THREE COMPONENTS OF EMOTION

Austin, David, Danyale, Em

Three Components● Physiological changes- unconscious

arousal of the autonomic nervous system, release of adrenaline, etc.

● Subjective feeling- how the person feels, such as happy

● Associated behavior- how the person reacts, such as running away, crying, etc.

Fight or Flight● In an event one sees as dangerous, the

body will trigger the fight or flight response

● This prepares the person to take action or avoid the danger

● The person also will make a cognitive appraisal of the situation, where they decide what to do based on previous experiences.

Studies● Lazarus and Folkman (1984):

o They suggested that the emotion is less important than the way we choose to react to the situation.

o Emotion-focused coping is when we try to change our negative emotional responses to a stressor

o Problem-focused coping tries to get rid of the stressor, or work on the problem causing stress, to reduce negative emotions.

Studies● Damasio (2000)

o Emotions are physiological signals as a reaction to external stimuli, whereas feelings arise with interpretation of the stimuli

o Fear is useful, as it allows the fight or flight reaction, to help humans react to danger

o Emotional arousal activates adrenaline and cortisol, and memory of the fearful experience is stored in the cortex, with the emotional memory stored via the amygdala.

o We cannot always control irrational fear.o Anxiety, phobia, panic disorders, and PTSD in humans show that

those people’s brains have problems with controlling fear reactionso People with damaged amygdalas may feel no fear, endangering

their survival.

Other Sourceshttp://www.simplypsychology.org/emotion-focused-coping.htmlhttp://www.simplypsychology.org/problem-focused-coping.html

LEDOUX’S EMOTIONAL PATHWAYS

Explanation of Routes LeDoux’s Emotional Pathways Amygdala receives input from sensory processing

areas in the neocortex and thalamus Projects these to areas in the brainstem that control

systems like fight or flight Connections between the different brain structures

allow: – The Amygdala to transform sensory info into emotional signals – The initiation and control of emotional responses

Long vs. Short Route

Advantageous to have both pathways because it allows us to be flexible in our responses!

For danger, the fast and direct pathway is best The long pathway allows for a more thorough

evaluation of a situation – Helps us avoid inappropriate responses to situation

APPRAISAL: A COGNITIVE FACTOR IN EMOTION Julia R. , Alexis G., Austin Perez, Simone L.

What are appraisals? Evaluations related to how the situation

will impact on one’s personal well being. Positive emotions emerge if appraisal assesses potential

benefit Negative emotions emerge if appraisal assesses potential harm

Problem-focused coping

Aims to change problematic situation that causes stress

Emotion-focused coping

Handle the emotions rather than changing the problematic situation

Folkman & Lazarus (1988)

Escape Self control over

expression of emotions

Seeking social support

Attempting to provide a positive reappraisal of the situation

ie. Speisman et al. (1964)

• Trauma condition (emphasizes pain)

• Denial condition (perceived as willing and happy)

• Intellectualization condition (appeals to human nature)

Methods of coping:

FLASHBULB MEMORYHannah BarnettYhana FiguresKirsten PowellBria PattersonMarc Reid

Correlation ..In the skit the witnesses presented

different information about the actual scene. Each witness had a vivid memory of each event that they encountered. This vivid memory can be an example of flashbulb memory.

Flashbulb Memory ● Flashbulb memory is a special kind of

emotional memory, which refers to vivid and detailed memories on highly emotional events that appear to be recorded in the brain as though with the help of a camera flash.

● The theory was suggested by Brown and Kulik (1977)

Flashbulb Memory ● Brown and Kulik discovered people had very

clear memories of where they were, what they did, and what they felt.● (Assassination of JFK)

● Of 80 participants, 73 said they had flashbulb memories associated with personal shock such as a sudden death of a close relative.

● Suggested that a special neural mechanism triggers an emotional arousal because the event is unexpected or extremely important.

Separate Studies ● Neisser (1982) suggested that memories are vivid because

the event is rehearsed and reconsidered afterwards, it is a narrative of an event.

● Neisser and Harsch (1992) suggest post event information influences memory and that inaccuracy of emotional memory is common.

● Talarico and Rubin (2003) suggest that emotional intensity is a associated with greater memory confidence but not with accuracy

● Breckler (1994) Holmeerg and Holmes (1994) suggest that current attitudes and emotions may influence people's memory