Cognition and Emotion chapter 3.2 Two specific learning outcomes

 Do you remember where you where when the attack happened on the twin towers?  Your first day of school?  You probably remember these events when others, no matter how significant, may be forgotten.  Why do we clearly remember some events and forget others?

Cognition and Emotion  The key appears that we remember better those experiences that involve emotions  Emotions are rich and diverse, and they are often what makes the experience something special  The famous brain researcher Antonio Damasio (1994) explains that emotions are purely physical signals of the body which react to external stimuli.  Feelings arise when the brain interprets these emotions.

Emotions consist of three components : 1.Physiological changes, such as activation of the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system that are not conscious 2.The persons own subjective feeling of an emotion (e.g. happiness) 3.Associated behavior, such as smiling or running away (Damasio, 1994)

Activity 1 1.Study the famous painting “The Scream” by Edward Munch. 2.What emotions does the painting create? Why do you think it is successful in creating those emotions?

1. Evaluate the Extent to which Cognitive and Biological Factors Interact in Emotion

Evaluate the extent to which cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion  Define emotion  Explain the cognitive and biological factors of emotion  Explain theories and studies of their interaction  Evaluate the theories and studies  Draw a conclusion

Question What do you think is the order of the components for the experience of emotions? E.g. external stimuli – appraisal - subjective experience – physiological changes – behaviour? Motivate your order of the components. What do you think is the order of the components for the experience of emotions? E.g. external stimuli – appraisal - subjective experience – physiological changes – behaviour? Motivate your order of the components.

Biological factors of emotion  Amygdala  Hormones and arousal (e.g. adrenaline, oxytocin, vasopressin)

Amygdala  A structure in the brain that is known to register emotional reactions  Initial research was based on rats, modern research on neuroimaging studies of humans  Criminals with anti social personality disorder show less activation in the amygdala during emotional processing than normal participants (Kiehl et. al. 2001)

Le Doux Model (1999)  Suggests that there are two biological pathways of emotions in the brain due to evolution  The short route goes from the sensory thalamus to the amygdala and leads to a direct emotional response (see model on p.89 in your book)  The long route passes via the neocortex and hippocampus before it results in an emotional response  The advantage of having direct and indirect pathways is flexibility in responses. In cases of danger, the fast pathway saves time but makes mistakes. The long pathway allows for more appropriate responses to situations

Biological factors in emotions: The LONG and SHORT route to the stress response system  E.g. A woman is walking home, late in the evening. At the next corner, she sees a man waiting. She just read in the newspaper a story about a woman being raped, so she is afraid and her heart begins to race. She walks slowly as to if to prepare for what may come. This is the physiological arousal, the fight or flight response which prepares for a reaction to a stressful experience.

 When the woman is just about to pass the man, he comes toward her saying, “excuse me, I am lost. Could you tell me where Storgatan is?”. The woman realizes she has misjudged the situation and relaxes. She tells the man where the street is and continues walking calmly to her home.  How can this be explained in terms of the short and long route?

1.The emotional stimulus (a man who could be a potential aggressor) is first processed in the thalamus which sends a signal to the amygdala. 2.The perception of the potential stressor enables the amygdala to send signals to the body, so that it can prepare for action (SHORT DIRECT ROUTE ACTIVATED). 3.At the same time, the thalamus sends information via the indirect pathway to the neocortex and hippocampus for closer inspection. (LONG – INDIRECT ROUTE ACTIVATED) 4.This results in a more detailed evaluation of the stimulus – an appraisal – and the outcome of this is sent to the amygdala 5.In the example above, the woman became aware that there is no danger, so she amygdala triggers relaxation *Most of these processes are non-conscious.*

Can you apply this to something that has happened to you?

Arousal  The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for emergency action, leading to increased blood pressure and heart rate, rapid breathing, dilated pupils, increased perspiration (sweat), decreased secretion of saliva, blood is diverted from the stomach and intestines to the brain and skeletal muscles, erect hairs on skin (goose pimples)

Interaction between arousal and subjective experiences  Positive emotions produce fewer bodily changes than negative emotions because their behavioural tendencies are broad and not specific (e.g. Fredrickson 2000).  The perception of our own arousal forms part of our subjective experience of the intensity of the emotion, e.g. army veterans with spinal cord injuries have reported a decrease in emotionality following injury (Hohmann 1962).  Some bodily changes are distinct to different emotions. Heart rate is faster for negative emotions, skin temperature for anger is higher than in fear or sadness. These differences are universal (Levenson 1992)  For the ones who read Ramachadran’s chapter – phantoms in the brain – something one could link?

Strack et. al. (1988) Group 1: Put a pen between your teeth Group 2: Put a pen between your lips Rate how funny the following cartoon is from 1 to 10

  Charles Darwin was among the first to suggest that physiological changes caused by an emotion had a direct impact on, rather than being just the consequence of that emotion.   Studies on botulinum toxin (commonly known as Botox) to temporarily paralyze facial muscles (Hennenlotter et al., 2008)   Showed that during imitation of angry facial expressions, botox decreased activation of brain regions implicated in emotional processing and emotional experience (namely, the amygdala and the brainstem)

 Psychologist Michael Lewis of Cardiff University research showed many women who have had Botox to get rid of laughter lines can feel depressed because they are no longer able to smile properly.  “The expressions we make on our face affect the emotions we feel. We smile because we are happy, but the act of smiling itself also makes us happy,” explains Dr Lewis.

Cognitive factors  Cognitive appraisal  Subjective experience

Cognitive appraisal (Lazarus)  An evaluation of how a situation will affect one’s personal well being  Is affected by personal experiences and beliefs  Primary appraisal: An evaluation of how a situation might affect our well being  Secondary appraisal: A consideration of how to react to the situation  Can be conscious or unconscious/automatic (amygdala)

The relationship between appraisal and arousal  Most contemporary appraisal psychologists place cognitive appraisal before arousal  Both arousal and appraisal contribute to the intensity of emotion  Appraisal alone can determine the quality of experience  Lazarus (1991) argues that cognitive processes can initiate physiological arousal and emotion feelings

Lazarus and Folkman 1984  Found that people use different strategies in stressful situations Problem-focused coping (change the problematic situation) Emotion-focused coping ( handle the emotions – escape, self-control over expression of emotions, seeking social support or trying to think positively about the situation)

Study by Speisman et al  Showing participants a film about unpleasant genital surgery with three different soundtracks (to see if people’s emotional reaction to the unpleasant film could be manipulated)  Condition one (trauma – mutilation and pain)  Condition two (denial – willing and happy)  Condition three ( intellectualization – anthropological interpretations)

Study by Speisman et al  Pysiological measures were taken (heart rate and galvanic skin response)

Results  The participants reacted more emotionally and with higher physiological measures of stress to the trauma condition  Maybe it is not the events themselves that elicit emotional stress – but the individual’s interpretation or appraisal of those events  (on p. 90)

Activity: subjective emotions 1.Identify 5 different emotions 2.Rank them from highest to lowest level of arousal and from most positive to most negative

Examples of emotions (Lazarus 1991)  Anger  Anxiety  Fright  Guilt  Shame  Sadness  Envy  Jealousy  Disgust  Happiness  Pride  Relief  Hope  Love  Compassion

Activity 3  Try to convey your 5 emotions to a partner by facial expression alone in a group of 2 or 3

Questions for discussion In groups of max 3 1. What emotions are harder to convey than others? 2. Are there consistent similarities in interpretation of emotion between individuals? 3. How important do you think context is in perceiving other people’s emotion? 4. Do you think that there are differences in interpretation and expression of emotions in men and women? 5. Do you think that there are cultural differences in expression of emotions? 6. Do you believe in emotional intelligence (EQ)? How can it be observed/measured? Is EQ innate or acquired by experience? How is EQ useful in everyday life?

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