Emotions

Question 1

What are the three components of emotion?

Answer 1

1. Subjective conscious experience (cognitive component)
2. Bodily arousal (physiological component)
3. Characteristic overt expressions (behavioural component)

These components work together to create the overall experience of emotion.

Question 2

What is the cognitive component of emotion primarily based on?

Answer 2

Verbal reports of subjective feelings

Psychologists rely on subjects’ descriptions of their emotional experiences.

Question 3

True or False: Emotions can be easily regulated like a switch.

Answer 3

False

Emotions often involve automatic reactions that are difficult to control.

Question 4

What does affective forecasting refer to?

Answer 4

The efforts to predict one’s emotional reactions to future events

People often mispredict the intensity and duration of their emotional responses.

Question 5

What role does the autonomic nervous system play in emotion?

Answer 5

Regulates bodily arousal associated with emotions

It is responsible for the fight-or-flight response.

Question 6

What is the galvanic skin response (GSR)?

Answer 6

An increase in the electrical conductivity of the skin due to sweating

GSR is a measure of autonomic arousal used in emotion studies.

Question 7

How does a polygraph function?

Answer 7

It monitors indicators of autonomic arousal such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, and GSR

The assumption is that lying produces emotional responses detectable by these indicators.

Question 8

Which brain structures are associated with the regulation of emotions?

Answer 8

Hypothalamus, amygdala, and limbic system

These areas are considered central to emotional processing.

Question 9

What is the role of the amygdala in emotional responses?

Answer 9

Processes sensory inputs and triggers autonomic arousal when detecting threats

It can initiate emotional responses before cognitive processing occurs.

Question 10

What does the facial-feedback hypothesis propose?

Answer 10

Facial expressions influence the conscious experience of emotions

Smiling or frowning can affect how one feels emotionally.

Question 11

What innovative treatment for depression was developed based on the facial-feedback hypothesis?

Answer 11

Injection of Botox into the forehead to paralyze frowning muscles

This treatment resulted in significant reductions in depressive symptoms.

Question 12

What is the James–Lange theory of emotion?

Answer 12

The theory that the perception of visceral arousal leads to the conscious experience of emotion

It suggests that emotions are a result of physiological responses.

Question 13

What does the Cannon–Bard theory of emotion state?

Answer 13

Emotion occurs when the thalamus sends signals simultaneously to the cortex and the autonomic nervous system

This theory argues against the idea that emotional experience is solely based on physiological arousal.

Question 14

According to Schachter’s theory, what two factors determine the experience of emotion?

Answer 14

1. Autonomic arousal
2. Cognitive interpretation of that arousal

This means that situational cues help differentiate emotions.