Discovering Psychology

1. Discovering Psychology #12 Motivation & Emotion

2. Facial Feedback/ James-Lange Demonstration/Experiment

3. Module 16 Emotion

4. Explaining Emotions 2 Types of Theories • Peripheral Theories • Physiological changes in the body give rise to your emotional feelings • James-Lange Theory • Facial Feedback Theory • Cognitive Theories • Your interpretations/appraisals of situations give rise to your emotional feelings • Schachter-Singer Experiment

5. James-Lange Theory • Our brains interpret specific physiological changes as feelings or emotions • A different physiological pattern underlies each emotion

6. 4 Steps • Physiological Changes • Site of an approaching shark triggers physiological changes • increasing heart rate & blood pressure • secretion of various hormones • Interpretation of Changes • Brain analyzes pattern of physiological change & interprets each pattern as a different emotion • Emotional Feeling • Different physiological changes produce different emotions • You may or may not show an observable response • Scream

7. 3 Criticisms of James-Lange Theory • Different emotions are not necessarily associated with different physiological response patterns • Anger, fear & sadness share similar physiological patterns • People whose spinal cords have been severed at the neck still experience emotions • Some complex emotions (e.g., guilt, jealousy) may require a considerable interpretation/appraisal of the situation

8. Facial Feedback Theory • Sensations/feedback from movement of facial muscles & skin are interpreted by the brain as different emotions • 4 Steps • Stimulus triggers changes in facial muscles & skin • Brain interprets feedback from facial muscles & skin • Different facial feedback results in different emotions • You may or may not show an observable response

9. Criticisms of Facial Feedback Theory • Emotions can also be felt without any facial feedback • People whose facial muscles are completely paralyzed still experience emotions • Mood & Intensity • Feedback from facial muscles may intensify your emotional feeling

10. Psych Sim Expressing Emotions

11. Universal Emotions Interactivity

12. Schachter-Singer Experiment • Physiological Arousal • Injected subjects with epinephrine that caused physiological arousal • Subjects were placed into 1 of 2 conditions • Happy Situation • Confederate was laughing & throwing paper airplanes • Angry Situation • Confederate complained about filling out a long questionnaire • Results: • Participants in happy situation often reported feeling happy • Observable behaviors = smiles • Participants in angry situation often reported feeling angry • Observable behaviors = angry facial expressions

13. Schachter’s Two-Factors • The Two Factor Theory of Emotion: views emotion as having two components (factors): physiological arousal and cognition. According to the theory, cognitions are used to interpret the meaning of physiological reactions to outside events.

14. Which Comes First: Feeling or Thinking? • Cognitive-Appraisal Theory • You think before you feel • Example: wining the lottery • Affective-Primacy Theory • In some situations, you feel an emotion before having time to interpret/appraise the situation • Example: seeing a snake

15. Universal Emotional Expressions • Refer to a number of specific inherited facial patterns or expressions that signal specific feelings • Example: A smile signals a happy state • Cross-Cultural Evidence • Genetic Evidence

16. Cross-Cultural Evidence • Recognition of facial expressions in different cultures suggests that there are innate universal facial expressions • Examples: happiness, fear, surprise

17. Genetic Evidence • Infants in all cultures develop facial expressions at about the same age • At 4-6 weeks, babies smile • At 3-4 months, babies show angry & sad facial expressions • At 5-7 months, babies show fear

18. Functions of Emotions • Send social signals • Facial expressions communicate your personal feelings • Help you adapt & survive • Psychoevolutionary theory of emotions • We inherit the neural structure & physiology to express & experience emotions • Emotional patterns evolved to help us adapt to our environment & promote survival • Arouse & motivate behaviors • Yerkes-Dodson law • Task performance is an interaction between physiological arousal and task difficulty • For most tasks, moderate arousal helps performance

19. Can Money Buy Happiness? • Adaptation Level Theory • When we experience a good fortune, we quickly become accustomed to it • The initial impact fades & contributes less to long-term level happiness • Therefore, money can’t buy happiness because we adapt to the continuous satisfaction of having a lot of money

20. Influences on Long-Term Happiness • Genetic Factors • About half your level of happiness comes from genetic influences • Identical twins reared together or apart showed sig. higher happiness correlations (.44 to .52) than fraternal twins reared together or apart (-.02 to .08) • Personal/Environmental factors • Long-term level of happiness is associated with: • enjoying simple daily pleasures • setting & achieving personal goals (purpose in life, network of friends)

21. Psych Sim Helplessly Hoping & Optimism

22. Showing Emotions: Why Don’t Men Cry? • Display Rules • Specific cultural norms that regulate how, when & where we should express emotion and how much emotion is appropriate • Example: • Japanese & Chinese have more difficulty identifying facial expressions of fear and anger compared to North Americans

23. What is Emotional Intelligence? • Ability to perceive and express emotion, understand and reason with emotion and regulate emotions in one’s self and others • Researchers are in the early stages of trying to define & measure emotional intelligence

24. Lie Detection • Polygraph tests are based on the theory that if a person tells a lie he/she will feel some emotion that can be measured • Polygraph • Lie detector that measures: • chest & abdominal muscle movement during respiration • heart rate • blood pressure • galvanic skin response (GSR) • GSR • Changes in sweating of the fingers or palms that accompany emotional experiences

25. Lie Detection

26. Control Question Technique • Lie detection technique in which the examiner asks 2 kinds of questions: • Neutral Questions • general questions that elicit little emotional response • “Is your name Floyd?” • Critical Questions • specific questions about some particular crime that only the criminal would know • “Did you rob the liquor store on 5th and Vine?” • Examiner compares differences in physiological responses between neutral & critical questions

27. How Accurate are Lie Detector Tests? • Researchers have been unable to identify a physiological response pattern that is specific to lying • It is estimated that lie detector tests are wrong 25-75% of the time • Most state & federal courts prohibit the use of polygraph evidence • Federal law prohibits most employers from using polygraph tests to screen employees

28. Emotional Intelligence Test Intrapersonal Activity

29. Positive Psychology APA Unit Plan