Chapter 13 – Aspects of Emotion

Biological Aspects of Emotion

• Emotions are, in part, biological reactions to important life events
• When are biological systems are activated, we experience emotion and are prepared to cope
• James-Lange Theory
  • Asks whether or not the different emotions have unique bodily reactions associated with them
  • Stimulus  —  bodily reaction —  emotion
  • Two assumptions
    • The body reacts uniquely to different emotion-eliciting events
    • The body does not react to non-emotion-eliciting events
  • Critics – emotional experience is quicker than physiological reactions
• Contemporary Perspective
  • Physiological arousal accompanies, regulates, and prepares for emotion, but it does not cause it directly.
  • Specific Neural Circuits
    • Gray’s Neuroanatomical findings:
      • Behavioral approach system
      • Fight-or-Flight system
      • Behavioral inhibition system
      • These neural circuits underlie the 4 emotions: joy, fear, rage and anxiety
  • Neural Activation
    • Different emotions are activated by different rates of cortical neural firing
    • If neural firing increases — surprise or fear
    • If neural firing remains at a constant high level –distress or anger
    • If neural firing decreases — joy, relief
• Differential Emotions Theory
  • 10 emotions constitute the principal motivation system for humans
  • Unique feeling
  • Unique expression
  • Unique neural activity
  • Unique purpose/motivation
  • Critics – What about emotions like jealousy, hope, love and hate?
    • Emotions families exist
    • Many emotions may describe moods
    • Many emotions may better describe attitudes
    • Many emotions may better describe personality traits
    • Many emotions may better describe disorders
    • Some emotions are blends of basic emotions
    • Many emotions words refer to parts of emotion
      
      
• Facial Feedback Hypothesis
  • The subjective aspect of emotion comes from feelings including:
    • Movements of facial muscles
    • Changes in facial temperature
    • Changes in glandular activity in the facial skin
  • Facial Musculature
    • Facial feedback activates emotion
    • There are 80 facial muscles
    • Patterns of facial behavior produce specific emotions
• Test of the Facial Feedback Hypothesis
  • Strong version
    • Manipulating one’s facial musculature into a pattern that corresponds to an emotion will activate that emotional experience
  • Weaker version
    • Facial feedback modifies the intensity of the emotion
• Are Facial Expressions of Emotion Universal Across Cultures?
• Can we Voluntarily Control Our Emotions?
  • If emotions are largely biological
  • If emotions are largely cognitive

Cognitive Aspect of Emotion

• Appraisal
  • An estimate of the personal significance of an event
  • Two beliefs
    • Emotions do not occur without an antecedent appraisal of the event
    • The appraisal, not the event itself, causes the emotion
  • Appraisals come before and elicit emotions.
  • How does the perception of an object or event produce a good or bad appraisal?
    • The limbic system and Cortex
  • How does the appraisal generate emotion? (Arnold’s theory)
    • Once we appraise something as good or bad, we experience liking or disliking immediately
  • How does the felt emotion express itself in action?
    • Hippocampal brain circuit activates the motor cortex
      Cognitive Aspect of Emotion, cont.
• Complex Appraisal
  • Lazarus – emphasized the cognitive processes that intervene between important life events and physiological/behavioral reactions.
    • Good appraisals were divided into several types of benefits
    • Bad appraisals were divided into types of harm and types of threat
  • Primary Appraisal
    • People first appraise their relationship to the life event
    • At risk – health, self-esteem, a goal, finances, respect and well-being of a loved one
  • Secondary Appraisal
    • Second, people appraise their coping potential within that event
  • Appraisal Model of Emotion
    • If the event is perceived to be a benefit, harm or threat, then the ANS readies the individual to engage in approach or avoidance behavior, which then prompts secondary appraisal.
    • When coping efforts are successful
    • When coping efforts are unsuccessful
  • Motivation
    • When personal motives are at stake, emotions follow.
    • Cognitive-Motivational-Relational theory
      
      
• Appraisal Process
  • Cognitive emotion theorists seek to use appraisals to explain all emotions
    • These theorists believe that each emotion can be described by a unique pattern of compound appraisals and additional dimensions of appraisal
    • Compound appraisals – interpreting multiple meanings within an environmental event
    • Additional dimensions of appraisal – include Arnold, Lazarus, and appraisals to events that are unexpected.
  • Emotion Differentiation – knowing a person’s particular appraisal can predict people’s emotion only 70% because:
    • Processes other than appraisal contribute to emotion
    • The patterns of appraisals for emotions overlap
    • Developmental differences
    • There are additional cognitive factors beyond appraisal that affect emotion
      Cognitive Aspect of Emotion, cont.
• Emotion Knowledge
  • The number of different emotions any person can distinguish
  • The more sophisticated one’s emotion knowledge is, the greater their capacity to respond to each life event with appropriate emotional reactions
• Attributions – These are also summarizing chapter 14.
  
  • The explanation we use to explain our outcome generates emotional reactions.
  • Fig. 13.7 – Primary Appraisal of the Outcome (Happiness or Sadness and Secondary Appraisal of the Outcome
    • Pride – Attributing a positive outcome to an internal cause (I succeeded because of my ability)
    • Gratitude – Attributing a positive outcome to an external cause (I succeeded because I have a good teacher)
    • Hope – Attributing a positive outcome to a stable cause (I do well because I am athletic)
    • Anger – Attributing a negative outcome to an external-controllable cause (I lost because he cheated)
    • Pity – Attributing a negative outcome to an external-uncontrollable cause (I lost because the weather was bad or my ankle hurts – try to get sympathy)
    • Guilt – Attributing a negative outcome to an internal-controllable cause (I failed because I didn’t study)
    • Shame – Attributing a negative outcome to an internal-uncontrollable cause (I failed because I am stupid)
  • Activity – Identify one example of each of the secondary appraisal types

Social and Cultural Aspects of Emotion

• Situations and status differences define what emotions are most appropriate and expected.
  • So by strategically selecting which situations to be in and by strategically selecting which people to interact with, we have the means to socially construct which emotions we will most likely experience. Agree or disagree?
• Social Interaction
  • Emotions play a key role in creating, maintaining and ending interpersonal relationships
  • Emotional contagion – the tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize expressions, vocalization, postures, and movements with another person, and thereby creating emotions in us.
    Social and Cultural Aspects of Emotion
• Emotional Socialization
  • Adults tell children about the causes of emotion, how to express their emotions, and teach children to control their emotional displays
  • Different societies
• Managing Emotions
  • Professionals who interact frequently and closely with the public
  • Socialization pressures to manage one’s emotions revolve around coping with aversive feelings that are socially desirable and personally adaptive
• Inferring Identities from Emotional Displays
  • During social interaction, each person uses emotional expression information to infer the other person’s underlying identity and probable future behaviors.