1
Emotion and Motivation
Emotional experiences are complex internal feeling states
comprised of at least two components:
1.
Physiological autonomic arousal/activity
2.
Cognitive evaluation / interpretation / appraisal
Emotional expression also has at least two major aspects:
1.
Behavioral activity (motivated behavior)
2.
Communicative activity (socially expressive)
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James-Lange (1922) Theory of Emotion:
1. Physiological responses to environmental/internal events
occur first; these reactions are then evaluated as an
emotion.
2.
Emotion is based on making sense of your arousal.
Cannon-Bard (1927/1934) Theory of Emotion:
1. Environmental/internal events are perceived and
evaluated at the same time as physiological processes are
activated (cognition is a little faster).
2.
Physiological arousal enhances the emotion, but does not
cause it.
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Schacter Two-Factor theory of Emotion (1964):
1. Physiological arousal happens first; it’s undifferentiated,
but indicates intensity!
2.
Evaluation of the situation (external cues) determines the
emotional value.
Dutton & Aron (1974)
Plutchick (1985)’s Emotion as a Process Theory:
Neither biological nor cognitive processes “come first.”
These processes interact dynamically.
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How Many Emotions Are There?
Basic Classification of Emotional Experience
Watson, Tellegen, & Clark (1988):
1.
Valence
2.
Arousal
Valence
Positive
Negative
High
Arousal
Low
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Identifying the Fundamental Emotions
1.
There are several fundamental emotions that give rise to
a range of emotional experiences.
2.
These emotions are influenced by individual, social, and
cultural experiences.
3.
The fundamental emotions are considered “fundamental”
based on several kinds of evidence:
Innate rather than acquired
Expressed uniquely and distinctly
Evoke a (somewhat) distinctive physiological pattern of
responses
Are manifest in both humans and animals, and appear in
individuals cross-culturally
Aroused by similar types of stimuli in humans and animals
Have identifiable neural substrates that are similar in humans
and animals
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Ekman (and others)
Six Fundamental Emotions
1. Fear
2. Anger
3. Disgust
4. Sadness (distress)
5. Happiness (pleasure or joy)
6. Interest (sometimes also Surprise)
Each emotion has a unique facial expression
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Plutchick
Eight Basic Emotions
1. Anger
2. Disgust
3. Sadness
4. Surprise
5. Fear
6. Acceptance
7. Joy
8. Anticipation
These can combine to create different emotions and also
range in intensity from low to high.
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Spielberger
Four major emotions
1. Anxiety
2. Anger
3. Depression
4. Curiosity
These emotions manifest as:
1.
Transient emotional-motivational states
2.
Fairly stable personality traits (dispositions)
a.
States are measured in units of intensity of
experience at a given moment in time
b.
Traits are measured in units of frequency of
occurrence over time.