emotions: part 1
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Emotions: Part 1. Intro to Psych Class # 5 2/11/14. “To the psychologist alone can such questions occur as: Why do we smile, when pleased, and not scowl? Why are we unable to talk to a crowd as we talk to a single friend? Why does a particular maiden turn our wits so upside-down? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Emotions: Part 1Intro to Psych
Class # 52/11/14
“To the psychologist alone can such questions occur as: Why do we smile, when pleased, and not scowl? Why are we unable to talk to a crowd as we talk to a single friend? Why does a particular maiden turn our wits so upside-down? The common man can only say, "Of course we smile, of course our heart palpitates at the sight of the crowd, of course we love the maiden! And so, probably, does each animal feel about the particular things it tends to do in presence of particular objects. To the lion it is the lioness which is made to be loved; to the bear, the she-bear. To the broody hen the notion would probably seem monstrous that there should be a creature in the world to whom a nestful of eggs was not the utterly fascinating and precious and never-to-be-too-much-sat-upon object which it is to her.”
- William James, The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2
What’s the point James is trying to make?
Of course all of these things seems natural to us, but the reason they do is not because they are logical truths or facts.
They emerge from aspects of our biological nature that are subject to chance
HUH?
ASK YOURSELF: Why does poop smell? Why does chocolate taste good? Why do we love our children? Why do we get angry when people hit us? Why do we feel good when someone does us a
favor?
Subject to Chance???
They seem SO BASIC as to be obvious BUT ARE THEY?
The first step to insight is to ask ourselves questions that are so basic but that have an answer that is difficult to put to words
Why is our flesh warm? Why does water turn solid when it gets cold?
The questions to ask…
What we’re going to talk about today and Thursday
Why they exist? What they’re there for?
How they work?
Emotions
Wrong Theory of Emotions
Lt. Cmdr. Data Android Described as:
Competent & Capable Lacking emotion
http://youtu.be/yNMspTxy2yA
As illustrated by STAR TREK!
Mr. Spock Half-Vulcan, Half-Human Also described as:
Capable & Competent Lacking emotion
Spock no emotion:http://youtu.be/dNd1OQeQhjs
Spock with emotion:http://youtu.be/k9vHopyEtzs
Wrong Theory of Emotions
Common sense says “Gee, if I could only think rationally and reasonably and not let my emotions guide my behavior, I’d be much better off!
WRONG!
Wrong Theory of Emotions
Steven Pinker, on what drove Mr. Spock: “Spock must have been driven by some motives or
goals. Something must have led him to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new
civilizations, and to boldly go where no man had gone before. Presumably, it was intellectual curiosity that set him to drive and solve problems. It was solidarity
with his allies that led him to be such a competent and brave officer. What would he have done if attacked by
a predator or an invading Klingon? Did he do a handstand, solve a 4 color map theorem? Presumably,
a part of his brain quickly mobilized his faculties to scope out how to flee and how to take steps to avoid a vulnerable predicament in the future. That is, he had
fear.”
Wrong Theory of Emotions
Without emotions to drive us we would do
nothing at all Everything we do has a basis in our
emotions
EMOTIONS
How can we illustrate this connection between emotions and how we live our lives in a scientific way?
By studying the unusual or unfortunate cases of individuals who seem to have “lost” their emotions
Who remembers Phineas Gage????
Emotions & Science
Phineas Gage! 28 year old railroad worker who took a 13lb
metal rod to the face and brain & lived to tell the tale
Was a nice, respectable, reliable, and trustworthy fella before his accident
A family man
Gage & Emotions
But after his accident? He became “fitful and irreverent, indulging at
times in a gross display of profanity, manifesting but little deference for his fellows, impatient of restraint or advice, a child in his intellectual capacities and manifestations. He had the animal pleasures of a strong man. His foul language is so debased that women are advised not to stay long in his presence.” Antonio Damasio, Descartes’ Error
Gage & Emotions
Couldn’t hold a job, lost his family, and ended up in the circus, travelling around with his metal rod, telling his tale
Individuals with brain damage like Gage’s, to the frontal cortex, lose their ability to care about things, or to prioritize.
Gage & Emotions
These are not men who have lost their emotions. They are men who have lost a large part of their emotional capacity
Emotions set goals and establish priorities for us Without them we wouldn’t do anything; we
couldn’t do anything Your desire to go out with friends, have a
relationship, raise a family: all priorities set by your emotions
Emotional Capacity
What do we “read” to figure out what emotions another person is experiencing???
Their face!
How can we tell another person’s emotions?
Facial expressions are one of the most important ways in which we communicate our actions
http://youtu.be/umhb95CyyUk
Paul Ekman, psychologist and foremost expert on emotions and facial expressions
Faces
Lower your eyebrows and draw them together
Tense your upper and lower eyelids STARE (bulging eyes are ok) Press your lips together; make the corners
straight or point down What emotion is this face?
ANGER!
Make a face!
Can You Read People’s Emotions? From The New York Times website, October 3,
2013
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/well-quiz-the-mind-behind-the-eyes/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=2
POP QUIZ!
Raise the corners of your lips back and up Raise your cheeks Raise your lower eyelids What face is this?
SMILE!
Make another face!
Smiles are UNIVERSAL Young children smile Blind children smile Smiles are not uniquely human
Smiles & Emotions
Smiles are social signals Not all smiles = happy People smile when they wish to
COMMUNICATE happiness Example: Professional Bowlers Example: Olympic medalists
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ818um6bfw
Smiles & Emotions
Smiles of Greeting Also called a “Pan Am
smile” Big and FAKE Politicians are known to
give Pan Am smiles
Types of Smiles
Smile of Genuine Happiness Can you spot the
difference? It’s all in the eyes Duchenne Smile 1 out of 10 people can
fake a Duchenne smile
Types of Smiles
Coy (or appeasement) smile Very specialized smile A smile of stress or
embarrassment No eye contact, and you kinda
turn your head away Given when you want people to
like you, include you, or get people to feel positively about you
Usually in a high stress situation, often with some sort of risk
Types of Smiles
Different smiles have psychological validity Different smiles to represent different moods,
emotions, thoughts Example: Babies
When mommy approaches: genuine smile of happiness
When a stranger approaches: greeting smile Example: Married Couples
Smile of genuine happiness vs greeting smile when they see each other
Smiles & Moods
Basic emotion All human have it in some degree Even nonhumans have it
Non-social emotion Not an emotion based solely on interaction
with other people You can be afraid of falling off a cliff (doesn’t
involve another person)
Fear
Distinctive facial expression
Example: Lee Harvey Oswald is shot Man in the white hat His face is fear & anger
Fear
What are we afraid of? Snakes, spiders, heights, storms, large
animals, darkness, blood, strangers, humiliation, deep water, leaving home alone
What do these have in common? Also scary to our ancient ancestors: All through evolution these have been scary to
us Represent things that can harm or kill us
Fear
What are we less afraid of? Guns, cars, electrical outlets
Less harmful to us throughout our evolution Are things we can avoid to protect ourselves
Similar fears have been found in primates What are inner city kids in Chicago afraid of?
Guns? Violence? Knives? Nope – snakes and spiders These naturally cause fear & concern, their
environment doesn’t
Fear
Emotions toward our kin Emotions toward our non-kin (but who we
interact with)
Focus on emotions that generate altruistic or kind behavior
Social Emotions
Are animals merely survival machines? Do they have emotions? Not according to evolutionary theory
Example: Animal with Gene A: cares for its offspring,
loves & nurtures them while they grow up Animal with Gene B: cares only for itself,
doesn’t care for its young, they’re left to fend alone and likely die
Social Emotions
Which Gene is likely to survive and carry on through reproduction? Gene A: According to natural selection, Gene A
will live on through the generations because it focuses on REPRODUCTION, not survival
Reproduction is the key to “survival of the fittest”: those with the right genes will survive; those with other genes won’t
Social Emotions
Another perspective The Cold Virus
Why do you sneeze when you get a cold? Think about it from the virus’ perspective…
It wants to reproduce. How can it do that? It needs to occupy other bodies. But how can it get
there? It needs to be propelled to other bodies. By
sneezing!
Social Emotions
Viral Reproduction A powerful virus would skip the respiratory
system & go straight for the body’s control center: the brain Imagine a virus that infects an animal, takes over
its brain & modifies it to make the animal go around biting people so the virus can reproduce. FREAKY!
And also called RABIES
Social Emotions
A baby crying: what does it mean? It’s a distress call, but it has to be done just the right
way It must be annoying enough for us to want to help
feed me! Pick me up! Can’t be so annoying that the people around want to kill
you We are wired to respond to the distress call because it is
extremely annoying I’m coming, baby, but only because it will make you shut
up!
Social Emotions
Good thing babies are so cute!
But do not be tempted to say “Isn’t it wonderful that the way nature works is that babies are cute?”
Human babies are not metaphysically cute They’re cute because that’s how our brains
are wired They’re cute because there are certain cues
that correspond to the way our brains are wired
Studies in adults reveal a bias toward individuals with “baby face”
Why are babies cute?
AWWW!
Baby faces in adults are perceived to mean the person is naïve, helpless, kind, and warm In Mock Trials, people with baby faces are more
likely to be found innocent that people with non-baby faces
Baby Faces
What the hell?!
Cupboard Theory (Skinner) Babies’ attachment to their parents is because
the parents provide food Because of operant conditioning the baby is
drawn towards the adult Alternative Theory – Bowlby
Babies are drawn to their mother for comfort and social interaction as well as fear of strangers
Babies & Us
Harlow: experiments with primates using wire mothers and cloth mothers To see which the baby monkey preferred: food
only or comfort and warmth only? Wire mothers: gave food only Cloth mothers: gave warmth and comfort only
http://youtu.be/CU9jKlNK1Qc
Babies & Us
Baby Face Man or Testosterone Face Man?
Quiz! Who is Sexier?