What is emotions, how does it encourage us and what is it accompanied by?
a feeling towards an object or event - short term - situational
- occur in response to rewards (happy) and punishers (sad/angry)
- encourages us to persist in responding for reward
- accompanied by changes in thoughts, feeling, facial expressions and physiology
What is mood and what is an example of what it’s not?
- longer lasting
- less intense
- not affected by a specific object
- NOT: being cheerful for several days for no particular reason
What is the difference between emotion and moods?
- Emotions are short-lived feelings tied to specific events (e.g., happiness from adopting a puppy).
- Moods are longer-lasting, less intense, and not tied to specific events (e.g., feeling cheerful without a clear cause).
What are the behavioral elements of emotions?
- hormones
- thoughts
- feelings
- other behavior
- facial expressions
- sense perception
How do we identify emotions in others?
- James-Lange theory: Emotions follow this order: perceive stimulus → express emotion → acknowledge emotion.
- Cannon-Bard theory: Emotions occur in this order: perceive stimulus in environment → express emotion and acknowledge it → thalamus mediates emotion; emotions occur simultaneously with physiological responses via the thalamus.
What are Darwin’s three principles of emotions?
- Serviceable habits (first principle): Emotion expressions serve a purpose in animals but may be non-functional in humans (e.g., bared teeth in dogs).
- Antithesis (second principle): Opposite emotions have opposite expressions (e.g., fear vs. disgust).
- Direct action of the nervous system (third principle): Emotions cause physiological changes (e.g., redness of skin when angry).
What is emotional contagion?
Emotions can be “caught” from others. For example, watching angry faces can trigger anger in the observer, and smiling faces can increase smiling.
What motivates behaviour besides emotions?
Hunger and sex motivate specific behaviors, like seeking food when hungry.
Why are emotions important in daily life?
- influence future behavior and help explain current emotional states
- behavior and facial expression define emotions
- helps to predict future actions
What is motivation and how does it affect behavior?
the reason or purpose for our actions, influenced by internal mechanisms (social approaches) or external factors (operant approaches)
- determines how long we persist and how much effort we exert in tasks as per motivational intensity theory
What is the difference between drive-reduction theory and arousal theory?
DRT - physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need
AT - humans are motivated to engage in behaviors that either increase or decrease arousal levels
- high arousal = behaviors that will lower it
- low arousal = behaviors that will raise it (ex. curiosity)
What is Yerkes - Dodson law?
found that moderate stimulus intensity leads to optimal performance, while weak or strong stimuli impair performance
- simple tasks with high arousal = strong performance
- difficult tasks with high arousal = weak performance
What are some examples of simple tasks and difficult tasks?
ST - flashbulb memory, focused attention, fear conditioning
DT - divided attention, working memory, multitasking
What is the different approaches to motivation?
operant: proceeding stimuli and associated consequences motivates behavior (ex. grades)
social: we are social creatures and social needs are highly motivating
achievement: we are driven to need to be excellent in some area (ex. being the best)
What was demonstrated in Premack’s Rat Experiment?
Deprived behaviors (e.g., thirst) can reinforce non-deprived behaviors (e.g., running on a wheel).
What is Premack’s Principle of Reinforcer Efficacy?
one behaviour can reinforce another
- more rewarding higher frequency behaviours can reinforce less rewarding low frequency behaviours
- ex. eat vegetables before getting dessert; working extra shifts for more money
What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the order?
striving for self-actualization (self-improvement)
- Physiological needs → Safety needs → Belonging and love → Esteem → Self-actualization → Self-transcendence.
How does jealousy affect how people deal with mate poaching?
- women focus on the rival
- men focus on the partner
what is mate poaching?
when a person expresses sexual interest in and courts an unavailable romantic partner to get that person to leave their current relationship
What is achievement motivation?
an internal desire to achieve excellence at something, which is reflected in their performance on tasks in content area
What are the effects of achievement motivation?
Those who were rewarded for colouring, started to colour less
- extrinsic rewards decrease intrinsic motivation and achievement needs in children
