Chapter 13 Emotion On a separate piece of

Chapter 13 Emotion

On a separate piece of paper, jot down as many emotions as you can in 3 minutes. GO! How many of you got less than 10? How many of you got 10 -20? Did anyone get more than 20? Now let’s see if you are good at reading facial expression?

Theories of Emotion Does your heart pound because you are afraid. . . or are you afraid because you feel your heart pounding?

Emotion Emotions – mixture of physiological arousal, expressive behaviors and conscious experience (thoughts and feelings) However, we don’t know exactly how these three pieces fit together to explain our emotional experience. Three major theories attempt to explain this experience:

James-Lange Theory of Emotion William James (right) and Carl Lange Proposed that emotions follow the body’s physiological response to stimuli. “We feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble. ” – William James

James-Lange Theory of Emotion Sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) Pounding heart (arousal) Fear (emotion)

James-Lange �Subjects report feeling more sad when viewing scenes of war, sickness, and starvation if their “sad face” muscles are activated. �They also find comic strips funnier if their “happy face” muscles are activated. (cont. )

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion The physiological change and cognitive awareness must occur simultaneously. They believed it was the thalamus that helped this happen.

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion Sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) Pounding heart (arousal) Emotion-arousing stimuli simultaneously trigger: physiological subjective emotion Fear (emotion) responses experience of

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion � Stanley Schachter explains emotions more completely that the other two theories. � They happen at the same time but… � People who are already physiologically aroused experience more intense emotions than unaroused people when both groups are exposed to the same stimuli. � Biology and Cognition interact with each other to increase the experience.

Schachter’s Two Factor Theory of Emotion Pounding heart (arousal) Sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) Fear (emotion) Cognitive label “I’m afraid” To experience emotion one must: be physically aroused cognitively label the arousal

Opponent-Process Theory of Emotion The opponent-process theory: states that when one emotion is experienced, its “opposite” is oppressed Some of these “emotional pairs” include fear/relief, joy/sadness and pleasure/pain Skydiver beginners experience extreme fear as they jump replaced with relief when they land. With repeated jumps, the fear decreases and the postjump pleasure increases. The opponent process theory of emotion could explain the action of “thrill-seekers” and also addictive behavior

Emotions and the Nervous System Autonomic nervous system controls physiological arousal Sympathetic division (arousing) Parasympathetic division (calming) Pupils dilate EYES Pupils contract Decreases SALIVATION Increases Perspires SKIN Dries Increases RESPIRATION Decreases Accelerates HEART Slows Inhibits DIGESTION Activates Secrete stress hormones ADRENAL GLANDS Decreases secretion of stress hormones

Physiological Similarities of Emotion Sexual arousal, fear and anger all exhibit similar physical responses: Increased perspiration Increased respiration Increased heartbeat Even though all three emotion have similar physical effects, the psychological experience of each is different.

Detecting and Computing Emotion Humans find it difficult to detect deceiving expressions of emotion. Polygraph – machine used to “detect” lies through autonomic responses that generally accompany an emotion. However, some emotions elicit similar physiological responses, making the polygraph less reliable than once thought.

Physiological Differences of Emotions that prompt similar physiological effects still stimulate different facial muscles. Different emotions can result from stimulation to different parts of the amygdala. Negative emotions (such as disgust) activate regions of the right prefrontal cortex. Positive emotions (such as joy) activate regions of the left prefrontal cortex. Left prefrontal cortex rich in dopamine receptors. Nucleus accumbens – “pleasure center” of the brain

Cognition and Emotion What is the connection between what we think and how we feel? Can we experience emotion apart from thinking? Do we become what we think? Can we change our emotion by changing our thinking?

The “Spillover” Effect Stanley Schachter – proposed the “spillover” effect of emotion States that emotional response to one situation can “spillover” and influence our emotional response to another situation Arousal it. fuels emotion; cognition channels

Cognition and Emotion Some emotional reactions involve no thinking. These “low road” emotions (likes, dislikes, fear) go directly from the thalamus to the amygdala. This makes it easy for our feelings to overrule our thinking. Some emotional reactions do involve thinking. These “high road” emotions (hatred, love, mood) travel from the thalamus through the prefrontal cortex (our logical center) then to the amygdala.

The Appraisal Theory Richard Lazarus agreed with Schacter that cognition plays a role in emotional experience. He concluded in his Appraisal theory of emotion that emotions are the result of an individual’s appraisal of a particular situation. In primary appraisal, we assess potential consequences of the situation. In secondary appraisal, we decide how to respond to those potential consequences.

Experienced Emotion According to Carroll Izard, there are 10 basic human emotions that are present from infancy. � Joy � Interest-excitement � Surprise � Sadness � Anger � Disgust � Contempt � Fear � Shame � Guilt

Fear “…fear is adaptive. It’s an alarm system that prepares our bodies to flee from danger. Fear of real or imagined enemies binds people together as families, tribes and nations. Fear of injury can protect us from harm. Fear of punishment or retaliation can constrain us from harming one another. Fear helps us focus on a problem and rehearse coping strategies. ”

The Biology of Fear Amygdala – plays a key role in associating emotions with certain situations Some fears develop into phobias. Phobia – an intense fear of specific objects of situations

Types of Phobias Agoraphobia Xenophobia Acrophobia Heliophobia Mysophobia Pyrophobia Arachnophobia Zoophobia �fear of open spaces �fear of foreigners �fear of heights �fear of sunlight �fear of germs �fear of fire �fear of spiders �fear of animals

Expressed Emotion People more speedily detect an angry face than a happy one (Ohman, 2001 a)

What Anger makes you angry? Most anger derives from willful, unjustified and avoidable acts. Catharsis - “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges Individualist Collectivist societies encourage catharsis. societies do not. Some argue that releasing anger only leads to the build-up of more anger. “Venting to reduce anger is like using gasoline on a fire. ” Upside of Anger?

Happiness “How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret motive for all they do. ” – William James, 1902.

The Psychology of Happiness Feel-good, do-good phenomenon – when we feel happy, we are more likely to help others Subjective well-being – selfperceived happiness or satisfaction in life Basis for positive psychology; instead of focusing on the “bad” side of human experience, positive psychology focuses on the “good” side

The Psychology of Happiness Adaption-level phenomenon – tendency to adapt to a new situation until that situation becomes the norm Lottery winners are no more happy one year after winning the lottery than before. Paraplegics are no more depressed one year after their accident than before. Our idea of happiness is “recalibrated” based on our recent experiences. Is Happiness Relative (8 min)

The Psychology of Happiness is relative not only to our past experience but also to our comparisons with others. Relative deprivation – the sense that we are worse off than others with whom we compare ourselves By comparing ourselves with those less well off, we boost our contentment of our situations. Why we watch “trash” television. Comparing our lives to the lives of people we view as “less than” make us feel better about our own lives. “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet. ”

Gender Differences Some research suggests that the genders differ in how much emotion they express. In North America, women appear to display more emotion than men. Anger is an exception

Similarities Among Cultures Ekman and his colleagues have found that people in different cultures can identify the six basic emotions. The physiological indicators of emotion are similar in people from different cultures.

Differences Among Cultures Although many emotions and expressions of emotions are universal, some differences exist among cultures: Categories of emotions Prioritization Different of emotions evoked

Nonverbal Communication of Emotion Voice quality Facial expression Body language Posture and the way we move communicates information Personal Explicit For space acts example, slamming doors

Body Language (Kinesics) Study of communication through body movement, posture, gestures, and facial expressions Emotional Tone: Underlying emotional state Facial Blends: Mix of two or more basic expressions

Facial Expressions are Innate Both people who can see and people who have been blind since birth have similar facial expressions of emotions. This observation suggests that facial expressions are innate, since blind people could not have learned these expressions by observing others.

Unmasking the Face ANGER SADNESS HAPPINESS SURPRISE DISGUST FEAR

“What’s my emotion? ”

emotion 1

emotion 2

emotion 3

emotion 4

emotion 5

emotion 6

emotion 7

emotion 8

emotion 9

emotion 10

emotion 11

emotion 12

emotion 1 - surprise

emotion 2 - fear

emotion 3 - disgust

emotion 4 - anger

emotion 5 - happiness

emotion 6 - sadness

emotion 7 - fear

emotion 8 - disgust

emotion 9 - anger

emotion 10 - sadness

emotion 11 - happiness

emotion 12 - surprise

How do Emotions Affect Behavior? Positive Effect Negative Effect help cause us organize our behavior energize behavior to be unorganized or socially disapproved our motivation to act create barriers to behavior help us get “in tune” with others

Theories of Emotions Review