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Section C
Emotions
Emotions are the Currency of Human Relations

The regions of the brain that control social behaviors and emotions
are closely related
3
Emotions

Mental states that attribute value to events and are often
accompanied by psychological changes
-
-
Stress hormones
Pro-social hormones
4
Adolescents Experience More Stress

Adolescents experience more stress than adults or children
-  Exacerbated by phase delay in sleep onset
-
-
More external stressors
Higher basal cortisol
5
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Emotions influence physiological response through autonomic
nervous system (ANS)
-
-
Sympathetic servous system: fight or flight
Parasympathetic nervous system: rest, relaxation, recovery,
lower heart and respiratory rate
6
Facial Expressions Convey Emotions to Self and Others

Recognition of faces and emotions is slow to emerge
-  Regresses in early adolescence

Certain areas of the brain selectively recognize specific emotions
-  Amygdalia: fear, anger, other negative emotions
Contains receptors for “emotions”
Hormones: cortisol, estrogen, testosterone, and oxytocin
  Also linked to puberty

-
7
Prefrontal Cortex

The prefrontal cortex integrates cognitive with emotional
information
-
-
Inhibition of emotional response critical for cognitive and social
functioning
Initially bottom-up (affective) and subsequently top-down
(cognitive) functioning

Bottom-up functioning maybe driven by puberty and
hormonal influence on amygdalia
8
Hot vs. Cold Cognition

Stressful and emotional conditions stimulate the amygdala for rapid
and instinctive behavioral responses (hot cognition)

Hot cognition attenuates logical thinking and executive control (cold
cognition)
9