EMOTI

ON

MODULE

12

Emotions Shifts in Emotion• Whole-organism

responses, involving:– Physiological arousal– Expressive behaviors– Conscious experience

• Ex of extreme emotion?

• Use this example to understand 3 ingredients of shifts in emotion.– You and your friend check the

call back list. You find your name and are happy. You see they are not on there and immediately become sad.

• Physiological activation:– Increased heart rate w/

good news– Decreased heart rate as

you console friend.

• Expressive behaviors:– Smiling and pumping

your first– Losing smile putting arm

around pal

• Conscious experience:– Interpreting what it

means to make the team– Interpreting what it

means for your friend to be left out.

Debates in Emotion Research

• Which comes first, physiological arousal or the subjective experience of an emotion?– I don’t sing b/c I’m happy, I am happy b/c I sing…

or is it the other way around???

• Can we react emotionally before appraising a situation, or does thinking always precede emotion?

Theories of Emotion: Historical Approaches

What were the two main historical theories of emotion, and how do modern

cognitive theories of emotion differ from these older theories?

Module 12: Emotion

Common Sense Theory

• Ask someone why they are happy/sad/mad and get a response.

• Emotion-arousing stimulus leads to a conscious feeling (fear, anger) and a physiological response.– Ex: Seeing an angry dog triggers

feelings of fear and physical responses such as trembling.

• Emotion before physiology

James-Lange TheoryWilliam James and Carl Lange

• Challenged common sense theory.• An emotion-arousing stimulus in the

environment triggers a physiological reaction.– Our awareness of the physiological

reaction leads to our experience of an emotion.

• Physiology before emotion.

Cannon-Bard TheoryWalter Cannon and Phillip Bard

• Disagreed with James-Lange:– Peeling an onion causes tears but not sadness.

• An emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers both a physiological response and the experience of an emotion.

• Simultaneous physiological & emotional response.

Theories of Emotion: Cognition & Emotion

Which comes first our thoughts (cognition) about the situation or

our experience of emotion?

Module 12: Emotion

Cognitive Appraisal Two-Factor Theory

• One’s thoughts about a situation

• How a person interprets a situation in the environment

• Emotions involve two factors:– A physiological

arousal– A cognitive label

of the arousal

• Also called the Schachter-Singer Theory

Copy this one for your notes!!!!!

Robert Zajonc (1923- )

• Doesn’t agree with two-factor theory

• Suggested that not all emotions involve deliberate thinking– Therefore, cognition

is not necessary for all emotions

• Some emotions skip the thinking part of the brain– Amygdala: emotional center

for brain.

• Ex: snake! 1st run, then think.

Richard Lazarus (1922- )

• Believed some emotions do not require conscious thought.

• However, there must be a minimum of unconscious thought involved in emotions.– Ex: hear snake, freak

out, jump…. Then think about what to do.

Paths to Emotional Responses

Paths to Emotional Responses

Paths to Emotional Responses:Copy please!

Zajonc, Shcachter, and Lazarus all agree that our appraisal and labeling of events determines our emotional responses.

Fear: A Closer Look

What physiological change occurs when you are frightened?

Fight or flight?

Module 12: Emotion

Autonomic Nervous System

• Coordinates our response to dangerous situations.

• The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs

• Monitors the autonomic functions– Controls breathing, blood pressure, and digestive

processes

• Divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

Divisions of the Nervous System

Sympathetic Parasympathetic Nervous System Nervous System• The part of the

autonomic nervous system that arouses the body to deal with perceived threats

• Fight or flight response

• The part of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body

• Brings the body back down to a relaxed state

Divisions of the Nervous System

Autonomic Nervous System

Autonomic Nervous System

The Expression of Emotion:

Nonverbal Communication

How do we communicate our emotions to others?

Module 12: Emotion

Nonverbal Communication

• Communicating feelings without words:

– Facial expressions

– Tone of voice

– Hand gestures

• Also called “body language”

The Expression of Emotion:

Gender and Cultural Effects on Emotion

How do gender and culture affect our ability to express our won emotions and read the emotions of others?

Module 12: Emotion

• Gender Effects:– Women are better at reading nonverbal

communication of emotions.– Women tend to express emotions more than men do.

• Display Rules:– The cultural rules governing how and when a person

may express emotion– Rules greatly vary from culture to culture…examples?

• Facial Expressions:– Paul Ekman studied facial expressions in an attempt

to determine if they are inborn or culturally based.