Wk3 - Approach vs. Avoidance Flashcards
What idea does the prefrontal lateralisation of emotion refer to?
The idea that the left frontal cortex and the right frontal cortex underly different types of behaviours
What 3 behaviours is the left frontal cortex associated with?
Approach-related behaviour
Pro-social behaviour
Extraversion
What 3 behaviours is the right frontal cortex associated with?
Avoidance-related behaviour
Anti-social behaviour
Introversion
Is there evidence to support the prefrontal lateralisation of emotion dichotomy?
Yes
What properties underlie the left and right prefrontal dichotomy in emotion?
Motivational properties of emotion (e.g., approach vs avoidance motivation)
What are examples of approach emotions?
Positive emotions
Guilt
Anger
How is guilt considered an approach or pro-social emotion?
We feel bad for causing someone else pain. We feel guilt for pro-social reasons.
How is anger considered an approach emotion?
When we are angry we approach a situation with strong motivation.
How can we look at the prefrontal activation and lateralisation in research?
Compare the left frontal and right frontal EEG activity
How do we calculate alpha asymmetry?
Left frontal alpha activity - right frontal alpha activity
What is the alpha frequency band?
8-12 Hz
What does greater alpha activity tell us?
Lower cortical excitation
What does lower alpha activity tell us?
Greater cortical excitation
If there is a greater amount of left alpha, what does this tell us?
The right frontal cortex is more active
What is the relationship between glucose metabolism and alpha activity?
Inverse relationship
More glucose = less alpha activity
What is a greater amount of cortical excitation in left prefrontal regions linked with?
Pro-social emotional traits
Outline a study that demonstrates the link between a cognitive task and emotional states and traits
Resting EEG recorded before and after 6 weeks
3rd session - participants performed a cognitive task in which they were presented with sets of word-pairs and were required to choose the pair that went together best
The word pairs differed in affective tone
What would the 2 EEG rest recordings indicate?
Stable, trait measure of asymmetry (unrelated to tasks)
What did the researchers find in the study on cognitive task & emotion?
Participants with greater activity in their left frontal cortex selected significantly more positive word-pairs
Would relative alpha activity be high or low in the left frontal cortex if there is a high activation?
Low relative alpha power = greater activity (inverse relationship)
What is a positivity index?
A measure of the number of times the participant chose positive word-pairs that went together best over negative or neutral word-pairs
What relationship was found between positivity index and EEG asymmetry?
More activity in left frontal cortex = selected more positive word-pairs = higher positivity index
More active right prefrontal cortex = lower positivity index
What does the experiment on cognitive task and emotion tell us?
Prefrontal lateralisation can predict participants emotional responses
Resting asymmetry can be linked to emotional traits
Resting asymmetry pre-experiment can predict task-related emotional responses
Asymmetry during task performance can be linked to emotional states
How is there prefrontal lateralisation in terms of valence and threat?
Right hemisphere is more vigilant and used to process threat
When are responses to threatening stimuli faster?
When threatening stimuli are presented to the left hemifield and processed by the right hemisphere
Is there evidence to suggest lateralisation of emotion?
Yes (cognitive task and emotion, threatning stimuli experiment)
What do we not know about the lateralisation of emotion?
It is not certain what type of emotion this is / whether it is lateralisation of positive or negative affect
Could be lateralisation of approach/withdrawal motivation
Could be lateralisation related to vigilance and threat
