Unit 9: The emotional process

Question 1

Which biological systems are involved in the generation of emotions?

Answer 1

ANS
Endocrine system
Neural circuits
Neural discharge rate
Facial feedback

Question 2

Which cognitive aspects are involved in generating emotions?

Answer 2

appraisal
knowledge
attributions
socialization background
cultural identities

Question 3

What is the common theory as to how we experience emotions?

Answer 3

Stimulus -> emotion -> bodily reaction

Question 4

How does the James-Lange hypothesis describe the emotional process?

Answer 4

Stimulus -> bodily reaction -> emotion

Question 5

What does the James-Lange theory state?

Answer 5

emotional reactions occur before we realize what is happening
-> physiological adjustments are not a direct consequence of emotional experience

Question 6

How did Cannon & Bard criticize the James-Lange theory?

Answer 6

physiological changes barely influence emotional experience
-> type of bodily reactions part of fight/flight response
-> emotional experience occurs faster than bodily changes
physiological activation intensifies emotional experience

Question 7

Do some emotions show physiological specificity?

Answer 7

yes

Question 8

In how far are physiology and emotions related?

Answer 8

physiological activation influences emotional regulation
emotions have physiological support to facilitate adaptive behaviors
-> physiological activation accompanies, regulates and prepares the framework for emotions, but doesn’t directly cause it

Question 9

What does the subjective aspect of emotions arise from? (context: face)

Answer 9

Movements of facial muscles
Alterations in facial temperature
Modifications in glandular activity of facial skin

Question 10

Do emotions involve the perception of proprioceptive feedback from facial expressions?

Answer 10

yes

Question 11

What do the strong and weak version of the HRF propose about the influence of facial feedback in the generation of emotions?

Answer 11

strong: manipulating facial muscles triggers emotional experience
weak: facial feedback influences intensity of emotion

Question 12

What is the current position on the facial feedback hypothesis?

Answer 12

emotions go two ways:
- emotions we feel
- emotions we express
-> emotions activate facial expressions, which exaggerate/ suppress emotions we feel
-> critics: contribution of facial feedback small

Question 13

Are emotions innate or learned?

Answer 13

innate aspect and learned aspect

Question 14

Are we responsible for feeling certain emotions?

Answer 14

no, they just happen to us in consequence to a triggering event
however, they can be voluntarily controlled to an extent (em. process involves cognition)

Question 15

What does the two-factor theory (schachter-singer) state?

Answer 15

Emotional state made up of:
- arousal/ physiological activation
- cognitive aspects
-> after experiencing physiological arousal, people seek for causal attribution

Question 16

What did Richard Lazarus propose?

Answer 16

Valuation theory
-> expands notion of overall evaluation beyond “good vs bad”

Question 17

What is analyzed in Lazarus’ valuation theory?

Answer 17

personal relevance
alignment with personal goals
involvement of one’s self
perception of coping skills

Question 18

What can the 4 steps of analysis of Lazarus be divided into?

Answer 18

primary and secondary analysis
primary: personal relevance, alignment with pers. goals, involvement of self
secondary: coping skills

Question 19

What did Weiner suggest?

Answer 19

Attributional theory of emotions

Question 20

What is attribution and when does the attributional process occurr?

Answer 20

attribution: explanation a person gives for an important event in their life
occurs before emotion
-> change of explanation leads to change of emotion

Question 21

Steps of the emotional process

Answer 21

Stimulus
Perception
Evaluation-assessment
Feeling
Desire for action
Expression
Physiological response

Question 22

Stimulus

Answer 22

needs to be able to trigger emotional response
innate or acquired
crucial, but impact depends on perception

Question 23

perception

Answer 23

no perception -> no emotional response
conscious (fully aware, actively processes stimulus) or unconscious (stimulus doesnt capture full attention)

Question 24

What is conscious perception influenced by?

Answer 24

cognitive, biological and affective variables

Question 25

Evaluation and assessment

Answer 25

influenced by cognitive, biological and affective factors
conscious (analysis of different factors, like relevance, response options, etc.) and unconscious (automatic reaction to threatening stimuli)

Question 26

Emotional experience (feeling)

Answer 26

awareness of emotions essential
concept of emotion not limited to subjective experience (can occur without awareness)

Question 27

physiological response

Answer 27

defense system activation after conscious or unconscious evaluation (hard to distinguish between them, as both prepare for response)

Question 28

Which are the two steps sufficient to trigger the emotional process?

Answer 28

physiological response and evaluation