Understanding Emotions

1. Understanding Emotions Davitz 1970 found 556 words and phrases that are emotion related. Universal emotional expressions are:- Happiness, Anger, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Surprise

2. What is Emotion? • ‘Emotion is a transitory, valenced experience that is felt with some intensity as happening to the self , generated in part by a cognitive appraisal of situations and accompanied by both learned and innate physical responses.’

3. Components • 1. Subjective experience of the emotion • 2. Internal bodily reaction • 3. cognitions about the emotion and situations • 4. facial expression • 5. a global reaction • 6. action tendency)

4. 4 Theoretical Research Traditions on Emotions: • ‘Darwinian’ - (Darwin, 1972) Emotions have adaptive functions - are universal • ‘Jamesian’ - (James, 1884)Emotions = bodily responses • ‘Cognitive’- (Arnold, 1960) Emotions are based on appraisals • ‘Social Constructivist’ - (Averill, 1980) Emotions are social constructions and serve social purposes

5. The brain and emotion • The amygdala • The orbitofrontal cortex  • Animal studies

6. The Darwinian Tradition EMOTION IS INNATE • Emotional expression is ADAPTIVE • readiness to face challenges • communicates intentions to others Evidence: • Universal facial expressions • Infants • Basic emotions (e.g.: Ekman’s ‘Big Seven’)

7. Experience of emotion due to peripheral responses. Conscious aspect arises later when brain observes the response Distinguishable patterns of arousal for each emotion The Jamesian Tradition BODILY CHANGES = EMOTION ‘We are afraid because we run’

8. Evidence supporting James • Pattern of autonomic changes DOES vary with different emotional states • People reliving emotional experiences show different patterns of autonomic activity • Hohmann (1966) spinal cord injuries reduce peripheral responses - less intense emotion

9. The Facial Feedback Hypothesis • Emotional experience is determined in part by feedback from facial expressions • It should be possible to manipulate how a person feels by manipulating their face • Movements of face provide sufficient peripheral information to fuel experience of emotion

10. The Cannon Bard Theory • Two criticisms to James-Lange theory • Physiological mechanisms are too slow • Not specific enough • Instead - direct CNS experience of emotion,with or without feedback : thalamus indicated More recent : Various parts of CNS involved Strong emotions CAN bypass cortex (thalamus to amygdala)

11. Physiology of Emotions • Autonomic Nervous System • Either branch can be activated during an emotion • Sympathetic branch excites organs under its control - increase heart rate when angry/in fear • Parasympathetic branch inhibits organs - causes tears to flow when grieving

12. Emotions - Brain Mechanisms Studies with animalsand brain damage patients tell us there are: 3 basic feature of brain’s control of emotion: • Cerebral hemisphere • Limbic system (amygdala) • Papez Loop (anatomical circuit beginning and ending in the hippocampal formation that he proposed subserved emotional experience (Papez, 1937).

13. The Schacter-Singer Theory AROUSAL + COGNITION = EMOTION • The Misattribution Paradigm • Excitation Transfer Studies • Conclusion: Cognitive factors important in generation of emotion

14. The Cognitive Perspective EMOTIONS ARE BASED ON APPRAISALS • Emotions are responses to the meaning of events - associated with goals & motivations • Different emotions are associated with different patterns of appraisal • Change the way an event is appraised & change the emotion e.g. :Lazarus

15. Conclusions • ‘Peripheral autonomic responses (including facial responses) and the cognitive interpretation of those responses play a role in the experience of emotion. In addition there is some direct experience of emotion by CNS, independent of physiological responses.’

16. Social Constructivism EMOTIONS ARE CULTURAL PRODUCTS • Cultural variation in emotion recognition/emotion words/tone of voice • Emotion Culture (e.g.: Ifaluk tribe/medical students) • Categorisation of emotion differs across cultures • Social Referencing

17. Personality may affect mood or internal emotional state • Mild head injury can produce emotional changes • Heller (1990) - • >60% of people with left frontal-lobe lesions met DSM III criteria for depression. • Damage to the left frontal region associated with major or minor depression as found in 60% stroke victims. • The probability of depression is much higher in the left than the right - belittles argument

18. Euphoria • Right hemisphere damage may result in euphoria and lack of concern about physical and psychological consequences of damage. may also show inappropriate affect, bursting into tears for no reason as so happy when told of a sad event eg a death. • Rehabilitationof emotional functioning is especially important - a long-term study suggests that individuals who sustain head injury are most disabled by emotional and personality disturbances (Lezak, 1987).

19. Disease • Huntington's disease typically is manifested by changes in emotional functioning (Lieberman 1979) 50% have major depressive episodes. Behaviour is reminiscent of the inappropriate behaviour of individuals with frontal lobe damage (Cummings & Benson, 1988). Inappropriate sexual behaviour • Laughter Therapy

20. EMOTIONS & HEALTH LOOKING AT APPLIED VALUE

21. Emotion, Stress & HealthHans Selye • Psychological factors influence physical health through stress response • In short term stress response is adaptive - helps us cope • Long term - changes can be maladaptive and lead to ill health

22. Stress & Infections • Emotional events can cause stress • Neural & hormonal activity linked to stress may influence immune function

23. Stress & Infections - Evidence • Lab animals kept in stressful circumstances (e.g.: overcrowding, loud noise etc) show depressed immune function Stress has similar effects on humans • Glaser et al (1987) Students have more respiratory infections during finals • Parkes & Brown (1972) Bereavement

24. Stress & Positive Emotions • Positive affective states appear to facilitate the body’s natural regenerative processes. • Possible to teach techniques to self-generate positive emotional states in order to have beneficial effects on health • Improvements have been seen in several patient groups