Week 3: Nature of Emotions

Question 1

Emotions

Answer 1

Results from a stimulus (external or internal) or eliciting event, something that provokes a change in the equilibrium of experience.

Question 2

Emotions (Neuroscience Perspective)

Answer 2

The set of behaviors, physiological responses, and subjective states result from a cascade of events coordinated by the nervous system that have evolved to ensure survival.

These neural events emerge in response to various events involving punishments and rewards.

Question 3

Punishment & Rewards (Edmund Rolls, 2000)

Answer 3

“A reward is anything for which an animal will work, while a punishment is anything an animal will work to avoid and escape.”

Question 4

Emotions (Edmund Rolls)

Answer 4

1) Emotions can be defined based on whether they
involve the presence of rewards and punishments.
2) Emotions result from the termination and reduction
in the likelihood of rewards or punishments.
3) Emotions are actually the same in nature, but
they differ in intensity.

Question 5

Emotions (Social Constructivist Perspective)

Answer 5

Learned rules in response to sociocultural norms.

Question 6

Happiness (Rolls)

Answer 6

Response to a reward, motivating approach behavior.

Question 7

Fear (Rolls)

Answer 7

Response to a punishment, motivating escape or avoidance.

Question 8

Anger (Rolls)

Answer 8

Response to reward termination.

Question 9

Relief (Rolls)

Answer 9

Response to punishment removal.

Question 10

Biological Nature of Emotions (Nature)

Answer 10

• Emotions are innate and biologically determined.
• Similar behaviors are shown by other species.
• Specific brain circuitry for expressing basic emotions.
• Expressions are universal.

Question 11

Social Constructivist View of Emotions (Nurture)

Answer 11

• Emotions are learned and shaped by culture.
• Display Rules: Cultural norms dictate how emotions are shown.
• Intensity: Cultural differences exist in the intensity of emotional expression.
• While we all experience emotions, how we express them can vary significantly based on our cultural background.

Question 12

William James’ Question on Emotion

Answer 12

Do we run from a bear because we are afraid?
i.e. the physiological bodily responses occur in response to an emotion?
Or
Are we afraid because we run?
i.e. do we only feel the emotion because of the physiological bodily responses?

Question 13

Emotion (William James)

Answer 13

“Our natural way of thinking about emotions is that
the mental perception of some fact excites the mental affection called emotion and that this latter
state of mind gives rise to the bodily expression. My thesis, on the contrary, is that the bodily
changes follow directly the perception of the exciting fact and that our feeling of the same changes
as they occur is the emotion.”

Question 14

Emotions (Cognitive Science)

Answer 14

They occur in response to subjective appraisals
of particular situations or how we interpret situations.

Question 15

Emotions (B.F. Skinner, 1948)

Answer 15

Are useless and bad for our peace of mind and blood pressure.

Question 16

Emotions (Keltner & Gross, 1999)

Answer 16

Both positive and negative, as solutions to physical or social problems or opportunities that we encounter in our lives that can benefit our survival.

Question 17

Basic Function of Emotions

Answer 17

1) Preparing the body for action (generating autonomic
and endocrine responses)
2) Communication (influence the behavior of others)
3) Consolidating social bonds
4) Motivation to act
5) Selection of appropriate actions (approach or avoid)

Question 18

Emotions and Cognitive Processes

Answer 18

• Memory
• Selection
• Improve retrieval
• Action selection

Question 19

Radke-Yarrow, 1985 on Negative Emotions

Answer 19

Exposure to inappropriate - and in particular, excessively negative emotions - when we’re young
can also have detrimental effects on how we form social bonds with those.

Question 20

Eye Test

Answer 20

A test of emotion recognition.

Question 21

Sympathetic Nervous System (Fight or Flight)

Answer 21

Part of the autonomic nervous system.

Often activated during stress or fear.

Question 22

Parasympathetic Nervous System (Rest & Digest)

Answer 22

Part of the autonomic nervous system.

It helps the body conserve energy and return to a normal state after stress.

Question 23

Division of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Answer 23

1) Sympathetic Nervous System (Fight or Flight)
2) Parasympathetic Nervous System (Rest & Digest)

Question 24

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Answer 24

The part of your nervous system that controls involuntary functions in your body.

Operates without conscious effort.

Question 25

Key Functions of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Answer 25

• Heart rate
• Blood pressure
• Breathing
• Digestion
• Body temperature
• Pupil dilation
• Salivation
• Sexual arousal

Question 26

Monetary Incentive Delay Task

Answer 26

Where on particular reward trials, cued by a particular geometric shape, if individuals respond quick enough after a variable interval, they win a specified amount of money.

Such simple tasks can also activate brain regions that appear to be conserved for responding and anticipating rewards.

Question 27

Methods of Generating Emotions in a Lab

Answer 27

• Eye Test
• Facial Expressions Test
• Monetary Incentive Delay Task
• Chat Room Task (Peer Rejection Paradigm)
• Real Life Diaries
• Mood Induction

Question 28

NOTE when Generating Negative Emotions in a Lab

Answer 28

A bit more care needs to be given to designing such studies for ethical reasons.

We do not want to provoke any negative emotions that are likely to be long-lasting after the end of the experiment.

Question 29

Mood Induction

Answer 29

Another very different method to generate emotions in a laboratory is to try and change people’s mood states.

Question 30

Demand Effect

Answer 30

Participants may only be responding in such a way as they think the experimenter wants them to.

Question 31

Transfer Effect

Answer 31

In the context of mood induction, refers to the ability of an induced mood to influence subsequent thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are unrelated to the initial mood induction.

It’s about how your mood can “spill over” and affect other aspects of your life.

Question 32

Wright & Bower on Mood Induction

Answer 32

After positive mood induction, participants report higher probabilities for positive events and lower probabilities for negative events.

While those who received negative mood induction showed the opposite pattern.

Finally, those who had neutral mood inductions showed no difference between positive and negative events.