Theories of Emotion

Question 1

What are the distinctions between cognition and emotion?

Answer 1

• cognition is more cortical, emotions have greater subcortical involvement
• emotion is more powerful and easier in the young whereas cognitive maturity dampens emotion
• cognition is more digital while emotion is more analogue
• emotion generates spontaneous facial, bodily and prosodic expression whereas cognition doesn’t

Question 2

What was Darwin’s theory about the evolution of emotional expressions?

Answer 2

• Expressions of emotion evolve from behaviours that indicate what an animal is likely to do next
• if emotional signals are beneficial, they will evolve to more effectively communicate and may lose their original meaning

Question 3

What was Darwin’s principle of antithesis?

Answer 3

Opposite messages are often signalled by opposite movements

Question 4

Give an example of a survival advantage that expression of emotion can bring

Answer 4

Threat displays are beneficial, intimidate victims without the cost and risks for fighting

Question 5

Understand how the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems jointly achieve balance in the body’s physiological regulation

Answer 5

The autonomic system is the control system for many of the body’s basic regulatory functions , this is achieved by a balance between the opposite actions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems

Question 6

Describe the sequence of events during an emotional experience according to folk psychology

Answer 6

• the event is perceived
• we experience emotions
• physiological reactions

Question 7

Describe the sequence of events during an emotional experience according to cannon-bard

Answer 7

• experience of emotion is independent of physiological response
• the event is perceived, then you either have physiological reactions or experience emotion or both (yet just aren’t linked to each other)

Question 8

Describe the sequence of events during an emotional experience according to James-Lange

Answer 8

• event is perceived
• physiological reactions
• we experience emotion

Question 9

Identify which theory is supported or undermined by a given experimental result.

Answer 9

• cannon-bard is supported by removing the cats sympathetic nervous system and finding that it eliminated physiological arousal but the cat still showed emotion

Question 10

Identify how Schacter and Singer renewed support for the James-Lange argument.

Answer 10

• Injected participants with epinephrine
• group A was warned how they would react, group b was not
• group A reported no emotional experience
• group B experienced emotions
• the specific emotions experienced by group b could be influenced by a confederates behaviour