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Arousal and Emotion
What’s their use??
Assist in decision making
Readiness
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Yerkes-Dodson Law
Degree of arousal
Qu
alit
y o
f p
erfo
rman
ce
Very difficult task
Moderatelydifficult task
Easy task
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Some arousal is necessary
High arousal: helpful on easy tasks
As level of arousal increases, quality of performance decreases with task difficulty
Too much arousal: harmful
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Concept of Emotion
• subjective feelings elicited by stimuli that have high significance to an individual– stimuli that produce high arousal generally
produce strong feelings– are rapid and automatic– emerged through natural selection to benefit
survival and reproduction
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Theories of Emotion
• Common sense might suggest that the perception of a stimulus elicits emotion which then causes bodily arousal
Perception(Interpretation of stimulus--danger)
Stimulus(Tiger)
Emotion(Fear)
Bodilyarousal(Pounding heart)
Common-Sense Theory
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James’s Peripheral Feedback Theory
• perception of a stimulus causes bodily arousal which leads to emotion
• support: spinal cord injuries, locked-in syndrome
Perception(Interpretation of stimulus--danger)
Stimulus(Tiger)
Emotion(Fear)
Bodilyarousal(Pounding heart)
James’s Theory
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Schachter’s Cognition-Plus-Feedback Theory
• Perception and thought about a stimulus influence the type of emotion felt
• Degree of bodily arousal influences the intensity of emotion felt
Type Intensity
Emotion(Fear)
Perception(Interpretation of stimulus--danger)
Stimulus(Tiger)
Bodilyarousal(Pounding heart)
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Schachter’s Cognition-Plus-Feedback Theory
• Degree of bodily arousal influences the intensity of emotion felt
• Support: experiments with norepinepherine injections
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Ekman’s Facial Feedback Theory
• Each basic emotion is associated with a unique facial expression– Sensory feedback from the expression contributes to the emotional feeling
– Support: hold pen between teeth, and world seems funnier!
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Ekman’s Facial Feedback Theory
Facial expression
Ave
rag
e h
app
ines
s sc
ore
Ave
rag
e an
ger
sco
re
Facial expression
Facial expressions have an effect on self-reported anger and happiness
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Ekman’s Facial Feedback Theory
Facial expressions can produce effects on the rest of the body
Hea
rt r
ate
chan
ge
(b
eats
per
min
ute
)
Tem
per
atu
re c
han
ge
(d
egre
es C
)
(a) (b)
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Brain-Based Theory of Emotions• Amygdala
– evaluate the significance of stimuli and generate emotional responses
– generate hormonal secretions and autonomic reactions that accompany strong emotions
– damage: “psychic blindness”, inability to recognize fear in facial expressions and voice
– stimulation: feeling of fear
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Brain-Based Theory of Emotions• Frontal lobes
– influence people’s conscious emotional feelings and ability to act in planned ways based on feelings (e.g., effects of prefrontal lobotomy, Phineas Gage)
left frontal lobe may be most involved in processing positive emotionsright frontal lobe involved with negative emotions
Parietal
Frontal
Occipital
Temporal
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