1. Emotion
Theories

3. Emotion very complex, term has no single, universally accepted definition
Affect - synonym for emotion
Feeling – in psychology usually refers to conscious subjective experience of emotion
The Emotions

5. The limbic system is often thought of as the primitive part of the brain as it is present in lower mammals and parts are even found in reptiles. Animals need emotions to survive - they need fear as a trigger to escape predators and aggression to defend their territory, young and food. Charles Darwin thought emotions were merely left over from our animal past. However, you rely on your emotions to make quick, often complex, decisions.

6. prefrontal area hypothalamus amygdala cingulate gyrus thalamus
sense of social responsibility
capacity for concentration
abstract thought
reason & decision making
pleasure and rage
aversion
displeasure
uncontrollable loud laughing
amygdala
center for identification of danger
fundamental for self preservation
cingulate gyrus
thalamus
coordinates smells and sights with pleasant memories of previous emotions
emotional reaction to pain
regulation of aggression
routes messages
governs changes in
emotional reactivity
hippocampus
long term memory center
we compare conditions of
present threat with similar
past experiences
fornix
brainstem
connects pathways of
limbic system
emotional
physical reactions

7. Yerkes-Dodson law
1908
Arousal-performance phenomenon =Yerkes-Dodson law.
a certain amount of anxiety can enhance performance
too much can impair it (ie; severe stage fright).

8. James-Lange Theory 1885
emotions do not immediately follow perception of event but rather occur after body has responded to event.

9. (also called emergency theory)
Cannon-Bard theory
(also called emergency theory)

10. James-Lange and Cannon-Bard theories
Comparison of
James-Lange and Cannon-Bard theories
(red arrows) (blue arrows)
man perceives frightening animal and reacts with physical actions
because reaction is unpleasant, he develops fear.
frightening stimulus leads to feeling of fear, then, physical response.

11. 1937, Neuroanatomist James Papez demonstrated emotion is not function of specific brain center but of circuit that involves four structures:
-hypothalamus
-anterior thalamic nucleus
-cingulate gyrus
-hippocampus.
This circuit (Papez circuit), acting in harmony, is responsible for emotions (affect), as well as for peripheral expressions (face,body,voice,etc)

12. projects to hippocampus, hippocampus projects to hypothalamus by way
Papez believed emotion was determined by cingulate cortex Emotional expression was governed by hypothalamus.
Cingulate gyrus
projects to hippocampus,
hippocampus projects to
hypothalamus by way
of bundle of axons called
fornix.
Hypothalamic
impulses reach cortex via relay in
anterior thalamic
nuclei.
amygdala, center for identification of danger, fundamental for self preservation.

13. Two-Factor Theory of Emotions
Schachter-Singer Theory
1962
Two-Factor Theory of Emotions
experiencing an emotion requires both emotional arousal and cognitive activity

14. Classification of Emotions.
R. Plutchik’s (1980)
Classification of Emotions.
Eight primary emotions - joy, acceptance, surprise, fear, sorrow,
disgust, expectancy and anger; other emotions are mixture
Joy
Accepted
Aware
Anger
Sad
Rejected
Surprise
Fear

16. Affective states (emotions and moods)
“These states – called core affect – influence reflexes, perception, cognition, and behavior and are influenced by many causes internal and external”
(James A. Russell)

17. Paul Ekman's finding is now widely accepted.
Expressions he found to be universal included
anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, and surprise
2004
Developed Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to taxonomize
every conceivable human facial expression.

18. Richard Lazarus Theory
Lazarus Theory states thought must come before emotion or physiological arousal. Must think about your situation before you can experience emotion.
EXAMPLE:  You are walking down a dark alley late at night.  You hear footsteps behind you and you think it may be a mugger so you begin to tremble, your heart beats faster, and your breathing deepens
and at the same time experience fear.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
1994

19. Crocodile Dundee laughs & jumps in to grab the croc!
Cognitive Appraisal
Lazarus’s research has shown that people’s experience of emotion depends on way they appraise or evaluate events around them
Example:
Person walking with Crocodile Dundee sees a crocodile lunge, & screams.
Crocodile Dundee laughs & jumps in to grab the croc!