Unit 9 Flashcards
Emotional Process
What is the process of emotion and bodily reaction
it was thought that it was
stimulus -> emotion -> bodily reaction
but James-lange hypothesis suggests it’s
stimulus->bodily reaction -> emotion
James-Lange Hypothesis
-The organism responds individually to various events that provoke emotion
- the body reacts and the resulting emotional reactions occur in us before we realise what is happening
-physiological adjustments are not direct consequence of emotional experience
Criticism: Cannon Bard
physiological changes barely influence the emotional experience
What are RESPONSE the critics of James-Lange theory by Cannon-Bard
critics reasoned that the type of bodily reactions James was referring to part of the general fight-flight response that does not vary from on emotion to another
- Emotional experience occurs faster than physical changes, although physiological activation intensifies the emotion, it does not originate it
Contemporary perspective
- Some emotions show physiological specificity, with unique patterns of autonomous nervous system activity
- Physiological activation influences emotional regulation, but does not directly trigger it
- Emotions have biological and physiological support to facilitate adaptive behaviours such as fight, flight and care for babies
- Physiological activation accompanies, regulates and prepare the framework for the emotion, but not a direct cause of it
Facial feedback hypothesis
The subjective aspect of emotion arises from
- moments of facial muscles;
- alterations in facial temperature; modifications in the glandular activity of the facial skin;
- emotion involves the perception of proprioceptive feedback from facial expression
The strong version of the HRF, it is suggested that manipulating….
facial muscles to display an emotion triggers the emotional experience. In weak version, it is proposed that facial feedback can influence the intensity of the emotion
what is the facial feedback hypothesis current position:
emotions go two ways:
- the emotions we feel and the emotions we express;
- emotions activate facial expressions and facial expressions, in turn, feed back to exaggerate and suppress the emotions we feel;
- However, critics argue that the contribution of this facial feedback is small and that other factors are more important
Are facial expressions of emotion universal?
People from different cultures identify the same facial expressions with the same emotions.
- there is an innate aspect: even blind babies and children show this ability
- There is also a learned aspect: training, imitation and emotional regulation influence this.
Are we responsible for feeling certain emotions?
- Some emotions just happen to us
- Require prior exposure to a trigger event
- escape our voluntary control // however, if we consider that they also have cognitive aspects, it is possible that part of the emotional experience can be voluntarily regulated
Cognitive systems
Appraisal - calculation of the personal importance of an event
- Emotions do not arise without prior cognitive evaluation of the event
- it is the evaluation (not the event itself) that triggers the emotion
Two-factor theory (SCHACTER-SINGER)
Motivational states are influenced mainly by physiological and cognitive aspects. Any emotional state is made up of two elements:
- arousal or physiological activation
- cognitive aspects
When people experiences physiological arousal, they tend to seek an explanation for it through causal attribution
stimulus –> Physiological activation –> causal attribution –> emotion
Valuation theories (RICHARD LAZARUS)
Expands the notion of overall evaluation, beyond simply “good vs. bad”
- the impact on individual well-being
Analysed:
- personal relevance (affecting well-being) (Primary)
- Alignment with personal goals (Primary)
- The involvement of one’s own self (Primary)
- Perception of coping skills (Secondary)
Perception -> valuation (primary, secondary, revaluation) -> Emotion -> Action
Common characteristics of the different theories on valuation
- Each emotion is triggered by a specific evaluation.
- In addition to individual and temporal differences, emotional responses are
defined by appraisal. - Situations that receive the same evaluation provoke the same emotion.
- It is always the evaluation that precedes and provokes the emotion.
- Evaluations help make emotions appropriate responses to situations.
- Appraisals can explain why some emotional responses are inappropriate.
- Changes in assessment may lead to clinically relevant changes.
Attributional Theory of Emotion : Weiner
Attribution: the explanation a person gives for an important event in their life
- the attribution process occurs before the emotion
- if the person’s explanation changes, so does their emotion
Emotional process components
Emotion is an adaptive process that involves multiple components
These elects demonstrate that emotions have an objective basis, even if they are experiences subjectively
-Psychophysiological responses
-Expressive manifestations
-motor behaviours
Emotional process
stimulus-> perception -> evaluation-assessment -> feeling -> desire for action-> expression-> physiological response
reflects the functional dynamics of emotion, oriented towards the adaption of the organism to its changing environment
Occurrence or appearance of the stimulus
Stimuli can be real or imagines, present or past, consciously perceived or not.
The ability of a stimulus to trigger an emotional response can be innate or acquired through personal experiences
The stimulus is essential to initiate an emotional response, but its impact depends on how it is perceived and evaluated as significant or destabilising
stimulus perception
no perception, no knowledge, no reaction
though it can happen unconciously and consciously, when stimulus is not salient enough to capture the individuals’s conscious attention but can still trigger subsequent steps
influenced by biological, cognitive and affective variables which act as a filter that modulate sensitivity
evaluation and assessment
in conscious evaluation and appraisal: ppl analyse characteristics of the stimulus, its personal relevance, and possible response options leading to subjective experience
non concious E + A: the organism reacts automatically to stimuli considered threatening, triggering defensive physiological responses
emotional experiance (feeling)
- Emotional experience requires conscious evaluation;
- However, the emotional process can occur without direct awareness, where the perception of the physiological response can trigger a subsequent conscious evaluation
emotional process can happen before the person is aware
- However, the global emotional process involves a complex sequence
Physiological response in emotional process
valuation - > physiological response
both conscious and unconscious prepare the organism to face threatening situations, even when the evaluation is not conscious
the third point to the triangle: defense system activation: adrenomedullary sympathetic system -= Adrenocortical adenopituitary system
The physiological response, together with the evaluation-valuation, constitutes the necessary and sufficient condition for the emotional process.
