1 Theories and Physiology of Emotion Module 29

2 Emotion Emotions are our body’s adaptive response.

3 Emotion  Emotion  a response of the whole organism  physiological arousal  expressive behaviors  conscious experience

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

6 Plutchik’s Basic Emotions

7 Controversy 1)Does physiological arousal precede or follow your emotional experience? 2)Does cognition (thinking) precede emotion (feeling)?

8 Commonsense View When you become happy, your heart starts beating faster. First comes conscious awareness, then comes physiological activity. Bob Sacha

9 James-Lange Theory James-Lange Theory proposes that physiological activity precedes the emotional experience.

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11 Brain in a jar? “Without the bodily states following on the perception, the latter would be purely cognitive in form; pale, colorless, destitute of emotional warmth. We might then see the bear, and judge it best to run... But we should not actually feel afraid.” (William James, 1890)

12 Cannon-Bard Theory Proposed that an emotion-triggering stimulus and the body's arousal take place simultaneously.

13 Schachter and Singer’s Two- Factor Theory Our physiology and cognitions create emotions. Emotions have two factors–physical arousal and cognitive label. Two factory theory on the psych files Two factory theory on the psych files 24:17

14 Figure 13.1 Theories of emotion Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers

15 Embodied Emotion We know that emotions involve bodily responses. Some of these responses are very noticeable (butterflies in our stomach when fear arises), but others are more difficult to discern (neurons activated in the brain).

16 Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous System During an emotional experience, our autonomic nervous system mobilizes energy in the body that arouses us.

17 Arousal and Performance Arousal in short spurts is adaptive. We perform better under moderate arousal, but optimal performance varies with task difficulty.

18 Physiological Similarities Physiological responses related to the emotions of fear, anger, love, and boredom are very similar. Excitement and fear involve a similar physiological arousal. M. Grecco/ Stock Boston

19 Physiological Differences Physical responses, like finger temperature and movement of facial muscles, change during fear, rage, and joy. The amygdala shows differences in activation during the emotions of anger and rage. Activity of the left hemisphere (happy) is different from the right (depressed) for emotions.

20 Cognition and Emotion What is the connection between how we think (cognition) and how we feel (emotion)? Can we change our emotions by changing our thinking?

21 Cognition Can Define Emotion An arousal response to one event spills over into our response to the next event. Arousal from a soccer match can fuel anger, which may lead to rioting. AP Photo/ Nati Harnik Reuters/ Corbis

22 Cognition Does Not Always Precede Emotion A subliminally presented happy face can encourage subjects to drink more than when presented with an angry face (Berridge & Winkeilman, 2003). Emotions are felt directly through the amygdala (a) or through the cortex (b) for analysis.

23 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). Courtesy of Paul J. Whalen, PhD, Dartmouth College,

24 Two Routes to Emotion Zajonc and LeDoux emphasize that some emotions are immediate, without conscious appraisal. Lazarus, Schachter, and Singer emphasize that appraisal also determines emotions.

25 Emotion--Lie Detectors  Control Question  Up to age 18, did you ever physically harm anyone?  Relevant Question  Did [the deceased] threaten to harm you in any way?  Relevant > Control --> Lie

26 Emotion--Lie Detectors Control question Relevant question Control question Relevant question (a)(b) Respiration Perspiration Heart rate

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29 Emotion--Lie Detectors  50 Innocents  50 Thieves  1/3 of innocent declared guilty  1/4 of guilty declared innocent (from Kleinmuntz & Szucko, 1984) Percentage Innocent people Guilty people Judged innocent by polygraph Judged guilty by polygraph

30 Emotion--Lie Detectors  Is 70% accuracy good?  Assume 5% of 1000 employees actually guilty  test all employees  285 will be wrongly accused  What about 95% accuracy?  Assume 1 in 1000 employees actually guilty  test all employees (including 999 innocents)  50 wrongly declared guilty  1 of 51 testing positive are guilty (~2%)

31 So…how good are you at lying? Using the first finger of your dominant hand, simply draw a capital letter Q on your forehead… Pay attention to how you drew it.

32 High self-monitors tend to draw the letter Q in a way in which it could be seen by someone facing them with the tail facing to the left. Low self-monitors tend to draw the letter Q in a way in which it could be read by themselves with the tail facing to the right. So….

33 High self-monitors Tend to be concerned with how other people see them. They are happy being the center of attention, can easily adapt their behavior to suit the situation in which they find themselves, and are skilled at manipulating how others see them. As a result, they tend to be good at lying.

34 Low self-monitors Come across as being the "same person" in different situations. Their behavior is guided more by their inner feelings and values, and they are less aware of their impact on those around them. They also tend to lie less in life, and therefore are not as skilled at deceit as high self- monitors.

35 Did you lie about the Q? Dr. Wiseman… Over time, I have noticed that a small number of people, upon hearing what the test is all about, quickly convince themselves that they traced the letter Q in the opposite direction to the way they actually drew it. These people are able to ignore the evidence right in front of them; they twist the facts to fit the type of person they want to be. As a result, the test provides a rough indicator of how good you are at deceiving both yourself and others.

36 I bet you think you are good at detecting lies… So how good are you at detecting lies? According to Ekman… “…no better than chance.” That means you are WRONG as often as you are right,….about half the time. Consider this when conducting your relationships…

37 EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY (7th Edition in Modules) David Myers PowerPoint Slides Aneeq Ahmad Henderson State University Worth Publishers, © 2008

38 Opponent Process Theory Opponent process theory suggests that any given emotion also has an opposed emotion. ( Fear/Relief or Sadness/Happiness) Activation of one member of the pair automatically suppresses the opposite emotion But the opposing emotion can serve to diminish the intensity of the initial emotion.

39 Opponent-Process Theory Solomon and Corbit (1974) –The opponent-process theory states that when one emotion is experienced, the other is suppressed. For example, if you are frightened by a mean dog, the emotion of fear is expressed and relief is suppressed. If the fear-causing stimulus continues to be present, after a while the fear decreases and the relief intensifies.

40 Opponent Process Theory

41 Cognitive-Appraisal Theory Sequence –Stimulus (object, event, or thought) –Appraisal of how this affects your well-being (consciously or unconsciously) –Emotion (fear, anger, happiness, …) –Physiological responses and behavior For an emotion to occur, it is necessary to first think about the situation.