emotion is multifaceted emotion refers to the mix of: 1. physiological arousal 2. expressive...

Emotion is Multifaceted • Emotion refers to the

mix of:1. Physiological Arousal2. Expressive Behaviors (how you react to the physiological arousal)3. Conscious Experience (how you cognitively interpret environment)

Theories of Emotion

• Does your heart pound because you are afraid... or are you afraid because you feel your heart pounding?

Emotion

• William James and Carl Lange came up with the James-Lange Theory of Emotion.

• We feel emotion because of biological changes caused by stress.

• The body changes and our mind recognizes the feeling.

Support for James-Lange• Subjects report

feeling more sad when viewing scenes of war, sickness, and starvation if their “sad face” muscles are activated.

• They also find comic strips funnier if their “happy face” muscles are activated.

This is called the facial feedback effect

Criticism of James-LangeFear

(emotion)Pounding

heart(arousal)

Sight of oncoming

car(perception of

stimulus)

LOVE(emotion)

Poundingheart

(arousal)Sight of

Your secret crush

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

• Say James-Lange theory is full of crap.

• Similar physiological changes = drastically different emotional states.

• Physiological change & cognitive appraisal occur at same time

• Thalamus (routes to multiple places)

Cannon-BardTheory of Emotion

• The Physiological Response and the

Emotion are experienced at the

SAME TIME

Sight of oncoming

car(perception of

stimulus)

Poundingheart

(arousal)

Fear(emotion)

Think – Two cannons firing at the same time.

Physiological change (heart rate, breathing)

Emotion

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

• Most complete theory• They happen at the same time but…• People who are already

physiologically aroused experience more intense emotions than unaroused people when both groups are exposed to the same stimuli.

• Biology and Cognition interact with each other to increase the experience.

Schachter Two-Factory Theory

Cognitivelabel

“I’m afraid”

Fear(emotion)

Sight of oncoming

car(perception of

stimulus)

Poundingheart

(arousal)

If you are in a falling vehicle heading toward the ground at 60 mph, your autonomic reaction would include heart racing and screaming. But if your cognitive appraisal says you are on a rollercoaster, then you have the emotion of “fun.”

Must Cognition Precede all Emotions?

• Some pathways, especially ones involving amygdala (fear), bypass cortical areas involved in thinking.

• Certain likes, dislikes, and fears do ignore conscious thinking.

Experiencing Emotion• Adaptation-Level Phenomenon

– tendency to form judgments relative to a “neutral” level

• brightness of lights • volume of sound • level of income

– defined by our prior experience– This is why winning the lottery would only make us

happy for a short while. Once the novelty of having all that money wears off, we adapt to this new level of wealth (or achievement, etc.)

• Relative Deprivation pony example– perception that one is worse off relative to those with

whom one compares oneself

The Concept of Happiness

• Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon: you will be helpful more often if you are in a good mood.

• Subjective Well Being: most common measurement of happiness, satisfaction, and quality of life. Looks at physical as well as economic indicators.

Facial Expressions Are Universal

• No matter what part of the world you are from, facial expressions indicating 6 basic emotions tend to be universal.

Context Affects Interpretation of Facial

Expressions

Microexpressions – Universal Expressions – Paul

Ekman

Stress & Health

Stress Can Be Harmful or Helpful Depending on Your

Stress Appraisal

Stressful event(tough math test)

Threat(“Yikes! This isbeyond me!”)

Challenge(“I’ve got to apply

all I know”)

Panic, freeze up

Aroused, focused

Appraisal Response

Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome

• Describes our response to a stressful event.

• Three stages1.Alarm2.Resistance3.Exhaustion

Perceived Control’s Effect on Health and Stress

• Stressful events are especially harmful if they are perceived as negative and uncontrollable.

• Those who feel stressful events are beyond their control are also more susceptible to illness and disease.

The Rat With No Control Over the Shocks Develops

Ulcers

No connection to shock sourceTo shock control To shock source

“Executive” rat “Subordinate” rat Control rat