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PSYCHOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGY. Theories of Emotion. Questions:. What’s the connection between what we think & feel? Can we change the way we feel by changing our thoughts? Can we experience emotion before thinking?. Questions:. Give an example of how an emotion/emotions has affected your thinking?

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PSYCHOLOGY

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  1. PSYCHOLOGY Theories of Emotion

  2. Questions: • What’s the connection between what we think & feel? • Can we change the way we feel by changing our thoughts? • Can we experience emotion before thinking?

  3. Questions: • Give an example of how an emotion/emotions has affected your thinking? • Ex. I am sad/depressed (emotion), it’s is going to be a bad day or every one is so crabby today (thoughts - perceptions/intepretations)

  4. Cartoon rating # your paper 1-7 Rate 7 cartoons on level of funniness 1-5 1 = Not funny at all 5 = Very funny

  5. Pen in the mouth experiment • Results of the experiment: 1. Those students induced to smile (pen held in with the teeth) rate the cartoon as funnier then those induced to frown (pen held with the lips).

  6. Pen in the mouth experiment • Results of the experiment: 2. The results of the experiment suggest that facial expressions help determine emotional reactions. 3. Consistent w/ James-Lange theory • Ex. We feel sorry because we cry

  7. What is Emotion? • Emotion- a response of the whole organism, involving 3 components of emotion

  8. 3 components of emotion 1. physiological arousal • heart racing 2. expressive behaviors • walk faster 3. conscious experience • I’m scared -fear

  9. Theories of Emotion • Does your heart pound because you are afraid... or are you afraid because you feel your heart pounding?

  10. Sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) Pounding heart (arousal) Fear (emotion) James-Lange Theory of Emotion • Experience of emotion is awareness of physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli

  11. James & Lange Theory 1. James & Lange Theory • emotion grows from our body’s arousal and/or state of being Evidence to support: • subtle physiological distinctions among emotions • Spinal cord injury study Implications: want to feel happy?, start smiling, look cheerful, act joyful

  12. Spinal cord injury study • Hohmann’s research w/WWII soldiers w/ spinal cord injuries • From the neck down injuries reported decrease in emotional intensity • Emotions above the neck were felt more intensely, ex. Lump in throat, crying • Support for James-Lange

  13. Pounding heart (arousal) Sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) Fear (emotion) Cannon-BardTheory of Emotion • Emotion-arousing stimuli simultaneously trigger: • physiological responses • subjective experience of emotion

  14. Cannon & Bard Theory 2. Cannon & Bard Theory • Emotion is simultaneously physiological responses & subjective experience of emotion • Evidence to support - emotions are physiologically similar • Example of experiment - people watching movies in 4 rooms

  15. Movie experiment • experiment - people watching movies in 4 rooms • What was the independent variable? • What was the dependent variable? • Results? • Type of movie • Measure of physiological response • Can learn to detect the bored but detecting the other 3 is difficult due to similar physiological responses

  16. Checking for understanding of theories • Imagine your brain can not sense your heart pounding or your sweaty hands. How does this affect your experienced emotions according the • James-Lange theory? • Cannon-Bard theory?

  17. Answers: • James-Lange • No emotion would be experienced or diminished emotion because their theory says your emotions come from your bodies arousal (signaling emotion) • No signal…no or little emotion

  18. Answers: • Cannon-Bard • You’d have a subjective experience of emotion because emotions are experienced separately from the bodies arousal (though it is simultaneous)

  19. Questions: • What evidence is presented to support the idea that physical reactions (ex. Heart beating fast) are an important ingredient of emotion? • Which theory would this evidence provide support for?

  20. Answer: • Hohmann’s research w/WWII soldiers w/ spinal cord injuries • From the neck down injuries reported decrease in emotional intensity • Emotions above the neck were felt more intensely, ex. Lump in throat, crying • Support for James-Lange

  21. Practice: • I was afraid because I was trembling. Which theory emotion fits this statement? J-L or C-B • James - Lange

  22. Practice: • When I got checked into the hockey boards my sympathetic nervous system failed to respond (was not aroused), but I still experience emotion. • Which theory does this support? J-L or C-B • Cannon-Bard

  23. Cognition & emotion • Whether we fear the man in the dark, alley behind us depends on how we interpret him - friend or foe? • What’s the connection between how we think & feel? • Are our feelings subject to our appraisal or perception of a situation?

  24. Pounding heart (arousal) Sight of oncoming car (perception of stimulus) Fear (emotion) Cognitive label “I’m afraid” Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory of Emotion • To experience emotion one must: • be physically aroused • cognitively label the arousal

  25. Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory of Emotion 3. Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory of Emotion • To experience emotion one must: • be physically aroused • cognitively label the arousal

  26. Schachter’s beliefs: • Agreed w/James & Lange that experience of emotion grows from our body’s arousal • Agreed w/Cannon & Bard that emotions are physiologically similar Therefore emotional experience requires conscious thought of the arousal Thoughts are an essential ingredient of emotion - 2 ingredients: physical arousal & cognitive label

  27. Spill over effect • Schachter & Singer experiment: p. 520 Situation: Injection of hormone (epinephrine), waiting room w/euphoric or irritated accomplice • Independent variables: information given about drugs effect • Dependent variable: reaction to situation • Experimental/Control Groups: told of expect arousal from the drug, told the drug would produce no effect

  28. Spill over effect cont. • Results: • arousal can intensify any emotion • we can have different emotional reactions based on how we interpret & label an event • arousal from emotions can spill from emotion to another

  29. Application to understanding behavior • Example: Work out at gym, come home & husband says “what’s for supper?” Responses: “What do you mean what’s for supper? I work all day too. Why don’t you figure it out!” or Steak honey it is going to be awesome! Verses the response you might have if you were not aroused & calm, how you interpret & label the question, etc.

  30. Questions: • Must cognition precede emotion? • Zajonc says no • What is the brains shortcut to emotion? • Figure 38.5 p. 522

  31. Cognition and Emotion • The brain’s shortcut for emotions

  32. Brain shortcut to emotion Eye or ear via thalamus (switchboard) & amygdala (emotional control center) • Implication: emotions can hijack our thinking faster then thinking can affect feeling • Support for Zajonc’s beliefs - cognition is not always necessary for emotion

  33. Disagreement w/ Zajonc • R. Lazarus • Even instantaneously felt emotions require some cognitive appraisal of the situation, otherwise, how do we know what we are reacting to? • Appraisal may not require conscious awareness but it is still a mental function (cognition-thinking)

  34. Two Routes to Emotion

  35. Complex vs. Simple Emotion • Simple emotions (likes/dislikes, fear) are harder to change with our thinking • Complex emotions (guilt, love/hate, sad) involve interpretation/perception & expectation, we can learn to think and then feel more easily

  36. Implications/Questions: • Learn to think more positively about yourself or the world and the world around you helps your feel better and appear more upbeat. • Are you an emotional person? How does that affect your interpretations? • What do you attribute events to? • Only you can control your perceptions. • Ex. P. 504

  37. 2 dimensions of emotion • 1. Valance • 2. Arousal

  38. Positive valence pleasant relaxation joy Low arousal High arousal fear anger sadness Negative valence Two Dimensions (valance & arousal)

  39. Practice: • I am sweating because I am nervous for this test. I am sweating because the girl I have a crush on is sitting next to me. Which theory best explains the differing emotional response? 2 factor theory Schachter

  40. Practice: • I was watching action packed movie and my brother made some comments to me. I more likely to do what? • Misattribute his comments • Spill over effect • Interpret & label • 2 factor theory Schachter

  41. Practice: • What type of emotion would be harder to change? Why? • Simple emotion • Brains shortcut - no thinking involved, emotions are hijacked

  42. Practice • Go to p. 505 in textbook

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