PSYC211 > Emotions > Flashcards

Emotions Flashcards

(57 cards)

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1
Q

What is problematic with the study of emotions on animals?

A

humans have language and culture, which animals do not have. It is therefore erroneous to accume that animals experience the world the same way as we do. We tend to mistake

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2
Q

What happened with the study of dopaminergic circuitry on animals?

A
  • Observed an apparent correlation between the presence of dopamine (the dopamine circuitry) and pleasure in animals.
  • Dopamine became known as the pleasure molecule
  • Turns out, in humans, dopamine is much more associated with unconscious behavior learning than pleasure
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3
Q

What occured when researchers stimulated animal’s medial amygdala at different intensities? What limitations of research on animals does this show?

A
  • this area is linked to sexual behavior
  • low intensity shock lead to sexual behavior display
  • high intensity shock lead to agressive behavior
  • we cannot understand what animals are feeling:do they have sexual pulsions, or is it just linked to stimulation of an area of the brain?
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4
Q

What is the main way in which humans recognize the emotions of others?

A

facial expression

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5
Q

Is the recognizing of emotions through facial expressions a fast or slow process?

A
  • Extremely fast
  • a longer reflexion will bring little to no improvement in accuracy
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6
Q

What is the particularity of the contexts in which beings express emotions?

A

beings display more emotions if they are alone than if they are in a group

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7
Q

What is the difference in expression of emotions between prey animals and predators?

A

predators always express emotions, whilst preys hide them

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8
Q

What are the classes of facial expressions between which humans may discriminate?

A
  • fear
  • anger
  • surprise
  • sadness
  • disgust
  • happiness
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9
Q

Is inferring emotions from facial expressions reliable?

A

no!

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10
Q

How many different emotional blends are there?

A

25

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11
Q

What is involved in an emotional blend?

A
  • prototypical facial-muscle configurations
  • voice
  • touche
  • posture
  • gaze
  • head/body movements
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12
Q

What is the duality of the existence of emotions?

A
  • exist in the abstract
  • exist in the feeling
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13
Q

Where are abstract emotions processed?

A

neocortex

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14
Q

Where are feeling-emotions processed?

A

limbic system (amygdala)

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15
Q

What is volitional facial paresis?

A
  • difficulty in moving facial muscles voluntarily
  • ability to move the facial muscles involuntarily
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16
Q

What is emotional facial paresis?

A
  • lack of movement of facial muscles in response to emotions
  • no difficulty moving these muscles voluntarily
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17
Q

What are the possible causes of volitional facial paresis?

A
  • damage to the face region of the primary motor cortex
    -damage to the subcortical connections of the primary motor cortex
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18
Q

What are the possible causes of emotional facial paresis?

A
  • damage aroud the insular cortex
  • damage in parts of the thalamus
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19
Q

What are the responses that tend to accompany the raw feeling of emotions?

A
  • behavioral responses
  • autonomic responses
  • hormonal responses
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20
Q

In emotions, what is the role of behavioral responses?

A

muscular movements

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21
Q

In emotions, what is the role of autonomic responses?

A
  • facilitate fight or flight behavior
  • provide quick mobilization of energy
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22
Q

In emotions, what is the role of hormonal responses?

A

reinforces autonomic responses

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23
Q

How is transported the information relating to the autonomic responses that come with emotions?

Study These Flashcards
A

signaling through the peripheral nervous system

24
Q

What are the two main theories concerning the cognitive processing of emotions?

Study These Flashcards
A
  • common-sense theory of emotion
  • James-lange theory of emotion
25
What is the cognitive processing of emotions in the common-sense theory of emotion?
1) Perception of the emotion-eliciting event 2) Subjective feelings of emotion 3) Behavioral and physiological responses
26
What is the James Lange theory based upon?
- paralyzed patients reported feeling emotions with lesser intensity
27
has there been any reproductibility for the James Lange theory?
- interfering with muscular movement associated with particualr emotion slightly decreases the ability to experience that emotion - done through botox or beta-blockers
28
What is the general consensus about the explanation of feelings, emotions and their cognitive processing?
- the raw emotion exists, it is the main element that explains emotions. - the body brings some information, but it is not the only determinant of emotion/feeling
29
What are the limitations of the reproductibility of the James Lange theory?
Our internal organs are too insensitive or not fast enough to have a true influence on our emotions and there has been very little result when cutting nerves relating internal organs to the CNS or stimulating them.
30
What are the steps of cognitive emotional processing in the James Lange theory?
1) perception of emotion-eliciting events 2) Appropriate set of behavioural and physiological responses are triggered 3) the brain receives feedback from these changes in the peripheral nervous system which, in turn, produces the subjective feelings of emotion
31
What are the main components of the limbic system?
- hippocampus - amygdala - cingulate cortex
32
What is the main role of the hippocampus?
Critical memory formaiton
33
What are the roles of the amygdala?
- feeling and recognizing emotions, especially fear - directing eye movements toward the eyes when looking at a face to get the necessary information for emotional anlysis
34
What is the role of the central nucleus of the amygdala?
- regulates emotional responses
35
What is the main consequence of lesions in the central nucleus of the amygdala?
- reduction/elimination of innate and learned fear responses
36
What are the effects of an artificial stimulation of the central nucleus?
fear, anxiety, agitation
37
What does the behaviour of people whose amygdala is not functionalteach us about the driving forces behind our interactions?
- that they are mostly driven by fear, because: - no sense of personal space if no amygdala - not the same way to interact with others
38
What happens when we view threatening stimuli or fearful faces?
- activation of the central amygdala
39
What type of information does the central nucleus of the amygdala receive?
- visual input from various visual areas - some raw visual information
40
What are the main symptoms of a bilateral amygdalectomy?
- inability to recognize the expression of fear in their and other's faces - diminished ability to identify disgust, sadness and fear - no sense of fear
41
Why are people with a bilateral amygdalectomy unable to identify fear in faces?
their eyes did not look at the eyes of the face they were observing
42
What are the other areas of the brain involved in analysis of facial expressions?
- somatosensory cortex - insular cortex - premotor cortex - congulate cortex
43
What are mirror neurons?
- neurons that activate similarly when an animal performs a partiular behavior or when it sees another animal persorming that behavior
44
Where are mirror neurons found?
- somatosensory cortex, insular cortex, premotor cortex, cingulate cortex
45
What is the role that has been theorized for motor neurons?
- involved in mimicry and empathy - somatosensory cortex encodes representations of what emotions feel like proprioceptively and kinaestetically - therefore, knowing what it feels like to make a perceived expression may help us recognize the emotion expressed in the face we view
46
How is the brain activated in the case of emotion interpretation based on tone?
activation of the right cerebral hemisphere
47
How is myelination linked to emotional control?
- myelination is a process that occurs throughout the first 20 years of existence - occurs in caudal to rostral direction - the prefrontal cortex is the last to be myelinated - myelination makes an area more efficient
48
What is the role of the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in the control of emotions?
- regulation of the expression of emotions - usually: inhibitory effect
49
What occurs when there is the extinguishing of a learned fear response?
strengthening of vmPFC connections to the amygdala
50
Are cognitive abilities affected by damage to the ventro medial prefrontal cortex?
not strongly
51
What are the effects of damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex?
- weakening of behavioral control - impairing of decision making - emotional disregulation - when considering hypothetical situations: inability to consider emotions contextually (trolley problem) - lack of consideration for emotions in decision-making processes
52
What are low serotonine levels associated with?
- risky behaviour - impulsive aggression
53
What is inhibited by serotonin?
emotional outbursts
54
What is the only situation in which patients who have had a bilateral lesion to the amygdala may feel fear?
suffocation
55
Where is the stream of thought associated with conceptual emotions located?
neocortex
56
Where is the stream of feeling associated with the raw feeling of emotions located?
limbic system
57
What is the difference between the James Lange theory of emotion and the common sense theory of emotion?
James Lange: physiological response first, emotion after Common sense: emotion first, physiological response after
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