emotion

Question 1

Emotion

Answer 1

1. When a long-term goal is achieved (or we experience failure), we tend in experience strong emotional responses
2. This link between motivation and emotion is also seen when we say we are ‘moved’ by something
   - Music, a poem, or the loss of someone close
3. It seems we cannot choose our emotions although we can choose how we respond to or manage them

Question 2

three aspects of emotion

Answer 2

1. physiological arousal
   - sweaty palms
   - caused by activity in the sympathetic nervous system
2. body posture and facial expression changes
3. subjective feeling states
   - our personal experience of something or someone

Question 3

Types of Emotions

Answer 3

1. Emotions usually follow some kind of evaluation or appraisal of events as they relate to our goals and aspirations
2. Early theorists in emotion research suggested that there is a set of basic emotions which are innate
   - Some researchers argued for six or seven, while others suggested there may be as many as ten
3. More recently, Power and Dalgleish (2008) claimed just five basic emotions common across all cultures
4. Robert Plutchik (1994) said there are eight primary emotions which vary in intensity
   - joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, anticipation, anger, and disgust
   - By combining these primary emotions, mixed emotions may be identified
5. More recent research suggests that each of these emotions is mediated by separate neural structures and patterns of autonomic responses

Question 4

types of emotions (2)

Answer 4

1. More recent research suggests that each of these emotions are mediated by separate neural structures and patterns of autonomic responses
2. The fact that there are wide differences between what the theorists say shows that there is no close agreement on the existence of basic emotions
3. One problem with emotion research is that it often depends on studying facial expressions
4. However, the same facial expressions can accompany different emotions
   - For example, a smile may indicate happiness, but it can also signal anger or discomfort
   - An alternative view is provided by the dimensional theory of emotion

Question 5

Dimensional Theory of Emotion

Answer 5

This theory sees all emotions as reflecting two basic dimensions:
1. valence
2. arousal
- On the basis of these dimensions, a circumplex model can be developed with a pleasant-unpleasant continuum and an activation-deactivation continuum
- Research has shown that there seem to be distinct neural networks supporting the valence and arousal aspects of emotions
Some of the neural systems that have been identified include the following:
2.1. rage system
2.2. fear system
2.3. lust system
2.4. panic system
2.5. play system
2.6. care system

Question 6

valence

Answer 6

• how the emotion feels

- - positive or negative

Question 7

arousal

Answer 7

how aroused or relaxed a person feels

Question 8

Dimensional theory of emotion:

manifestation

Answer 8

1. Each basic emotional state is manifested through typical action patterns (behaviours), brain characteristics, and psychological dimensions
2. They can also all be provoked by electrically stimulating specific circuits in subcortical regions of the animal brain, which highlights their intrinsic nature
3. Modern research, based on evolutionary principles, recognises that the basic emotional states of animals and humans are very similar
   - However, humans can regulate the motivational dictates of these systems with their higher mental processes, while most other animals cannot

Question 9

Dimensional Theory of Emotion:

Example: Anger

Answer 9

1. It is commonly aroused by frustration and the inability to behave freely
2. If adults do not get what they want, they get angry, but they can adjust their anger in ways that children and animals cannot
3. In this way, higher cortico-cognitive systems can inhibit, regulate, and guide subcortical emotional systems

Question 10

The Cognitive Aspect of Emotion

Answer 10

1. Cognitive psychology is still somewhat dominated by the information-processing approach
2. The underlying computer analogy makes it difficult to think about the links between cognition and emotion, but cognitions (thoughts, memories, beliefs) are a fundamental aspect of almost all emotion
3. They are part of how we understand and respond to emotions, and mental image can themselves evoke emotions
   - An image in your mind of your home might make you feel intensely home-sick when away
4. When we experience a stimulus, the first thing we do is appraise whether it is relevant to us and whether it is good, bad, or threatening
   - How we appraise the stimulus affects how we respond to it
   - For example, If someone in the supermarket pushes their trolley into your heel, you might appraise the action as intentional and feel angry
   - On the other hand, if you appraise it as a genuine error, you may be forgiving, even if your heel is very sore
5. Faulty appraisals can also be the basis for anxiety and depression
   - These disorders often co-occur, making it difficult to separate the emotional and cognitive aspects involved in each
   - However, research has shown that depression is usually associated with past losses, while anxiety relates to future events
   - It is important to study these connections between cognition and emotion because depression, in particular, is associated with certain cognitive biases

Question 11

James-Lange Theory

Answer 11

• William James and Carl Lange
  1. Common sense suggests that when someone insults us, we feel angry and react
  2. In the later part of the 19th century, William James disputed the common sense view of emotion
  3. He suggested that we would feel angry because of the physiological reaction we had to the insult
  4. In the same period, Carl Lange put forward a similar theory and the two have thus given their names to the James-Lange Theory of Emotion
  5. According to this theory, the physiological experiences we have in response to a stimulus cause us to feel a feeling
  6. Thus, when we are insulted, our hands start shaking, our hearts beat faster, and our awareness of these sensations makes up the feeling of anger

Question 12

Cannon-Bard Theory

Answer 12

• Walter Cannon (and colleagues)
  1. Some 30 years after the James-Lange theory, Walter Cannon said that the physiological response to a stimulus is not instant
• It may take several seconds for this to be felt
• But emotions are usually felt immediately
  2. Cannon and other researchers conducted a number of studies to investigate the relationship between the physiological systems and perception of emotions
  3. Some of the evidence Cannon gathered showed that there are similar visceral changes, regardless of the intensity of the emotion
• Conversely, when a person is given an adrenalin injection, they do not experience more intense emotions
  4. Thus Cannon (and his colleague, L. L. Bard) argued that the physiological response does not cause the subjective experience of emotion
• Rather, they happen simultaneously
  5. When an arousing stimulus is experienced, the message is sent to the thalamus which simultaneously sends it on to the internal organs and to the cerebral cortex
  6. This results in simultaneous autonomic arousal, subjective feeling, and action (behaviour)
  7. The weight of Cannon’s research supports this as a stronger theory of emotion than that of James and Lange

Question 13

Schachter-Singer’s Cognitive Theory

Answer 13

• Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer
  1. However, Schachter and Singer also said that it is not the arousal (alone) that causes the emotion
• Rather, we label the arousal we are experiencing and then we feel the subjective emotion and act on the basis of that label
• As in the example in the supermarket, the pain of the trolley hitting your heel leads to a state of arousal
• If you attribute this arousal to a hostile attack by a fellow shopper, you are likely to feel anger and hostility in return
• However, it is possible that this is a misattribution
  2. There have been some classic studies on the misattribution of arousal which demonstrates support for the Schachter-Singer theory
  3. The two-factor theory has been criticised for:
• Relying too heavily on a general excitation of the physiological systems (rather than specific excitation for distinct emotions)
• Focusing on the autonomic nervous system and does not consider the role of the central nervous system
• Some of these critiques have led to further theories of emotion such as the facial feedback hypothesis