Evaluate the Extent to which
Cognitive and Biological Factors
Interact in Emotion
By Mr Daniel Hansson
Evaluate the extent to which
cognitive and biological factors
interact in emotion
 Due 18/11
 Define emotion
 Explain the cognitive and biological factors
of emotion
 Explain theories and studies of their
interaction 1 theory + 2 studies
 Evaluate the theories and studies
 Draw a conclusion
Questions for discussion
1. Are thoughts and emotions independent or
interdependent?
2. Are biology and emotion independent or
interdependent?
3. Can the mind and the body influence each
other? If so, how? Do they influence each
other as much?
4. Biology or thought – which factor influences
emotion the most?
Activity 1
1. Study the famous painting “The Scream”
by Edward Munch.
2. What emotions does the painting create?
Why do you think it is successful in
creating those emotions?
What is an emotion?
 A subjective feeling provoked by real or
imagined objects or events that have high
significance to the individual
 Emotions are associated with goal-directed
behaviour (motivation), decision making and
and communication
Components of emotion
 Activating external stimuli
 Biological factors, e.g. arousal and secretion
of hormones
 Cognitive factors; appraisal of the situation
and a subjective feeling (private experience)
 Associated behaviour (e.g. smiling, running
away, violence)
Question
 What do you think is the order of the
components for the experience of
emotions? E.g. external stimuli – appraisal
- subjective experience – physiological
changes – behaviour? Motivate your order
of the components.
Biological factors of emotion
 Amygdala
 Hormones and arousal (e.g. adrenaline,
oxytocin, vasopressin)
Amygdala
 A structure in the brain that is known to
register emotional reactions
 Initial research was based on rats, modern
research on neuroimaging studies of
humans
 Criminals with anti social personality
disorder show less activation in the
amygdala during emotional processing than
normal participants (Kiehl et. al. 2001)
Le Doux (1999)
 Suggests that there are two biological pathways of
emotions in the brain due to evolution
 The short route goes from the sensory thalamus to the
amygdala and leads to a direct emotional response
 The long route passes via the neocortex and hippocampus
before it results in an emotional response
 The advantage of having direct and indirect pathways is
flexibility in responses. In cases of danger, the fast
pathway saves time but makes mistakes. The long
pathway allows for more appropriate responses to
situations
Arousal
 The sympathetic nervous system prepares
the body for emergency action, leading to
increased blood pressure and heart rate,
rapid respiration, dilated pupils, increased
perspiration, decreased secretion of mucus
and saliva, blood is diverted from the
stomach and intestines to the brain and
skeletal muscles, erect hairs on skin (goose
pimples)
Interaction between arousal and
subjective experiences
 Positive emotions produce fewer bodily changes than
negative emotions because their behavioural tendencies
are broad and not specific (e.g. Fredrickson 2000)
 The perception of our own arousal forms part of our
subjective experience of the intensity of the emotion, e.g.
army veterans with spinal cord injuries have reported a
decrease in emotionality following injury. (Hohmann 1962)
 Some bodily changes are distinct to different emotions.
Heart rate is faster for negative emotions, skin temperature
for anger is higher than in fear or sadness. These
differences are universal (Levenson 1992)
Strack et. al. (1988)
Group 1: Put a pen between your teeth
Group 2: Put a pen between your lips
Rate how funny the following cartoon is from 1
to 10
Cognitive factors
 Cognitive appraisal
 Subjective experience
Cognitive appraisal (Lazarus)
 An evaluation of how a situation will affect one’s
personal well being
 Is affected by personal experiences and beliefs
 Primary appraisal: An evaluation of how a
situation might affect our well being
 Secondary appraisal: A consideration of how to
react to the situation
 Can be conscious or unconscious/automatic
(amygdala)
The relationship between appraisal
and arousal
 Most contemporary appraisal psychologists
place cognitive appraisal before arousal
 Both arousal and appraisal contribute to the
intensity of emotion
 Appraisal alone can determine the quality of
experience
 Lazarus (1991) argues that cognitive
processes can initiate physiological arousal
and emotion feelings
Activity: subjective emotions
1. Identify 5 different emotions
2. Rank them from highest to lowest level of
arousal and from most positive to most
negative
Examples of emotions
(Lazarus 1991)
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Anger
Anxiety
Fright
Guilt
Shame
Sadness
Envy
Jealousy
Disgust
Happiness
Pride
Relief
Hope
Love
Compassion
Activity 3
 Try to convey your 5 emotions to a partner
by facial expression alone in a group of 2 or
3
Questions for discussion
1. What emotions are harder to convey than others?
2. Are there consistent similarities in interpretation of emotion
between individuals?
3. How important do you think context is in perceiving other
people’s emotion?
4. Do you think that there are differences in interpretation and
expression of emotions in men and women?
5. Do you think that there are cultural differences in
expression of emotions?
6. Do you believe in emotional intelligence (EQ)? How can it
be observed/measured? Is EQ innate or acquired by
experience? How is EQ useful in everyday life?
What four emotions is this man from
Papua Guinea expressing?
(Ekman 1982)
Activities
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/min
d/surveys/disgust/index.shtml
 www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/su
rveys/smiles