Emotion • A feeling that underlies behaviors and comprised of

– Cognitive (subjective feelings)– Physiological (autonomic arousal)– Behavioral (non-verbal expression)

Types of Emotions

What basic emotions can we agree to? Identify as many as you can and reduce the “list” to six basic emotions

In Robert Plutchik’s model there are 8 primary emotions, listed in the inner areas. Adjacent emotions combine as emotions listed around the perimeter. For example, fear plus anticipation produces anxiety. (Adapted from Plutchik, 2001)

Lauren Silva’s Grandpa!!!

Robert Plutchik’s 8 Primary Emotions

Was a professor emeritus at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and adjunct professor at USF. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University He authored or coauthored more than 260 articles, 45 chapters and eight books and has edited seven books. His research interests include the study of emotions, the study of suicide and violence, and the study of the psychotherapy process

Grandpa Plutchik's psycho-evolutionary theory of emotion remains one of the most influential classification approaches for general emotional responses

Robert Plutchik Lauren’s Grandpa

Emotions

Carroll Izard (1977) isolated 10 emotions. Most ofthem are present in infancy, except for contempt,

shame, and guilt

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Paul Ekman’s Research on Emotions

• Primary Emotions1) Are evident in all cultures 2) Are based in survival 3) Correlate with facial expressions

• Secondary All other emotions that are particular to humans and specific cultures

• Six primary emotions happiness, surprise, sadness, fear, disgust and anger (and degrees) Ekman

Universality studies (Ekman)

• Ekman’s “universality studies” Six expressions/five countries. Replicated in non-industrialized New Guinea, retested U.S.

• Primates and congenitally blind infants studied as well• FACS and microexpressions• Spot the Fake Smile

Emotion and Physiological Arousal

• Limbic system – role of amygdala• Autonomic nervous system – sympathetic and

parasympathetic nervous system response

Physiological Arousal

Physiological responses related to fear, anger, love, and boredom are very similar

Early Theories of Emotion

• Common Sense View – When you become happy, your heart starts beating

faster. First emotion, then physiological activity

Early Theories of Emotion

• James-Lange Theory– Emotion is a result of

physiological responses to stimuli

– We are sad because we cry, afraid because we tremble . . .

– Facial feedback hypothesis?

Early Theories of Emotion

• Cannon-Bard – Physiological arousal

and emotion (subjective feelings) occur simultaneously

– Heart begins pounding as we experience fear

Cognitive Theories of Emotion

• Schachter’s Two factor theory – Physiological arousal and

then cognitive awareness and labeling

– Conscious interpretation necessary

– Schachter-Singer Epinephrine experiments

– Arousal intensifies and

may spill over to other emotions (spillover effect)

Cognition Can Define Emotion

An arousal response to one event spills over into our response to the next event Spillover Effect

Arousal from a soccer match can fuel anger, which may lead to rioting. Other examples?

Cognitive Theories of EmotionLazarus’ Appraisal Theory

• Temporal Sequence/Appraisal Theory (Lazarus) – appraisal and reappraisal– Appraisal determines emotion– Cognition—emotion—cognition—emotion…– Benign/positive/irrelevant/stressful?

Challenges to Cognitive Theory • Izzard’s facial movement

and body posture research– Pattern of unlearned

movements independent of cognition

– Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Scoring System

– Facial feedback hypothesis (back to James-Lange). What happens?

Challenges to CognitionZajonc and Ledoux

• Some emotional reactions are more instantaneous than Schachter or Lazarus claim– Cognition comes after emotion– We experience some emotions before we think.

Eye to thalamus to amygdala short-cut (bypass cortical awareness). BEAR!

Challenges - Cognition Does Not Always Precede Emotion

When fearful eyes were subliminally presented to subjects, fMRI scans revealed higher levels of activity in the amygdala (Whalen et al. 2004)

Non-verbal Expression of Emotion

• Study of communication through body movement, posture, gestures, and facial expressions

– Body language (kinesics)– Facial expression– Voice quality– Personal space (proxemics)– Explicit acts

Emotions Across Culture

• Cross-cultural Differences in – Expression – Perception– (and yes, even) Experience

Emotions Across Culture

• Display rules - Expression– Rules of social

appropriateness. Learned in early life/unconscious practice

– Japanese- inappropriate display of negative emotions in public setting. Tatamae (on my face) and honne (in my heart)

– Ekman & Friesen study (Japan v. U.S.)

– Disgust Survey

Cross-Cultural Expression

• Individualist v. Collectivist – Emphasis in west on

“individual” emotions– Collectivist discomfort

expressing ego-focused and negative emotions

• Differences in U.S. among and between racial and gender groups, e.g.?

Culture-Specific Emotions

• Some cultures do not have a word for the concept of emotion (Ifaluk of Micronesia)

• No equivalent for “considerate” or “lucky” in Samoa

• Schadenfreude – pleasure derived from another’s misfortunes (Germany)

• Han – an intense form of rancor and enmity (Korea)

• Jung – attachment/affection (Korea)

• Amae – naïve/immature and dependent

Nature of Love

• Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Love

– Intimacy Affection, sharing, support, and communication in a relationship

– Passion High levels of physical arousal in a relationship, especially sexual

– Commitment Decision to love and stay with another person

Sternberg’s triangular theory of love

Other Emotional Phenomena

• Catharsis hypothesis- psychodynamic theory that refers to an emotional release. It maintains that aggressive or sexual urges are relieved by "releasing" aggressive or sexual energy, usually through action or fantasy. Significant criticisms – behavior feedback?

• Relax

Other Emotional Phenomena

• Adaptation level phenomenon the tendency to adapt to a given level of stimulation and thus to notice and react to changes from that level. We use our past to calibrate our present experience and to form expectations for the future. Examples? Emotions?

Other Emotional Phenomena

• Positive psychology • Subjective well-being SWB

• Feel good, do good hypothesis - We are more likely to others when we are in a good mood (and vice versa)