Having an emotion is "easy," but...
describing it is hard
Multidimensional Scaling
Unique map that allows every emotional experience to be precisely the right "distance" from every other: dimension of arousal, dimension of valence (feeling)
Any definition of emotion must include two things:
1. Emotional experiences are always good or bad. 2.These experiences are associated with characteristic levels of bodily arousal.
Emotion
A positive or negative experience that is associated with a particular pattern of physiological activity. How are emotional experience and physiological activity related?
3 main theories of emotional experience:
James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Two-factor
James-Lange theory of emotion
Stimuli trigger activity in the autonomic nervous system, which produces an emotional experience in the brain. see the bear, autonomic activity, experience. Different emotions are different experiences of different patterns of bodily activity.
Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
Stimuli simultaneously trigger activity in the autonomic nervous system and emotional experience in the brain. See the bear, autonomic activity/experience fear. Cannon argued weren't enough unique patterns of autonomic activity to account for all the uniq
Two-factor theory of emotion
Schacter-Singer. See the bear, autonomic activity, experience fear based on interpretation given what's in the environment. People can have the same bodily response to all emotional stimuli, but they interpret that response differently on different occasi
Kluver-Bucy Syndrome
Monkeys whose temporal lobes had been removed would: eat just about anything, and have sex with just about anyone/anything. had a lack of fear-calm when handled/exposed to snakes.
The emotional brain
temporal lobe syndrome, damage to the limbic system, amygdala
Amygdala, key role in production of emotion
appraisal-is that a stick or a snake, fast pathway (thalamus-amygdala), slow pathway (thalamus-cortex-amygdala). Bilateral amygdala damage-no effect on recognition of happiness, sadness, and surprise. Trouble recognizing anger, disgust, and fear.
Fast/Slow pathways of fear
the cortex is slowly using information to conduct a full-scale investigation of the stimulus. (deciding snake/stick)
Amygdala
received information directly from the thalamus. Needs to make one simple decision "Is this bad for me?" If the amygdala answers yes, initiates neural process that activate sympathetic nervous system in preparation for flight or fight.
Bilateral amygdala damage
anger, disgust, and fear not recognized
Emotion Regulation
Use of cognitive and strategies to influence one's emotional experience. typically to turn negative into positive. may sometimes need to "cheer down
Reappraisal
Strategy that involves changing one's emotional experience by changing the meaning of the emotion-eliciting stimulus. thinking can change feeling. Crying can be either happy or sad.
Emotional Expression
emotional states influence the way we talk (intonation, inflection, loudness & duration), listeners can infer a speaker's emotional state with better-than-chance accuracy. Can also infer emotional states from how someone walks and facial expressions.
Affective forecasting
not too good at predicting our emotional reactions to future events.
Communicative Expression. Universality hypothesis
Emotional expressions have same meaning for everyone. Cross cultural research supports this. Congenitally blind persons make same expressions as others.
Facial feedback-pens
People who hold a pen in their teeth feel happier than those who hold a pen in their lips. Holding a pen in the teeth contracts the zygomatic major muscles of the face in the same way a smile does.
Deceptive Expression
Our attempts to obey our culture's display rules are sometimes betrayed by incomplete control of facial muscles.
Four sets of features that allow careful observer to tell whether our emotional expression is sincere
morphology, symmetry, duration, temporal patterning
morphology
certain facial muscles tend to resist conscious control. Reliable muscles.
symmetry
sincere expressions are a bit more symmetrical than insincere
duration
sincere expressions tend to last between a half second and 5 seconds. Any less-probably insincere.
Temporal Patterning
Sincere expressions appear and disappear smoothly over a few seconds. Insincere expressions tend to have more abrupt onsets and offsets.
Deceptive Expression
humans are generally not that good at detecting when others are lying. Studies look at accuracy based on profession-CSI and clinicians best, college students and mixed law enforcement officers worst.
polygraph
measures physiological changes associated with stress. High false positive rate.
Blood flow in the brain
some brain areas are more active when people lie than when they tell the truth.
Deception
some areas of the brain are more active when people tell lies. Some are more active when people tell the truth.
Motivation
the purpose or cause of an action
function of emotion
we use mood to make judgements
Hedonic principle
people are motivated to experience pleasure and avoid pain
Capgras Syndrome
patients believe one or more of family members are imposters. Damage to temporal lobe connections and limbic system. Faces are familiar but disconnected from familial "warmth
homeostasis
the tendency for a system to take action to keep itself in a particular
Drive
an internal state generated by departures from physiological optimality
Clark Hull-Drive Theory
People (and animals) engage in behaviors that satisfy biological needs.
All mammals experience
sex drives and hunger drives
Arguments against Clark Hull's drive theory
why do people stay up all night studying for an exam? Why do people have dessert after Thanksgiving dinner?
Maslow's Hierarchy of motivation
need for self-actualization, esteem needs, belongingness and love needs, safety and security needs, physiological needs.
Body needs energy
sends orexigenic signal. Ghrelin-produced in stomach.
Body has sufficient energy
sends anorexigenic signal. leptin-secreted by fat cells.
Hypothalamus and Eating
Primary receiver of hunger signals is hypothalamus. Lateral-orexigenic. Ventromedial-anorexigenic.
Aphagia
diminished eating behavior
hyperphagia
hunger is never switched off.
bulimia nervosa
binge eating followed by purging, vomiting or use of laxatives, eat to ameliorate negative emotions, then experience self-loathing, guilt, binge to relieve guilt. Vicious cycle.
anorexia nervosa
intense fear of being fat and severe restriction of food intake, distorted body image, think fat when actually emaciated, high achieving perfectionists, have high levels of grelin in blood-they override signal.
What axis are eating disorders?
Axis 1
Obesity
America's most pernicious eating problem. BMI of 30 or greater. 3 million americans die each year. Lower self-esteem; lower quality of life; higher mortality; prejudice & intolerance.
Sexual interest wiring scheme
glands secrete hormones, hormones travel to brain, stimulates sexual desire.
What hormone is involved in initial onset of sexual desire?
dihydroepiandosterone-DHEA
Human females sexual desire is not limited by what?
Cyle. ongoing sexual interest. Might have evolutionary function.
What is the hormonal basis for women's sex drive?
testosterone. Giving it increases sex drive. Men have more testosterone, and a stronger sex drive.
Human Sexual response cycle-overview
Masters and Johnson. Measured physical responses of many hundreds of volunteers. Sex in the lab. The stages of physiological arousal during sexual activity are similar for males and females.
Human sexual response cycle.
Excitement phase, plateau phase, orgasm phase, resolution phase, refractory period
Extrinsic motivation
Take actions that are not themselves rewarding but that lead to reward
Intrinsic motivation
take actions that are themselves rewarding
Conscious motivation
aware of what is motivating
Unconscious motivation
unaware of what is motivating
Need for achievement
need to solve worthwhile problems, people vary in this need.