Emotions – main points
Understanding Emotions
Davitz 1970 found 556 words and phrases that are emotion related.
Universal emotional expressions are:Happiness, Anger, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Surprise
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What is Emotion?
‘Emotion is a transitory, valenced experience that is felt with some intensity as happening to
the self , generated in part by a cognitive appraisal of situations and accompanied by both
learned and innate physical responses.’
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Components
1. Subjective experience of the emotion
2. Internal bodily reaction
3. cognitions about the emotion and situations
4. facial expression
5. a global reaction
6. action tendency)
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4 Theoretical Research Traditions
on Emotions:
‘Darwinian’ - (Darwin, 1972) Emotions have adaptive functions - are universal
‘Jamesian’ - (James, 1884) Emotions = bodily responses
‘Cognitive’- (Arnold, 1960) Emotions are based on appraisals
‘Social Constructivist’ - (Averill, 1980) Emotions are social constructions and serve social
purposes
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The brain and emotion
The amygdala
The orbitofrontal cortex
Animal studies
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The Darwinian Tradition
Emotional expression is ADAPTIVE
readiness to face challenges
communicates intentions to others
Evidence:
Universal facial expressions
Infants
Basic emotions (e.g.: Ekman’s ‘Big Seven’)
EMOTION IS INNATE
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The Jamesian Tradition
Experience of emotion due to peripheral responses. Conscious aspect arises later when brain
observes the response
Distinguishable patterns of arousal for each emotion
BODILY CHANGES = EMOTION
‘We are afraid because we run’
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Evidence supporting James
Pattern of autonomic changes DOES vary with different emotional states
People reliving emotional experiences show different patterns of autonomic activity
Hohmann (1966) spinal cord injuries reduce peripheral responses - less intense emotion
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The Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Emotional experience is determined in part by feedback from facial expressions
It should be possible to manipulate how a person feels by manipulating their face
Movements of face provide sufficient peripheral information to fuel experience of emotion
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The Cannon Bard Theory
Two criticisms to James-Lange theory
Physiological mechanisms are too slow
Not specific enough
Instead - direct CNS experience of emotion,with or without feedback : thalamus indicated
More recent :
Various parts of CNS involved
Strong emotions CAN bypass cortex (thalamus to amygdala)
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Physiology of Emotions
Autonomic Nervous System
Either branch can be activated during an emotion
Sympathetic branch excites organs under its control - increase heart rate when angry/in fear
Parasympathetic branch inhibits organs - causes tears to flow when grieving
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Emotions - Brain Mechanisms
Studies with animals and brain damage patients tell us there are:
3 basic feature of brain’s control of emotion:
Cerebral hemisphere
Limbic system (amygdala)
Papez Loop (anatomical circuit beginning and ending in the hippocampal formation that he
proposed subserved emotional experience (Papez, 1937).
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The Schacter-Singer Theory
AROUSAL + COGNITION = EMOTION
The Misattribution Paradigm
Excitation Transfer Studies
Conclusion: Cognitive factors
important in generation of emotion
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The Cognitive Perspective
EMOTIONS ARE BASED ON APPRAISALS
Emotions are responses to the meaning of events - associated with goals & motivations
Different emotions are associated with different patterns of appraisal
Change the way an event is appraised & change the emotion e.g. :Lazarus
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Conclusions
‘Peripheral autonomic responses (including facial responses) and the cognitive interpretation
of those responses play a role in the experience of emotion. In addition there is some direct
experience of emotion by CNS, independent of physiological responses.’
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Social Constructivism
Cultural variation in emotion recognition/emotion words/tone of voice
Emotion Culture (e.g.: Ifaluk tribe/medical students)
Categorisation of emotion
differs across cultures
Social Referencing
EMOTIONS ARE CULTURAL PRODUCTS
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Personality may affect mood or internal emotional state
Mild head injury can produce emotional changes
Heller (1990) >60% of people with left frontal-lobe lesions met DSM III criteria for depression.
Damage to the left frontal region associated with major or minor depression as found in 60%
stroke victims.
The probability of depression is much higher in the left than the right - belittles argument
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Euphoria
Right hemisphere damage may result in euphoria and lack of concern about physical and
psychological consequences of damage. may also show inappropriate affect, bursting into
tears for no reason as so happy when told of a sad event eg a death.
Rehabilitation of emotional functioning is especially important - a long-term study suggests
that individuals who sustain head injury are most disabled by emotional and personality
disturbances (Lezak, 1987).
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Disease
Huntington's disease typically is manifested by changes in emotional functioning (Lieberman
1979) 50% have major depressive episodes.
Behaviour is reminiscent of the inappropriate behaviour of individuals with frontal lobe
damage (Cummings & Benson, 1988).
Inappropriate sexual behaviour
Laughter Therapy
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EMOTIONS & HEALTH
LOOKING AT APPLIED VALUE
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Emotion, Stress & Health
Hans Selye
Psychological factors influence physical health through stress response
In short term stress response is adaptive - helps us cope
Long term - changes can be maladaptive and lead to ill health
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Stress & Infections
Emotional events can cause stress
Neural & hormonal activity linked to stress may influence immune function
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Stress & Infections - Evidence
Lab animals kept in stressful circumstances (e.g.: overcrowding, loud noise etc) show
depressed immune function
Stress has similar effects on humans
Glaser et al (1987) Students have more respiratory infections during finals
Parkes & Brown (1972) Bereavement
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- final exams , sleep deprivation, divorce, bereavement
People who widowed an average of 14 months
Increased illness, appetite disturbance, depression,sleep disturbances fatigue, loneliness, and
higher mortality rate.
Stress & Positive Emotions
Positive affective states appear to facilitate the body’s natural regenerative processes.
Possible to teach techniques to self-generate positive emotional states in order to have
beneficial effects on health
Improvements have been seen in several patient groups
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individuals with HIV; elderly patients with congestive heart failure; hypertensive individuals
& diabetes patients.