Emotions - Lecture notes

  1. Emotions
    1. A state of feeling that has cognitive, physiological, & behavioral components
    2. Four Aspects:
      1. Interpret of appraise stimulus in terms of your well being.
      2. Subjective feelings (fear/happiness) 
      3. Physiological reaction
      4. Observable behavior (smile/cry)
  2. Why Emotions
    1. Social signals (needs, desires, etc.)
    2. Psychoevolutionary Theory
      1. Inherited Neural Structure/Physiology to express emotion
      2. Evolved emotional patterns to adapt to environment & solve problems 
        1. important to survival. (anger - escape dangerous situations, disgust = rotten, dangerous .
  3. Emotions in the Brain
    1. Sadness: prefrontal cortex, thalamus, Cerebellum
    2. Happiness: Prefrontal cortex , medical temporal area
    3. Limbic system: Hypothalamus, Thalamus esp
    4. Amygdala: Emotional content (memory)
  4. Five theories:
    1. James – Lange
      1. We feel emotion because of biological changes
      2. Emotions are cognitive by products of automated physiological & Behavioral responses
      3. Physiological changes – Brain interpretation – specific emotion – show observable behavior.
      4. Consistent with facial feedback hypothesis
        1. Changes (in face muscles) –interpretations – emotion- behavior
        2. Facial expressions can affect emotional state
      5. Change behavior to change feelings (behavior therapy)
        1. Get a hobby, join a club, etc.
      6. Criticism
        1. Patterns of response = emotion specific
        2. Downplays cognition: little role for personal value & choice 
          1. Some emotions require intricate appraisal of situation (guilt, jealousy)
          2. Points to role for cognitive factors
        3. Quadriplegics, deprived of most feedback from autonomic nervous system, still experience emotion
    2. Cannon Bard 
      1. Emotions accompany bodily changes; not produced 
      2. Stimulus with event 
      3. Controversy over "simultaneity"
        1. Eg Near car wreck; shaky afterwards
    3. Two factor theory
      1. Interaction between two factors, biology, and cognition
      2. More physically aroused people experience more intense emotions
      3. More startled after a jog than in resting state
    4. Cognitive Appraisal
      1. Physiological arousal – cognitive appraisal of cues (not Physiological State) – Emotion – specific behavior
      2. So cognitive appraisal builds on 2 factor theory for our label of an emotion.
      3. Not only does our physiological state matter, but our cognitive appraisal plays an even larger role. 
      4. We engage in social comparison to arrive at an appropriate response.
        1. Girlfriend hugging someone at movie theatre
          1. Anger
        2. "It’s my brother"
          1. Relief = flip flop due to cognitive interpretation
      5. Criticisms
        1. Emotions may occur without Physiological arousal
        2. (I just saw someone hit your car)
    5. Affective Primacy (Zajonc)
      1. Stimulus – Emotion – Appraisal – Physiological arousal & overt behavior
      2. Lottery ticket, excitement, "sinks in" – more happy
      3. Criticism = appraisal can happen so quickly it seems immediate.