Expressions-

Question 25

What are 3 Alternative linguistic measures of emotions and their key elements/critiques?

Answer 25

Cognitive measures- i.e. the implicit measures task, if we are more upset we will report faster negative words as this is more readily accessible
Qualitative accounts- rich data but idiographic-
Peer reports- based on someone else’s observation, secondary report

Question 26

What is the best method when trying to measure emotions?

Answer 26

The multi-method approach

Question 27

What are two emotional elicitation tools often used in studies on emotions?

Answer 27

Film Clips- a battery been developed by Gross and Levenson for eliciting specific emotions
International Affect Picture System (Lang)
Library of photos that have been normatively rated on dimensions of emotions by the general public so are used to elicit specific emotions

Question 28

What are the main features of the facial feedback hypothesis (and what are the 2 mechanisms involved?)

Answer 28

It suggests that facial activity influences affective response via 2 possible mechanisms-
Cognitive- people make inferences about how they are feeling based on their own facial expression
Physiological- the affective response occurs in the absence of cognitive interpretation, just because of the physical position of the muscles

Question 29

Details Strack et al’s research, used to support the Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Answer 29

Holding a pen in one’s teeth (instead of just your lips) activates similar muscles to smiling, so can cause people to be more amused by cartoons. The authors thought this was due to the muscle activation

Question 30

What is motor mimicry?

How does it relate to emotion contagion?

Answer 30

. Motor mimicry involves an individual experiencing emotion by seeing someone else experience it, causing us to pull the same face/have the same expression of them, causing us to feel the emotion due to FFH.
Motor Mimicry + facial feedback = emotion contagion

Question 31

What is emotion contagion?

Answer 31

The tendency to automatically mimic and synchronise expressions, vocalisations, postures and movements with those of another person’s and, consequently, to converge emotionally.

Question 32

If revising, refer to initial notes for research demonstrating the social effects of emotion contagion

Answer 32

….please.

Question 33

What are the two processes involved in emotion contagion?

Answer 33

Reactive processes- occur automatically (i.e. FFH)- also known as primitive emotional contagion
Inferential Processes- occur consciously, affected by appraisal of other peoples emotions and social comparison (they seem happy, I should be happy)

Question 34

What is the ripple effect?

Answer 34

One individual’s affect can affect the affect of a group

Question 35

What were Parkinson’s (1996) hypotheses of how emotions serve a purpose to individuals in society?

Answer 35

Emotions serve interpersonal and cultural functions, so increase when in the presence of an audience, even if the audience is imagined. They allow us to convey in ongoing relationships what topics have personal meaning and potential mutual interest between the pair.

Question 36

What are three social functions of emotions?

Answer 36

• They tell us how we are doing in terms of social goals and therefore allow us to maintain/protect social status
• They regulate the things that cause emotions
• They can create and break social relationships and communicate our goals to others.

Question 37

What are the key features of the emotion as social information model?

Answer 37

Emotions regulate social interaction as they trigger affective reactions between observers. The observer will use information processing to judge our motivation and then use relational factors to judge the appropriateness of the emotion being expressed.

Question 38

What are 3 pieces of evidence that bad emotions are more prominent?

Answer 38

Bad emotions are stronger than good emotions
Bad events have greater influence on affect
People prioritise immediate gratification when distressed

Question 39

What is mood-freezing?

Answer 39

When people are led to believe that their moods are frozen, they stop pursuing behaviours that are associated with these moods- i.e. if you tell someone they are being grumpy