Emotion
 Emotion – A four part process that involves
physiological arousal, subjective feelings, cognitive
interpretation, and behavioral expression – all of
which interact, rather than occurring in a linear
sequence.
 Helps organisms deal with important events.
Evolution and Emotion
 Emotions have evolved to help us respond to
important situation and to convey our intentions to
others.
Evolution and Emotion
 Example
 Sexual jealousy probably has an evolutionary basis
because mate infidelity threatens the individual’s
chances of producing offspring.
Cultural Universals in Emotional
Expression
 Most emotions, but not all, are universally understood
regardless of culture.
 Facial expressions are used to convey universal messages
and motions.
Cultural Universals in Emotional
Expression
 Display Rules – The permissible ways of displaying
emotions in a particular society.
Counting the Emotions
 How many emotions are there?
 Probably over 500, but 7 are universally recognized.
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Anger
Disgust
Fear
Happiness
Sadness
Contempt
Surprise
The Purpose of Emotions
 Emotions are normally meant to help us adapt to our
environment and signal others how we are feeling.
 But, if too intense or prolonged, they may become
destructive and detrimental to our mental health.
Emotional Differences b/t Men and
Women
 Biology
 Culture
 Gender Stereotypes
 Differences in Punishment and Reinforcement
Where Do Emotions Come From?
 Unconscious Emotions:
 The Limbic System
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Fight or Flight – Attack, Defense, Retreat
 The Reticular Formation
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Responsible for emotional reactions such as fear and anger in
emergency situations.
Early warning system.
Communicates with Amygdala and Thalamus to help arouse
the brain in emergencies.
Where Do Emotions Come From?
 Conscious Emotions
 The Cerebral Cortex
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Interprets events and associates them with memories and
feelings to create emotions.
Lateralization of Emotion – The different influences of the
two brain hemispheres on various emotions.
 Left Hemisphere influences positive emotions.
 Right Hemisphere influences negative emotions.
Where Do Emotions Come From?
 Autonomic Nervous System
 Plays the key role in emotionally arousing your internal
organs (like your heart) in different situations.
Where do Emotions Come From?
 Sympathetic Division of Nervous System – Helps us
respond to unpleasant stimuli.
 Parasympathetic Division of the Nervous System –
Helps us respond to pleasant stimuli.
Where Do Emotions Come From?
 The Role of Hormones
 Serotonin – Depression
 Epinephrine – Fear
 Norepinephrine – Anger
 Steroids – Change the way nerve cells that release
hormones are excited.
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Why people on steroids become angry easier… Roid Rage.
Psychological Theories of Emotion
 James – Lange Theory
 The proposal that an emotion provoking stimulus
produces a physical response that, in turn, produces and
emotion.
Psychological Theories of Emotion
 Cannon-Bard Theory
 The counter-proposal that an emotional feeling and an
internal physiological response occur at the same time:
One is not the cause of the other.
 Both were believed to be the result of cognitive appraisal
of the situation.
Psychological Theories of Emotion
 Schachter’s Two Factor Theory
 The proposal claiming that emotion results from the
cognitive appraisal of both physical arousal (Factor 1)
and an emotion provoking stimulus (Factor 2).
Psychological Theories of Emotion
 Cognitive Appraisal Theory
 Theory of emotion which theorizes that individuals
decide on an appropriate emotion following the event.
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Make a conscious decision about how we should feel after the
event has occurred.
Psychological Theories of Emotion
 Opponent-Process Theory
 Theory of emotion which Theorizes that emotions have
pairs.
 When one is triggered, the other is suppressed.
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Example – When we feel happy, sad is the suppressed
emotion.
Emotion and Athletic Performance
 Inverted U Function – Describes the relationship
between arousal and performance.
 Both high and low levels of arousal produce lower
performance than does a moderate level of arousal.
 Sensation seekers – Individuals who have a biological
need for higher levels of stimulation than do other
people.
How Much Control do We Have
Over Our Emotions?
 Although emotional responses are not always
consciously regulated, we can learn to control them.
How Much Control do We Have
Over Our Emotions?
 Emotional Intelligence – The ability to understand and
control emotional responses.
 Helps significantly in having the ability to properly
control our emotions.
How Much Control do We Have
Over Our Emotions?
 Detecting Deceptions
 Lie Detectors (Polygraphs) used to detect deceptions to
determine if people are lying.
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Can be inaccurate and have many flaws.
Physiological signs are not always telling of whether or not
people are lying, which is why they’re often inaccurate.
Polygraphs are really just arousal detectors.