Science of Emotion - Psychology 324 Final Exam
Arlie Hochschild
"Emotional Labor" - feel / not feel certain emotions because of your job -service industries construct emotions--> emotional labor has costs
Expressive Muscle Movement Evidence (in support of James)
*EMBODIMENT - Niedenthal (2009): emotion concepts are grounded in the ability to reenact them using the body. Made people hold a pen in their mouth while judging the same words as the control group---> idea is that the pen is preventing the embodiment of emotion - task: is the word associated with an emotion? -results: it was more difficult for them to judge the words when the embodied response was blocked, meaning when they were unable to move their facial muscles due to holding the pen. *Botox Study - Davis (2010): gave patients botox (paralytic) or restalyne (no effect on facial muscles) injections. -results: decreased emotional response in patients that got Botox injections with the mildly positive clips only due to the strength of emotional impulse.
Peripheral Feedback Evidence (in support of James)
*Hohmann's study of spinal cord patients: had 25 males with spinal cord injuries describe emotional comparisons before and after the injury - looked at their description of emotion in relation to where the injury was; the higher up the injury, you're cut off from more peripheral feedback, therefore greatly decreasing emotionality - injury decreased some emotions (anger and fear), but increased sentimentality and didn't change sexual excitement.
Evidence for emotions as the basis for social relationships:
- Jane Goodall's work with chimps that showed that they form bonds, feel aggression, love and grief - Dunbar's hypothesis: chimp's grooming each other has been replaced by conversation in humans in order for us to maintain relationships
Russell's opinion
- MINIMAL UNIVERSALITY - expressions are not necessarily emotions - are not necessarily signals - cultures will differ
Charles Darwin (supporter of Evolutionary Approach)
- Was looking for evidence to support his Continuity of Species Theory. - Main idea: emotional expressions derive from habits. They are - 1.) inherited 2.) same across species 3.) primitive quality - links to our past 4.) not under voluntary control - said facial muscle movements represent a state of mind
Social Constructivist
- emotion is created by culture - RUSSELL & BARRETT
Darwin's Taxonomy of Expression
- expressions come from habits that were useful in our past - shows how emotions are expressed, and where they're coming from
Dramatic View
- inuit people don't have anger because it would be too risky for them to display it -Japanese culture has the emotion Amae (relying/depending on people)
Duchenne
- muscles given to us by God - Darwin used some of his pictures from when he stimulated a man's facial expressions because he had no feeling in his face
Methodology
-Cultural Relativism: talk about it as how it differs from western cultures. -Deconstruction: no correct objective interpretation for the world. Look at language, literature, and ethnographies.
Measurment of Emotion
-FMRI: functional magnetic resonance imaging - measures blood flow or oxygen in brain - EEG: electroencephalogram - electrical recording of spontaneous activity; put electrodes on head and measure how fast signal is relayed - TMS: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation - create strong magnetic field to disrupt the brain activity for a short period of time by putting a magnet over the scalp. (cons: can't tell where it is disrupting precisely; pros: reversible, repeatable, non-invasive) -PET: positron emission tomography - uses sugar glucose to show where neurons are firing
EEA Properties
1.) Protect offspring - compassion, love, attachment 2.) Monogamous bond - work with someone to take care of offspring; love, jealousy 3.) Caretaking- people were starting to live longer; need to take care of elderly; caring, nurturance 4.) Flattening of Social Hierarchy - shared more amongst people 5.) Need for collective action - work with people to get what's needed; cooperation
Darwin's Principles of Expression
1.) Serviceable Associated Habits 2.) Antithesis 3.) Direct Action of the Nervous System
Ordinary View
1.) Yulia Chentsova Dutton: emotions help us navigate our social environment b/c we live with people - emotions evolved to be cultural & emotions all us to learn what is acceptable. 2.) Dr. Jeanna Tsai: actual emotions & ideal affect -actual emotions - how we really feel -ideal affect- how we want to feel culture influences ideal affect - "Affect Evaluation Theory" Ideal affect varies across cultures: -europeans smile more during happy events than Japanese do - Depression: Europeans = flat affect, dampened expressions; Asians = shows emotions more (smile more, cries more) **when depressed, you can't uphold the ideals of the culture
Adaptations
1.) we dont like bitter foods - toxins are bitter 2.) morning sickness - occurs when baby is most susceptible to toxins 3.) being drawn to sweet foods - more nutritious (berries) 4.) Find a healthy & fertile mate - symmetry in face suggests good health 5.) Protect offspring - babies cuteness makes us want to protect them
Canine Compassion Empathy (evidence for Darwin)
18 dogs had interactions with their human and a stranger while the humans were either humming, talking, or crying. Dogs most often comforted their human and/or the stranger by nuzzling or licking. This shows that dogs can be empathetic, even across-species, because they feel that distress.
Maclean
3 distinct systems: 1.) reptillian - oldest, contains rigid instinctive behavioral programs (basal ganglia) 2.) old mammalian - older, survival oriented part of the brain (limbic system) Feeding, Fighting, Fleeing, and F**king. 3.) Mammalian - information processing (cortex & thalamus) intelligence, regulation - underneath our rational behaviors there are primitive structures and older parts of the brain sometimes take control - damage to Amygdala effects the processing of fear and negative emotion --- SM not being able to recognize fearful faces
Visual Cliff Study - Emotional referencing
Joseph Campos -if mom smiles, baby will cross the visual cliff, but if mom looks fearful then baby does not cross
Davidson
Lateralization Effects: - right hemisphere: withdrawal, fear (negative) - left hemisphere: approach (positive)
Lazarus VS Zajonc
Lazarus: appraisal is a kind of cognition, cognition and emotion cannot be separated -emotion = complex affect reaction Zajonc: minimal processing is enough to elicit affect ----major difference b/w the two is how they define appraisal & types of emotion they are talking about
Russell's experiment
Measured the action unit patterns in actors' faces in movies - point is that emotional expressions in real life don't look like they do in Ekman's study. - Said you need to see the face in CONTEXT in order to judge the emotion - when one's facial expression and the context don't match up, go with the facial expression.
Domasio
Somatic Marker Hypothesis: - somatic markers (gut feelings) are made in the prefrontal cortex and they are basically tags for emotionally significant events. We can use the tags in future events that elicit the same emotions --- we use emotions to help navigate through life and make decisions
Papez
Thalamus splits (3): 1.) Cortex - stream of thought 2.) Basal ganglia: stream of movement 3.) Hypothalamus**** - Stream of feeling - Papez loop: 1.) brain stem, spinal cord, PNS- emotional stimuli directly spark emotional behavior 2.) Cortex - emotional stimuli trigger thoughts 3.) Cortex to Hippocampus - mind shapes peripheral reactions
Selection Pressures
Threats to survival and the passing on of genes. - intersexual: differences that make you attracted to someone (ex: colorful male birds) - intrasexual: males compete to attract female mate within their own species
Weiner's Attribution Model
Varies on 3 dimension: 1.) Locus of Causality 2.) Stability 3.) Controllability -emotions require thoughts -explanation can have emotional consequences
Lazarus' coping process:
What we do tells about the environment - emotion focused: try to alter reactions to the emotional event ("tomorrow's another day") --> do whatever you can to alter/avoid how you feel - problem-focused: (direct action) try to change the situation itself---> turn it into a positive
Gross' coping process:
When you do it - self regulation of emotion: process by which we alter the occurrence or course of our emotion reactions. - emotion regulation strategies differ depending on when they have impact on the process. ----Antecedent focused Strategies: things we do before emotion becomes fully activated (alter input) ----Response focused strategies: things we do once the emotion is under way (alter output) consequences of emotion regulation: - suppression: decreases expressive behavior but not the emotional experience --suppressing expressions does not alter experience whereas appraisal does alter it ----suppressing emotions takes work, which is why suppressed participants are more aroused that the others. ----suppression group displays a decrease in verbal memory, but no difference in graphic memory. -----suppression has negative social consequences because you don't allow whomever you're talking to to interpret the social cues that are necessary for conversation.
Charles Carver's coping process:
Who you are - we gravitate to some coping strategies over others. - coping= who you are as a response to the environment. personality variable & individual differences
Can your feelings change what you think? Can your thoughts change how you feel?
YES
Attribution theory (cognitive)
attributions assign a cause for behavior. - how people make judgments about themselves and others - how people use social information to make causal attributions
Altruism experiment
babies (18 mos) helped researcher almost every time they needed it even though he didn't ask doesnt align with Lewis' theory b/c they wouldn't be old enough to experience those emotions yet
Developmental Approach
babies can mimic and learn facial expressions very early on
Cannon
emotion is in the THALAMUS; can send messages up and down. - info goes into the Thalamus first and goes either up or down from there. Stimulus--->Thalamus--> Emotion OR Response
Forebrain
emotional brain -thalamus: relays messages - basal ganglia: movement commands -cerebral cortex -Hypothalamus -Limbic System
Evolutionary Approach
emotions have been selected by nature because they are good solutions to problems that were faced by our ancestors.
Sir Charles Bell
facial expressions were given to us by God to help communication - Darwin though he was missing the "why" & that each expression could be explained
Non-Duchenne Smile
fake smile
Darwin's methods were INNOVATIVE
he used questionnaire's across cultures, used photographs and also used artwork because he thought artists were tuned in to behavior -children: simple emotions -mentally ill patients: strong emotions
Dynamic Approach
infant begins with bipolar state (positive and negative) and other emotional states emerge from those. Lewis - self awareness is fundamental to the development - emotions that develop during the first 3 years: contentment, joy, interest, surprise, distress, sadness, disgust, anger, fear, embarrassment, envy, empathy, pride, shame, guilt
James (supporter of Evolutionary Approach)
main idea: body is central to the generation and experience of emotion - the perception of bodily changes IS the emotion (no body=no emotion) -bodily changes: expressive behaviors, instrumental actions, and physiological changes & autonomic specificity -----said "we're afraid because we run"
Fridlund (critic)
main idea: expressions are ALWAYS COMMUNICATIVE. evidence: study where you watch and amusing clip alone, with implied presence, and with someone else, and measured expression and experience in all situations. - results: person smiles more & more depending on whether you're with someone or not, but the experience does not change. ---shows that all facial displays signal social inclination --- says that if you're alone and smile/laugh at something, it is because you are imaging that other people are there.
Lazarus -evidence for cognitive approach
main idea: if we change our appraisal of an event, we should be able to change our emotion. 3 kinds of appraisals: 1.) Primary - what are the consequences for your well being 2.) Secondary - what can you do (cope) 3.) Reappraisal - what has changed Evidence for Primary Appraisal: prior to watching a stressful accident film, participants primary appraisal was manipulated - -denial condition: "the people you see are actors" -intellectualization condition: "psychological dynamics of the situation" -results: control participants showed the largest skin conductance reaction & the intellectualization participants showed the least reactions. ---- denial and intellectualization participants reactions were decreased because of the way he told them to think about things beforehand. (shows that you can short-circuit stress & that you can manipulate your response before it ever happens)
Lazarus' Cognitive-Motivational Relational Theory
main idea: stress can come from different emotions and can take different forms (marriage stress = happy stress, loss stress = sad stress) Molecular level: evaluate harms or benefits in environment - primary appraisals: does event have relevance for person's well being? If not relevant, you won't have an emotion at all - Secondary appraisals: what can I do about it? blame or credit coping potential future expectancy - are things likely to change Molar Level: summary of emotional meaning or core relational themes - each core relational theme produces an action impulse
Cannon (critic)
main idea: the brain, specifically the Thalamus, is important. - stimulus--->thalamus--->emotion or response evidence:
Duchenne Smile
real smile - can tell because there are usually crows feet around the eyes
Russell's response to Ekman (critic of Ekman)
says Ekman's recognition rates are above chance, but why is there not 100% reliability? - says Ekman was using posed expressions yet still didn't get 100% accuracy - experiment is not ecologically solid (done in lab, not in real world)
Lorenz - instincts (evidence for Darwin)
separated 2 groups of baby geese. one group saw the mother first and imprinted on her, while the others saw Lorenz first and imprinted on him. - shows that emotions are like instincts in that they are: genetic, serve important functions, goal directed, & reflex-like
Antithesis
some expressions were selected because they look different from expressions of opposite emotions. -ex.) shrugging shoulders - a gesture of no use, but its opposite than aggression so we recognize it
Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System (MAX)
system of coding infants facial expressions related to emotions in which judges watch slow-motion videos of babies' facial reactions to stimuli
Direct Action of the Nervous System
the state of mind leads to strong sensation which leads to excessive actions - wailing/weeping/grief - state of mind is so strong that it results in a sort of explosion
Barrett (critic)
went to a remote African village and had them do a "free-sort" where each face they see is expressing the same emotion; they make the categories. - also did an "anchored-sort" where she gave them categories to put the faces in. -their free sort compared to American's free sort showed that they sort based on behavior whereas we use emotion categories ---argues that emotion is psychologically constructed and is a product of what we learn
Values Approach
what makes people happy (what elicits emotion) U.S. = relationships Individualism & Collectivism - image of single fish in front of group of fish: Americans response = fish is angry so he's leaving the group, Chinese response = fish is sad because he is getting away from the group high power index - firm class structure, detailed rules on how people interact b/w classes low power index - recognize and acknowledge status and authority. ex.) employess/employers work closely together and consider each other equals
Serviceable Associated Habits
when we have a state of mind, that state of mind results in an action and the action is for the purpose of relieving / gratifying the state of mind - habitual: emotions are for purposes other than just communication --you shut your eyes when describing a horrible sight -- you raise your eyebrows when trying to remember something ---cats kneading and dogs turning in circles before laying down is relieving their state of mind. It is habitual & cross - species
Zajonc (critic of cognitive approach)
-cognition and emotion are independent systems -affective reactions can occur without cognitive activity (gut-level reactions) evidence: split brain work - shows patients a picture of a fire but it doesnt cross over to the left hemisphere. Patients get really jumpy and scared, but they can't tell you why. they couldn't say what they saw, but they felt it. --having emotions without thought evidence: Mere Exposure Effect - people were exposed to images a various number of times. Participants couldn't remember at the end which images they had seen, but when asked which one they liked best, they picked the ones they'd seen more times although they couldn't remember having seen it. --shows that preferences develop without conscious thought --Unconscious Emotion: the affective system is happening outside of emotion (John Bargh's experiment with the hot and cold drinks and their effect on people's opinion of someone
Peripheral Nervous System
-detects both external and internal info -transmits info to CNS -executes decisions from CNS Spinal Cord: just a highway for messages --- Somatic NS: all movements; voluntary or a reflex, anything that's muscular. (Efferent = going down away from brain, Afferent= bringing up to brain) ---Autonomic NS: regulates glands, blood flow, self-regulating actions, smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands ----> Sympathetic: fight/flight; Parasympathetic: returns to homeostasis
Social Constructivist view
-emotion develops in social context -EMOTION IS A PRODUCT OF CULTURE
James Averill (supporter of Social Constructivist)
-emotions are social constructions - emotions are not merely influenced by culture, they are culture -emotions are a "socially constructed syndrome" Social roles: "socially prescribed set of responses to be followed by a person in a given situation" -rules of emotion are learned Appraisal: how a person appraises the environment is culturally determined Passion: language of emotion, suggests that emotion is something that we're overcome by ex.) "gripped by fear", "fall in love"
Assumptions:
-emotions have no biological basis -emotions are roles; we learn how to act
Plutchik
-emotions help us survive and face problem; they are adaptive -3 dimensions: 1.) intensity 2.) similarity 3.) polarity - basic emotions are "slices" of the solid---> emotion color wheel. (can mix emotions together to make other emotions)
what is culture?
-from which appears; from which is seen -system of meaning -learned through social participation -shapes psychological processes -revealed in language
Functionalist approach:
-social process -emotional development changes as you get better with social interactions -constantly changes b/c social interactions constantly change
Magna Arnold (cognitive supporting theorist)
-something more happens than just mere perception. - simple association is not enough -Perception: not self relevant -Appraisal: self relevant; think about the stimulus relevant to yourself sequence: 1.) stimulus - see a bear (reflexive judgments) 2.) perception - identify it as a bear (can make corrections) 3.) Appraisal - sense and reflexive judgments (happens in Limbic Cortex, are quick, and emotions are not intellectualized, they are automatic) 4.) Emotion - action tendency is felt - says James left out the persons goals and experiences when appraising a situation (bear in zoo is different than bear in the wild) -agrees with James and Darwin in that emotions serve survival related purposes & that every emotion is an impulse to action Summary: an emotion is the tendency to move towards anything appraised as good, and move away from anything appraised as bad. what initiates all changes is the process of APPRAISAL.
Cognitive Approach -
-unique approach -attribution theory -emphasizes your relationship to your environment
Gender & Emotion
Are men and women emotionally different? - women are more expressive and communicative -differences are mostly seen in social settings
Instrumental Action Evidence (in support of James)
BEM's bear study - escape vs. endure - has subject hold onto shock plate and remove hand as fast as possible (escape) OR has subject endure the shocks. -results: escape condition feels the shock more strongly because the act of escaping intensifies / increases the experience of the fear component of pain.
Central Nervous System
BRAIN (interprets sensory messages and determines appropriate response) & SPINAL CORD(receives sensory messages and executes motor commands) - analyzes sensory information -decides how to respond to information - sends messages to execute the response
Olympic Athlete Studies (evidence for Darwin)
Blind and sighted olympic athletes expressed the same emotions/actions when they won/lost a match. Blind people can't see to learn from other people's actions, therefore we can say that emotions / expressions are innate
PNS as an EFFERENT system
Cannon, Papez, & Ledoux
Lewis vs. Izard
Izard says cognition and emotions are separate, Lewis says they are not For Lewis, your experience determines what you feel, but for Izard, its all there to begin with, so what happens to you is just assimilated into what you already have.
Neuro - Cultural theory
Ekman - neural component is universal, but culture is used to explain the differences in display rules. - display rules overlay and allow us to regulate emotional displays - everyone should be the same in nonsocial situations, but display rules come into play in social settings.
Facial Action Coding System (FACS) (evidence for Darwin)
Ekman - action units that indicate emotions
Chimp FACS (evidence for Darwin)
Ekman - continuity of species shows that there are very similar muscle actions and facial changes b/w chimps and humans
Universality of Facial Expressions (evidence for Darwin)
Ekman - showed people in New Guinea pictures of western people's facial expressions and had them tell stories about what they think is happening in the pictures & then went back and had them match the picture to the story. - did not pair fear with surprise when asking children - overall they did well, but got confused when they had to distinguish b/w fear and surprise - we do see cultural differences in identifying *intensity* of emotion
Display Rules (evidence for Darwin)
Ekman - teach us when we can and cannot display certain emotions
PNS as an AFFERENT system
James, Domasio
LeDoux
Fear circuit - direct route 1.) low road - knee jerk response (Thalamus-->Amygdala) 2.) high road - slower, more complex evaluation or correction of emotional response (Thalamus--->Cortex-->Amygdala)
Basics -
Gene Replication, Selection Pressures, & Environment of Evolutionary Adaptiveness (EEA)
Differential approach
IZARD - at birth, all emotions are already preprogrammed, although they may not all emerge immediately. -basic emotions are rooted and defined in evolution and biology and they effect our actions. -Higher order cognition is not a part of it. -emotion is evolved, and unlearned (evolutionary theorist) evidence: Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System (MAX)
Group Selection
It's better to get along with your group because it increases your likelihood of reproducing and therefore, surviving.
Physiological Arousal Evidence (in support of James)
Schachter: -theory: physiological arousal produces evaluative need to explain arousal (label arousal) -research: gave some people a shot of epinephrine and then had them interact with a stooge. He manipulated the arousal state & the explanation that may lead to available labels. -results: the injection and the way the stooge was acting effected how the participants described their emotions. ---> shows that people use their environment as labels ---> a plausible explanation reduces the tendency to experience arousal as an emotion Misattribution - when someone is aroused, they are more likely to mislabel what emotion they are feeling. - if you meet someone under conditions where your heart is racing, you're more likely to be attracted to them. - ex.) experiment where there was a girl standing in the middle of a scary bridge and the guys reported being attracted to her Excitation Transfer (Zillman & Bryant): - idea that arousal dissipates slowly -research: participants exercise or dont exercise and then interact with a stooge who provokes them. They then get the opportunity to retaliate by shocking the stooge. -results: reaction is enhanced by arousal left over from exercising
Mendolia & Kleck
Secondary Appraisal & Reappraisal experiment: college students watched a nature film and a stressful accident film and then talked to the experimenter about the nature film, the sequence of events in the accident film, or what emotions they experienced during the accident film. Then they watched the film a second time. -results: emotion participants were most aroused the second time, which shows that talking about emoitons are initially upsetting, but over time we habituate and our reactions change.
Dialect Theory
Social Constructivist's response to Ekman - not just display rules - different cultures still have universal affect, but people are better at decoding emotions of people that are in their own group. -evidence: study w/ Asians and Americans about who is better at decoding which groups facial expressions. --results: Chinese are better at decoding Chinese expressions (in China); Chinese people in America are better at decoding American's expressions.