Psychology of Emotion | Midterm 2

More to Emotion Contagion than Just:

"...disease-like, something that infects the mind and determines subsequent behavior." (Ellis & Tucker, 2015; 89) Known as pathologisation... But we are very comfortable with the concept of "going viral"

So Where Is the 'Primitive'?

"The tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize facial expressions, vocalizations, postures, and movements with those of another person's, and, consequently, to converge emotionally." (Hatfield et al, 1994; 5). 'Primitive' = automatic/nonconscious Great example with Chartrand & Bargh (2001) Chameleon Effect: - Mimicry facilitates liking - Mimicry creates impression of 'smoother' interaction

Damasio's Mental Images

"by image I mean a mental pattern in any of the sensory modalities, e.g., a sound image, a tactile image, the image of a state of well-being. Such images convey aspects of the physical characteristics of the object and they may also convey the reaction of like or dislike one may have for an object, the plans one may formulate for it, or the web of relationships of that object among other objects." (2000, pg. 9)

Psychopathy

"that among the most devastating features of psychopathy are a callous disregard for the rights of others and a propensity for predatory and violent behaviors. Without remorse, psychopaths charm and exploit others for their own gain. They lack empathy and a sense of responsibility, and they manipulate, lie and con others with no regard for anyone's feelings." (Hare)

Returning to Freud and an Extension of the Preceding

- 'Exaltation or intensification' of the emotion in the individuals within the group - A surrender to the passions The surrender is experienced as pleasurable - Awareness of individuality diminished - Limitations on individual behavior/attitudes diminished - Sense of individual/existential isolation suspended - The intensity of these experiences may be tied to group size

Anxiety, ASPD, and Psychopathy

- Anxiety disorders are relatively common in those with Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD). - 61% of ASPD sample demonstrated symptoms of anxiety disorders (Tomasson & Vaglum, 2000) - 54.3% comorbidity over the life time in another sample (Goodwin & Hamilton, 2003) - Conversely, psychopathy is typically considered to be characterized by a lack of anxiety (Cleckley, 1976; Lykken, 1995)•Evidenced is mixed - Anxiety (and fear) inversely correlated with factor 1 psychopathy (Lykken, 1995) - Anxiety positively correlated with factor 2 psychopathy (Frick et al, 1999; Verona et al, 2001)

Damasio's Somatic Marker Hypothesis

- Describes "a neural system that integrates feelings, affect and cognition in relation to social processes."(Ellis & Tucker, 2105, pg. 127) - Decision making is influenced by - Bio-regularity process Is represented from the somatosensory cortices) in the ventromedial frontal lobe - And combined with the results of the monitoring of the external social world - The somatic marker biases the decision made within the social context. - Ventromedial lesions result in impaired decision making and flattened affect Through learning, an "as if body loop" represents and can come to overwhelm the somatosensory information.

Neurocognitive Basis of Psychopathy

- Evidence amassing for genetic component of psychopathy - Many suggest atypical function of amygdala from an early age leading to impaired emotional learning (Blair, Mitchell, & Blair, 2005) - General hypothesis is that emotional dysfunction causes increased inability to learn appropriate motor programs for goal attainment - There is a heavy contribution of SES as well as individual learning history

System Dysfunction as It Relates to Reactive Aggression Via Heightened Threat

- Exposure to past threats matters! - Baseline activation thresholds can reflect individual differences observed, especially earlier in life - Chronic stress may increase sensitivity of the system requiring less stress hormones to activate similar levels of response (Nisenbaum et al., 1991) - Maternal separation may be implicated - Hypervigilance can be the result and in turn exacerbate the activation of the mechanisms. (King, 1999) - PTSD may be in part explained by these phenomena. (Silva et al., 2001)

Freud - Ideas and Affect

- Ideas are memories that are attached to affective experience - To understand Freudian repression, it is important to acknowledge the separation of idea and affect. - One of the purposes of psychoanalysis is to align affect with idea. - Conflicts and/or negative affect(s) associated to ideas have the potential to create one to feel anxious: "signal anxiety" - Signal anxiety motivates the use of defense mechanisms - Repression- one example of defensive avoidance of the conflict- essentially repressing the increased level of mental energy - Unfortunately, this ultimately distorts one's perception of reality

Further Confusion from Hemisphericity

- Left handed folks appear to have greater hemispheric integration (Christman, 1995) - Some individuals demonstrate greater interhemispheric integration than others (Hellige, 1993)

Differentiating Fear and Anger in HPA Axis

- Participants exposed to Trier task - Participant cortisol level measured - Participant self report levels of fear and anger - Anger correlated with cortisol increase but fear did not.

Left Hemisphere Activation Hypothesis

- Potential exists that language processing facility in left hemisphere is weaker in psychopaths (Hare & Jutai, 1988) - Dichotic listening tasks shows deficits in right ear processing in psychopaths, but not in left ear (Hare & McPherson, 1984) - Kosson goes on to investigate levels of left hemisphere interference during complex tasks. - The Left Hemisphere Activation hypothesis gains some empirical support consistent with Hare's findings - But, causal mechanisms, and general under-specificity lead the hypothesis with little real support (Blair, Mitchell, & Blair, 2005)

Summing up on Amygdala Dysfunction

- Sad and fearful expressions are thought to act as aversive US(s) - Psychopaths are impaired in processing these stimuli thus interfering with their potential socialization. - Psychopathy is often described as demonstrated by 'fearlessness'. - And this then is best understood as Amygdal dysfunction

Social Identity Theory(of Crowd Action)

- Social identity explains the way group membership affects self view and therefore individual identity - As we merge with a group developing an ingroup identity, we engage in 'self stereotyping'. - Self stereotyping is attempting to take on qualities of the stereotype - Leads to significant observed extremism and polarization As a result, social identification has a transformatory potential capable of producing some level of identity change

Foulke's Psychosocial Theorisation

- Social surroundings and interconnections emphasized, minimizing division between inside and outside world. - Emphasis shifts to understand group as an entity where individual is really subject to the internalizations of the group to which the individual belongs. - Groups therefore are more fundamental than the individual - Creates a 'social unconscious' the individual adopts through the socialization process - Essentially, the individual mind is a group mind.

The Amygdala is necessary for...

- The Amygdala is necessary for CS-UR associations - The Amygdala is necessary for CS-reinforcement associations - But not for CS-CR associations - All these associations can be appetitive or aversive - Psychopaths appear to demonstrate significantly more dysfunction to the aversive rather than appetitive associations - And thus we see impaired learning in aversive conditioning

The Triune Brain (MacLean)

- Tripartite conceptualization of human functioning as it applies to the brain - The reptilian brain describes the brain stem represents automatic functioning - Mating, aggression territoriality, dominance, submission, and self-defense The mammalian brain describes limbic system - Smell, temperature control, parental care, long-term memory, vocal communication - Papez circuit controls emotional evaluation and expression as well as circuits for emotional elaboration - The primate brain describes the neocortex - Problem solving, conscious memory, learning, speech, and verbal comprehension - Aka the "word" brain (as opposed to the 'illiterate' limbic system)

Culture and Universality

- Universal emotional expressions seen across cultures seen across cultures - Two points: 1. Supports contention that animals and man share ancestors and man share ancestors 2. Humans have descended from common progenitor - Race becomes a failed concept - Unfortunately people still cling to the notion of race

Affective Neuroscience Asks

- What brain systems underlie emotion? - How do difference in these systems reflect individual differences? - Are there different areas tied to different emotions? - Or is there a central area to emotional experience? - How does the brain affect bodily process via emotion? - How does emotion interact with other processes such as: cognition, motor activity, language, and a biggie, motivation?

The Somatic Marker Hypothesis

- When confronted with a stimulus that is associated with rewards or punishments, "bio-regulatory" states bias the individual toward response options. (Damasio, 1994) - Essentially, response options are biased by bodily feedback = "somatic markers" - These signals are processed through the somato-sensory cortex and thus labels, automatically, a scenario as good or bad and affects the choice response option. - Participants with lesions to the ventro-medial frontal cortex demonstrate no autonomic response to images in passive task (simply viewing disaster, mutilation, and nudity images), but do show autonomic arousal under active viewing conditions.

What Does the TransformationHave to Do with Emotion?

- Within the event, emotional contagion can be observed. - Social identity can be associated to different emotional responses based on self-stereotype and the stories associated group. - Also, moderate elements in the group feel they have a legitimate position - Once group is perceived as threat, impeding the group becomes central (e.g. police response) which group perceives as illegitimate. - Solidarity and willingness to challenge outgroup increase. As would felt and displayed emotions.

EMOTIONS AS FOSSILS: VESTIGIAL

- emotions can be described as purposeless - they are vestiges of a purpose long since behind us; once adaptive, now they simply remain - we have a coccyx - tail bone, an appendix - raised eyebrows accompany surprise - opening eyes widely to quickly scan environment - hair standing on end makes animals appear larger, maybe not so much for us - bottom line: the utility of emotional expression is little more than a "fortunate addition"

Potential Facilitation of Study May Occur

- infants are thought to be better study subjects in certain ways in that they often experience and display emotional expression in "extraordinary force" - the insane can be a source of study on the basis of their potential to display the most strongest of passions - in the elderly given their skin quality of thinness - painters and sculptors as observers likely unparalleled in their depth of study - the absence of the impact of cultural display rules as contaminants - the observation of animals expressing certain states may be useful to understand underlying causal mechanism less confounded by observer sentiments

Chronic Stressors

- many stressful conditions arise from our social and cultural environment: work familial responsibilities school money relationships uncertainty expectations

Ekman

6 basic emotions (and a more recent 7th basic emotion) .... seven universal emotions that were depicted: disgust, anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and contempt.

Reactive Aggression: as a response to threat

<--- freezing --- flight --- reactive aggression ---> - hypothalamus and PAG must be functioning for signals sent to amygdala to create aggression - and activation of the PAG can result in aggression without the amygdala - note how the frontal cortex has the ability to moderate the effect on the hypothalamus and amygdala

Combatting Somnambulism and Mindlessness

Actively refuse to assume group characteristics: Shun fashion, customs, language, etc., that are at the core of the civilization that one wishes not to merge with.

learning functions of the amygdala

Amygdala is the "Emotional Brain" - two parts: basolateral (BLA) and Central Nuclei (CeN) 1. Conditioned Stimulus - Unconditioned Response Association - CeN is necessary, but not BLA 2. Conditioned Stimulus - affect representations - emotional "tone" linked to a stimulus via the BLA, but not the CeN 3. Conditioned Stimulus - valenced sensory properties of the Unconditioned Stimulus associations - CS associated with specific properties of US (appearance, smell, taste) via BLA, but not CeN

Support for Universality - Ekman

Basic premise is that one experiences strong emotions w/o attempting to conceal them, the basic emotions will be expressed the same way! emotion -- proportion of countries correctly identifying: fear -- 19/21 anger -- 18/21 surprise -- 20/21

THE EXPRESSION OF THE EMOTIONS IN MAN AND EMOTIONS IN MAN AND ANIMALS

Charles Darwin

A Major Assumption of Universality

Darwin advances the Universality thesis and therefore: - Biopsychological explanations abound and are conferred high levels of credibility - Emotions are hard wired• - Represent primitive systems - Involuntary, irrational - Emotions are "vestigial" capacities

Universality Maintains the Dualistic Paradigm

Dualistic divides result: - Rational vs Irrational - Individual vs Social - Cognitive vs Emotional - The new Brain/Body dualism

The Addition of "Tone" to Capture the Fourth Dimension at it Longest Duration

Emotion Mood Tone - might allow for a more epochal view that is consistent with much of the forgoing in this chapter.

A Return to McDougall and Hume

Emotional contagion Perception of an emotional state in others Instigates automatic processes: - Sympathy - Imitation "A merry face makes us feel brighter; a melancholy face may cast a gloom over a cheerful company; when we witness the painful emotion of others, we experience sympathetic pain." (McDougall, 1908/1960: 81)

Freud's Drive Theory

Freud preferred the term "affect" to "emotion". Emotion can be felt in consciousness and it alters the body/physiology But let us always remember with Freud, he is a "moving target". -He wrote prolifically -His theories were always evolving -He did not return to 'clean up' previous theorizations.

Primitive Emotional Contagion (2)

Emotions are 'caught': - Cognitive conscious processes - Thinking, imagining, perspective taking, analysis (Hume's sympathy?) - Conditioned (operant and classical) and unconditioned (classical) emotional responses - Standard stuff except: emotion in one may lead to different emotion in another- anger display may evoke fear response - Mimicry and Feedback - Often automatic process

Two Drives-Affect to Freud, then...

Eros - to create, live, bring into being - Emotional correlate: Love Thanatos - to consume, destroy, kill, die - Emotional correlate: Aggression "The affect is seen as the qualitative expression of the quantity of the drive's mental energy." (Ellis & Tucker, 2015; 90-91)

DARWIN: TRANSCENDENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HUMAN BEING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HUMAN BEING ARE STRIPPED AWAY

Essentially a divide between humans and animals is dissolved - Darwin interested in work of Charles Bell, Physiologist. - Human face has unique musculature that is evidence of God's design - Darwin abandoned the God hypothesis, but embraces the study of facial expressions - Spencer, Bain, Duchenne de Boulogne, all were working with facial expressions, but had creationism in their theories - Darwin discredited creationist theory, thus above theorists Darwin discredited creationist theory, thus above theorists suffered..

Does psychopathy consist of 2 factors?

Factor 1- Interpersonal/Affective Items: Glib/superficial charm Grandiose sense of self worth Pathological lying Conning/manipulative Failure to accept responsibility Lack of remorse or guilt Callous/lack empathy Shallow affect Factor 2- Impulsive/Antisocial Items: Need for stimulation/boredom Parasitic lifestyle Poor behavioral controls Early behavior problems Lack of realistic/long term goals Juvenile delinquency Irresponsibility Impulsivity

Contagion and Suggestibility

For Le Bon: akin to a 'hypnotic order'•Under the influence of suggestion - Group feelings tend to be simple and exaggerated. - Given to extremes (feelings and behaviors?): - Suspicion becomes certainty - Antipathy becomes hatred - Admiration becomes worship - New truths are constructed illusions, distortions of reality - Results in potential activation of "cruel, brutal and destructive instincts"

Ex of Neural Level Functional Differences - Is Laughter the Best Medicine?

For most of yes But for boys at risk of developing psychopathy as adults do not demonstrate the same urge. - Boys were selected as at risk have been previously labeled persistently "disruptive" - 62 "disruptive" boys were compared to 30 "normally behaved" boys• - All were subjected to fMRI with laughter and crying stimuli - Self reports indicated that boys from disruptive behavior combined callousness traits group did not want to engage in laughter to the same degree as controls - All boys demonstrated brain activity that indicated recognizing laughter to equal degrees (e.g. equivalent activation in auditory cortex. - All boys demonstrated brain activity that indicated recognizing laughter to equal degrees (e.g. equivalent activation in auditory cortex. - "Disruptive" boys: - "showed reduced brain activity in the anterior insula and supplementary motor area, brain regions that are thought to facilitate resonating with other people's emotions and joining in with their laughter." - Viding suggests that boys that are at risk to develop psychopathy don't experience the world like the rest of us. - This study is somewhat unique in that it explores reaction to positive emotional displays and subsequent desires generated brain level mechanisms.

Somatic Marker Hypothesis (cont.)

Four pack playing card task: - Participants learn to discriminate between one pair of decks that are high reward, high loss as opposed to the other pair of decks that are low loss, low reward. - Ultimately the low/low deck leads to an overall win, the high/high leads to an overall loss. - Those with VFMC lesions don't learn to avoid the losing pair. - Psychopaths, it appears then demonstrate reduced autonomic arousal (previous slide) and impaired performance on the card task. Yet they are generating somatic markers. - And neither task tells a lot about reactive vs instrumental aggression

Expect Hemisphericity to Be Contradictory!

From Tsunoda's research: - Japanese people tend to process both linguistic and non linguistic (emotional) utterances in the left hemisphere - Westerners tend to process the non linguistic utterances in the right hemisphere - But for Japanese people raised in countries where western languages are spoken, the difference is not observed. (Racle, 1986)

Asocial Theory

Hatfield et al's theory is relatively micro/reductionist - Hess and Philippot (2010)•Emphasize role of social norms and rules - That is, primitive mechanisms are subject to moderation based on social conventions• - One concern expressed is that we have greater ability to transmit info with technology, but less ability to transmit emotional information.

Primitive Emotional Contagion

Hatfield, Cacioppo & Rapson wrote the book! (1994) - Rely heavily on mimicry and synchrony in their explanations - These can be facilitated by facial, vocal and postural mechanisms. - The process is 'multiply determined' rather than relying on a single variable explanation.

Three Other Dysfunctions to System Contributing to Reactive Aggression

Individual differences in the system may be innate/genetic (Pine et al, 2000 - Reduced regulation due to disturbance of orbital or medial frontal circuitry (Panskepp, 1998) - Serotonergic abnormalities may cause a reduction in effectiveness of the regulatory system to threat response system. - Possible source is genetic predisposition interacting with environmental stressors that contribute to observed abnormalities (Moffit et al., 2002)

Neuropsychoanalysis - Schore

Infants tend to prefer faces to other stimulus objects - Idiosyncratic and cultural expression of emotion are prelinguistic - Ventromesial frontal cortex (the inhibitory component of a motivational system) seems tied to mother-infant interaction. - Could be thought to be the site that "almost literally" embodies an internalized mother (super ego?)

The Hidden Truth Behind Micro Expressions

Initially, there were seven universal emotions that were depicted: disgust, anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and contempt. However, over time, Ekman has expanded his research by deciphering that there are approximately 43 unique muscle movements the human face can make. This can go on to determine emotions such as guilt or pride.

Instrumental vs Reactive Aggression

Instrumental aggression: - Aka "proactive" aggression Purposeful Goal directed Other pain often not the goal Gaining possessions, gaining status within a group e.g. bullying May be opportunistic Can be tied to reward/punishment mechanisms via socialization Reactive Aggression: - Aka "impulsive" or "affective aggression In response to frustration or threat "triggered" by stimuli Initiated without regard to purpose or potential consequence Often accompanied by anger

Emotional Learning in Psychopathy

Instrumental learning can be studied by successful acquisition of different types of associations - Passive avoidance learning - Formation of association between stimulus and reinforcement - Object discrimination learning - Formation of stimulus response associations - Psychopaths have difficultly with the passive avoidance, persisting longer in tasks that present negative outcomes longer than controls. (O'Brien & Frick, 1996)

Empathic Mirroring -Another Example

Largely nonconscious - Nonconsciously aware of target's pupil size - Modulated rated intensity of a perceived sad face, but not for happy. - As pupil size decreased, rated intensity increased - Observer's pupil size mirrored target's pupil size (Harrison et al., 2006) Could represent a factor in emotional contagion - And could be useful in explaining the acquisition of maternal example in attachment, emotional development, acquisition of cultural moderators in emotion detection, expression, and inhibition.

LeDoux's Amygdala

LeDoux countered the general conception of the brain structures being built on top of each other demonstrating increased complexity of creatures conforming to their place on the evolutionary "tree". - Rather, the brain as a system of interconnected parts evolves as it is shaped by the environmental pressures - The amygdala is thought to be the seat of "fight or flight" which represent aggression and fear.

Threat Response in Relation to Maternal Separation

Left - right on scale- 1. threat ^ 2. maternal separation AND inhibitory process v 3. noradrenaline AND baseline reactivity ^ 4. sensitivity to threat stimuli ^

Adding 'Libido' to the Explanation/Theory

Libido, especially conceptualized as love, especially through 'sexual union' as its aim is the source of the desire to merge with the group Interesting expression of libido to be sure - And serves to foster perhaps even greater suggestibility - With the group leader seen as parental and 'loving the child' - Can then also bind group members more closely together through mutual identification with the leader/parent - As one merges with the group and experiences the pleasure of doing so, group values become introjected into the individual seeking to be come more like the leader and/or group members.

Reactive Aggression at 3 Levels in Animals

Lowest level- low threat, distant threat, freezing beh Moderate level- closer threat, escape activated Highest level- escape perceived as impossible, reactive aggression displayed

Anecdote of Sympathetic Pain

McDougall recounts while holding a child in his arms, looking out the window at a thunderstorm: "There came a blinding flash of lightning and, after some seconds, a crash of thunder. The child was pleased by the lightning, but at the first crack of thunder, she screamed in terror; immediately upon hearing the scream, I experienced, during a fraction of a second, a pang of fear that could not have been more horrible had I been threatened with all the terrors of hell." (McDougall, 1908/1960; 81)

Empathy and Psycopathy

Measuring Empathy - Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1983) - Measurement of autonomic responses - Skin conductance - Exposed to confederates being shocked - Images of distressed individuals - Both show lower levels of responsiveness - Naming observed facial expressions. - Controls identify at 65% - Psychopaths identify at 75%

Darwin and Determinism

Opposed to dualism - Aligned with materialism/empiricism (like Hume) Determinist in that all actions are determined by: - Habits - Hereditary character - Education - Chance - No free will - But, associationism is the source of habits/learning - Mental faculties could be inherited or learnt

Role of the Frontal Cortex

Medial, Orbital, and Ventrolateral Frontal Cortex have at least two roles in mediating the previously described sub-cortical regions: 1. First, expectation of reward is computed and then if the expectation of reward has been violated 2. Second, a Social Response Reversal system can be activated/modulated by:• - Aversive social cues such as negatively valanced facial expressions such as anger, disgust, or fear - Social situations that might lead to social disapproval - Strangely, the reactive aggression reversal is also a product of one's position in a dominance hierarchy.

Each Process Is Concerned with Mental Energy

Mental energy arises in the body Conflict is the result of the processes: - One system operates to discharge the energy - The other to delay the discharge The overarching "constancy principle" explains that these opposing processes seek to keep stimulation to a minimum. To maintain a 'balance'?- Low levels of energy are thought to be pleasant - High levels are unpleasant - Goal is to discharge mental energy that is a source of tension

TRIUNE BRAIN ORGANIZATION BY MACLEAN

New Brain: Neo-Cortex- -reasoning -analysis mathematical calc language abstract thought consciousness Middle Brain: Limbic Complex- emotions (love, fear) feelings (trust, loyalty) subjective senses (purpose, duty) relationships value judgments decision making Old Brain: R-Complex- breathing circulation digestion movement reproduction instinct

Reicher on Le Bon

One of Reicher's chief complaints of Le Bon is lack of context: 1. Social context 2. Cultural context "The majority of his [Le Bon's] crowd text is, in fact, essentially a primer on how to take advantage of the crowd mentality, how to manipulate crowds, and how to recruit their enthusiasms to ones own end." (Reicher, 2001; 86)

Critiques of the Triune Brain Theory

Pinker suggests that the Triune theory is a "romantic doctrine" and largely incorrect as it explains human emotion (Pinker, 1997). - The hippocampus is thoroughly implicated in memory, a task considered to be decidedly cognitive. - LeDoux points to inconclusive observations in brain imaging of the limbic system (2002)

Drive Gratification and Affects

Positive affects are associated with pleasure and are the result of gratification of drive. Negative affects are associated with unpleasure and result from inhibiting drives. To satisfy id impulses in an acceptable way (sublimation) causes the experience of pleasure and positive emotions. To satisfy id impulses in an unacceptable way in the pursuit of pleasure leads to guilt or shame (depending on superego development).

Le Bon's Psychological Group

Psychological group can be conceived as - Heterogenous elements (individuals) combine to create a new 'being' that differs from the individual elements - E.g., cells in the body combine to create the body - Though take that analogy with a healthy teaspoon of salt! Through the group experience/mind, the individual increases in power, may come to feel invincible. - As an individual merges with the group, anonymity is increased and perceptions of accountability decrease.

Fear Dysfunction Hypothesis of Psychopathy

Psychopaths less aversely aroused by punishment Make weaker associations to punishment evoking stimuli Counter Arguments - There appear to be variants of the hypothesis that are not well explained: - At the cognitive level - At the neural level - It is unlikely there is a unitary fear system - Isn't really clear why fear dysfunction would show increased anti-social behavior - Moral socialization functions through empathy rather than fear (Hoffman, 1984) - Although Hobbes might not agree!

Reicher - Social Norm Theory

Rather then rely on concept of pathologisation of emotion in the context of the crowd, e.g. irrationality and submersion... There are norms that guide the crowd behavior - Step 1 - 'Milling' before action takes place. Crowd members listen to each other - Step 2 - "'Keynote' individuals propose action and resolve ambivalence within the crowd to facilitate unanimity." (Ellis & Tucker, 2015; 96). - But, still fails to account for social/cultural context as a contributing variable.

But, Can We Ignore the Situation or Culture?

Reading subjective emotions can be affected by one's current state/mood and/or chronic dispositions. Dodge demonstrated the 'aggressive' children were more likely to interpret ambiguous behavioral displays as aggressive. - Culture can effect, especially as it relates to language - Chewong have no word for happiness•Surprise does not exist for Fore, Dani and Ifaluck - Zulu use a container metaphor to describe emotion (Taylor & Mbense, 1998): 1. "long heart" - large capacity for love 2. "short heart" - quick to anger

Social Elements of Emotional Expression

Regardless of the origin of expression of face and movement of body, they now serve as channels of communicationt - Infants and parents engage in social referencing - Expressions augment verbal communication - They are often thought to be more genuine than words themselves Two points about variability: 1. Within category variability - a given emotion can be expressed differently by different people 2. Between category similarity - different emotions can have very similar expressions by different people.

Two Other Defense Mechanisms:Displacement and Projection

Repressed mental energy continues to 'percolate' and seek release. - Projection allows one to project one's own anger on to a target- by seeing the anger in another thus allowing the anger to be disassociated from the self. - Displacement allows one a 'safe target' for the expression of anger when the actual target is 'prohibited'. - Anxiety and guilt are the predominate affects to be repressed but have the potential to be transformed into other affects as well.

Virality and Contagion

Sampson suggest in Virality: Contagion Theory in the Age of Networks (2012) that: - Greater potential for ever more diverse forms of contagion (social, economic, racial, ethnic, political) - These contagions of emotion affect the very nature of discourse - Even the smallest events have potential to demonstrate high levels of contagion - Lack of "guiding hand"

Immune System Suppression and Illness

Sickness behaviors are activated by the release of Cytokines These include sleep and withdrawal behaviors. Also inhibit social, exploratory and aggressive behaviors (Kemeny, 2009) Similar to submissive behavior akin to shame and embarrassment

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis

Stressful event ---> amygdala ---> hypothalamus ---> pituitary gland ---> adrenal glands

Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic Activation

Sympathetic activation, as we have discussed, is typically associated with 'negative' emotions. - Less is known about activation of positive emotions consistent with parasympathetic activation. - Porges suggests that the ventral vagal complex controlled by the vagus nerve is associated with the activation of positive emotions (1998) - Vagal complex regulates facial muscles, head movements (controlling gaze activity) and vocalizations.

Somnambulism and Mindlessness

Tarde: contagion occurs through imitation and suggestibility - largely nonconscious processes - To stop 'sleep walking' through life on can educate the senses and enter a state of 'antipatheia' (anti-feelings)

Frontal LobeDysfunction Hypothesis

The frontal lobe as the source of executive function and inhibitory process(es) is well accepted Lesions in the frontal lobe have been implicated in: -Emotion changes -Personality changes -Changes in aggression - Increased aggressiveness is typically in reactive aggression rather than instrumental - There does appear to be a connection to frontal lobe dysfunction in psychopaths and it seems connected to the orbital frontal cortex as it relates to executive function. - This has been supported by lessened cerebral blood flow that might reduce PFC functioning (Critchley et al., 2000;Raine et al., 1994) - Again, these represent starting points in understanding potential causal mechanisms

The Human Stress Response

The human stress response to perceived threat activates thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and physiological arousal that normally promote adaptation and survival - Our stress response can be effective in the short term (responses to acute stressors) - Our stress response, prolonged, can be devastating to our mental and physical health (result of chronic stressors)

Reicher's Psychology of Crowd Dynamics

The science of crowd dynamics comes to fore in the early to mid-twentieth century. Mussolini, Goebbels, and Hitler understood well the importance of shared experience in bonding followers to leaders. Reicher argues this is a recent phenomenon: - Industrialization diminishes the power of 'village hierarchies' bringing into being 'mass society'. -- - - Social control is largely up for 'grabs' - The crowd can fall prey to 'unscrupulous agitators'

THE STUDY OF EMOTION IN MAN AND ANIMAL

The study is difficult-- 1. movements are often slight 2. movements are often fleeting 3. our sympathies are excited by deep emotions 4. our imagination can lead us to misinterpret expressions via situational expectations

Freud's Topographical Model of the Mind

Three parts: - Conscious - Preconscious - Unconscious Two psychic processes: - Primary process tied to the 'Pleasure Principle' - Avoid unpleasure (Unlust) - Wish fulfillment - Secondary process Delay of gratification via the 'Reality Principle'

The Amygdala

Two almond shaped structures - Electrical stimulation has been demonstrated to cause experience of apprehension and anxiety (Gloor, 1986) - Connections from the amygdala to the neocortex seem to possess a certain level of directionality - Connections are numerous and strong from amygdala to neocortex - Connections from neocortex to amygdala appear to be fewer and weaker Two consequences emerge: 1. Fear/anxiety while readily acquired, can be difficult to unlearn 2. Amygdala generated emotions may be quite difficult to control.

Hemispheric Distinctions

Two general theories: 1. Hemispheric specialization - 'reason vs emotion' (Cacioppo and Gardner, 1999) - Right hemisphere tied to mediating the expression and recognition of emotion - Left hemisphere associated with linguistic and analytic tasks 2. Lateralization of emotion valence (Davidson, 1992) - Right hemisphere mediates positive affect - Left hemisphere mediates negative affect Rolls (2007) presents evidence that - Lesions in left hemisphere more likely to affect language processing - Lesions in right hemisphere more likely to affect emotional processing

Reicher and Group Emotions

We can see a cognition and emotion process at work - While cognition may initially bind the group... - Emotion facilitates group self-understanding•Joy in being member of a group - Anger at outgroup attempting to interfere with the expression of ingroup emotion - Reicher presents then a less mindless group contagion that relies on social variables to a greater degree than Le Bon.

Empathic Mirroring

What are the neural mechanisms that assist us in understanding others? Mirror neurons: - Located within premotor and motor cortices - Become active when performing an activity as well as when watching another perform that same activity. - Empathy appears to be located in the same brain region - Singer (2004) found that observing a partner's pain activates corresponding area of brain, but: - Only the part of the brain that is associated with the affective qualities of the pain - Sensory qualities are not activated

Emotions activated in the HPA Axis

anxiety fear anger Under threat of negative social evaluation - positive social identity is threatened - Trier Social Stress Task: Give an impromptu speech to an audience of evaluators that react with critical/frustrated expressions. Designed to activate autonomic nervous system.

Individual and Situational Factors that Can Help to Reduce the Effects of Stressful Working Conditions

balance between work and family or personal life - a support network of friends and coworkers - a relaxed and positive outlook - perspective taking: longer term orientation - downward social comparisons

stimulus ---> perceived as threat (appraisal) ---> fight or flight response required ---> hormones released (adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol) ---> physiological response (heart rate + respiration + fats and glucose + blow flow +/- perspiration + immune system ---> threat subsides? ... NO- hormones released YES- hormone released (acetylcholine) ---> threat hormone levels reduce ---> body returns to normal

chart on slide 7, 6.2

Darwin's Taxonomy of Emotion

expression: blushing bodily system: blood vessels emotion ex: shame, modesty AND expression: crying bodily system: tear ducts emotion ex: sadness

The Confusing World of Affective Neuroscience

fMRI, CT Scan, PET, EEG - All have presented challenges to our conceptualization of emotion in the brain - At present, we find evidence that emotion affects: Attention Perception Learning Memory

the affect of emotion in cognitive/behavioral output

goals, motivation, and emotion --> selective attn and comprehension --> encoding and simplification --> MEMORY --> cognitive output and behavior

Reactive aggression in humans

may be demonstrated under conditions of: threat, frustration, and insult May be the result of: - Reduced regulation in executive system - Neural circuitry may be incapable of mediating aggressive responding - Emotional impairment

Job Stress

results when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, and/or the needs of the worker

Natural Selection, Habits, and Instincts

similar states of mind create similar movements - repeated associations are manifested in "habits" - habits operate, once formed, with striking similarity to instincts - the difference is the source, the outcome is the same - natural selection removes instincts from the "pool" - culture has the same potential to remove responses from human script

a model of stress and the role of appraisal

slide 3, 6.2*

Similarities w/ theories of basic emotions

slide 31, ch 6* joy and fear were COMMON

General principles of emotional expression

the principle of serviceable associated Habits - habits, state of mind, and expression are connected - the principle of Antithesis

Violence Inhibition Model

while the VIM can account for the formation of instrumental aggression, it falls short of explaining Psychopathy

Functions of Ventral Vagal Complex

•Present only in mammals - Vagal nerve reduces cardiac output as well as respiration leading to calming, greater cognitive flexibility and attention (Berntson, Cacioppo, & Quigley, 1993) - Higher 'vagal tone' can lead to experience of more positive emotion, kindness, and warmth. (Oveis et al., 2009) - More spontaneous positive emotion during Rorschach test (Kettunen, 2000) - Higher vagal tone as it relates to cognitive flexibility may lead to a more nuanced emotional experience and superior emotion regulations potential (Kok & Fredrickson, 2010)