emotion module 12. what are emotions? full body responses, involving: 1. physiological arousal...
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What are emotions?What are emotions?
full body responses, involving:
1. physiological arousal (increased heart rate)
2. expressive behaviors (smiling, pouting)
3. conscious experiences (thoughts about experience)
Debates in Emotion ResearchDebates in Emotion Research
Which comes first, physiological arousal or the subjective experience of an emotion?
Can we react emotionally before appraising a situation, or does thinking always precede emotion?
Common Sense TheoryCommon Sense Theory
1. emotion-arousing stimulus leads to 2. a conscious feeling (fear, anger) and 3. a physiological (physical) response
Example: Seeing an angry dog (stimulus) triggers feelings of fear (conscious feeling) and physical responses such as trembling.
James-Lange TheoryJames-Lange Theory
an emotion-arousing stimulus in the environment triggers a physiological reaction
awareness of the physiological reaction leads to our experience of an emotion
Cannon-Bard TheoryCannon-Bard Theory
an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers both a physiological response and the experience of an emotion
Two-Factor TheoryTwo-Factor Theory
Emotions involve two factors: a physiological arousal a cognitive label of the arousal
Which Baby is Which?Anger, Disgust, Fear, Interest, Joy, Surprise, Sadness
Joy Anger Interest
Disgust Surprise Sadness Fear
Think about this…
Higher levels of testosterone are linked to aggression.
So… does aggression cause testosterone levels to
increase? OR do high levels of testosterone cause
aggression? OR does some third factor cause both of them?
Theories of Emotion: ReviewTheories of Emotion: Review A) Common Sense D) Two-Factor B) Richard Lazarus E) James-LangeC) Robert Zajonc F) Cannon-Bard
1) emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to an emotion-arousing stimulus
2) an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses, and (2) experience of emotion
3) to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused, and (2) cognitively label the arousal
4) some emotions don’t require conscious thought, but there must be a minimum of unconscious thought to know what we’re reacting to
5) not all emotions involve deliberate thought; some emotions skip the thinking part of the brain and go directly to the amygdala
6) emotion-arousing stimulus leads to a conscious feeling (fear, anger) and a physiological response.
Robert ZajoncRobert Zajonc cognition (thinking) is not necessary for all
emotions
some emotions skip the thinking part of the brain (cerebral cortex) and go directly to the amygdala
How is this similar to reflexes?
Richard LazarusRichard Lazarus
agreed some emotions do not require conscious thought
BUT, there must be a minimum of unconscious thought to know what we’re reacting to
Cartoon Ranking Activity
Rank the following cartoons on a scale of
1 (not very funny) - 10 (very funny)
Cartoon Ranking Activity
Average your scores for the 10 cartoons
Which side do you think will have the higher average? Why?
Do we smile because we are happy or are we happy because we smile?
Think about this…
Do some emotions have similar physiological responses? Which ones? What types of physical responses do they elicit?
Is it possible to have these physiological responses without an emotion-arousing stimulus?
Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal Communication communicating feelings without words:
facial expressions tone of voice hand gestures
also called “body language”
FYI: Studies show that during interpersonal communication: 7% of the message is verbally communicated 93% is non-verbally transmitted
38% is through vocal tones 55% is through facial expressions
Analyzing Nonverbal Communication: Analyzing Nonverbal Communication:
Historical ExampleHistorical Example (1960 Presidential Election)
Gender EffectsGender Effects
women are better at reading the nonverbal communication of emotion
women tend to express emotions more than men do
Display RulesDisplay Rules
cultural rules governing how and when a person may express emotion
vary greatly from culture to culture
(examples of other cultures’ display rules)
Facial ExpressionsFacial Expressions
Paul Ekman studied facial expressions to determine if they are inborn or culturally based
research shows that certain basic expressions are common to all cultures
“Primal Fear: Our Deepest Fears Revealed”
Video: What are the body’s physiological responses to fear?
Your conclusion: How does cognition (our thoughts) contribute to the experience of fear?
Your conclusion: How would each of the 6 contemporary psychological perspectives explain the experience of fear?