DO NOW  Prepare your reading notes to be checked (EVERYONE).  Then, briefly describe the three types of Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

Emotion AP Psychology Ms. Desgrosellier

Introduction to Emotion  Objective: SWBAT identify the three components of emotion, and contrast the James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and two- factor theories of emotion.

Introduction to Emotion  emotion: a response of the whole organism, involving physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience.

Theories of Emotion  Does physiological arousal precede or follow your emotional experience?

Theories of Emotion  James-Lange theory: the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion- arousing stimuli.  Proposed by Carl Lange and William James (pioneering psychologist).  e.g. your feeling of fear follows your body’s response.

Theories of Emotion  Cannon-Bard theory: the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers physiological responses and the subjective experience of emotion.  proposed by Walter Cannon and Philip Bard.  e.g. your heart begins pounding at the same time you experience fear; one does not cause the other.

Theories of Emotion  two factor theory: Schachter-Singer’s theory that to experience emotion one must be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal.  Proposed by Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer.  An emotional experience requires a conscious interpretation of the arousal.

Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous System  Objective: SWBAT describe the role of the autonomic nervous system during emotional arousal.

Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous System  Your autonomic nervous system prepares your body to respond to a threat.  e.g. extra glucose in your blood stream and increased respiration.  the Autonomic Nervous System controls your arousal.

Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous System  The sympathetic nervous system directs the adrenal glands release the stress hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norephinephrine (noradrenaline).

Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous System  This hormonal surge increases heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels.  When the crisis has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system inhibits further release of stress hormones, but arousal diminishes slowly.

Arousal and Performance  Objective: SWBAT discuss the relationship between arousal and performance.

Arousal and Performance  Prolonged arousal is hard on the body, but many times it is adaptive.  The level of arousal for optimal performance varies for different tasks.

Arousal and Performance  However, we usually perform best when we are moderately aroused.  e.g. students perform better on tests with less arousal, but a basketball player shooting free throws might perform better under more arousal because it is not an automatic skill.

Physiological Similarities Among Specific Emotions  Objective: SWBAT name three emotions that involve similar physiological arousal.

Physiological Similarities Among Specific Emotions  Sexual arousal, fear, and anger have the same physiological responses.  They may feel different to each of us, but the same basic physiological responses are the same.

Physiological Differences Among Specific Emotions  Objective: SWBAT describe some physiological and brain-pattern indicators of specific emotions.

Physiological Differences Among Specific Emotions  Finger temperatures and hormone secretions differ between fear and rage.  Fear and joy stimulate different face muscles.  Observers watching and mimicking fearful faces show more amygdala brain activity than those watching angry faces.

Physiological Differences Among Specific Emotions  Negative emotions show more right frontal lobe activity.  Positive moods show more left frontal lobe activity.  This may be related to the left frontal lobes large around of dopamine receptors.

Physiological Differences Among Specific Emotions  There is similar general autonomic arousal across many emotions (e.g. similar heart rate).  This rejects the James-Lange theory of emotion.

Physiological Differences Among Specific Emotions  There are also physiological and brain differences that help explain why we experience them so differently.  This supports the James-Lange theory and has created new interest for the perspective.

Cognition and Emotion  Emotions affect our thinking.  Can we experience emotion apart from thinking or do we become what we think?  This is a circular question with no clear answer.

Cognition Can Define Emotion  Objective: SWBAT explain how the spillover effect influences our experience of emotions.

Cognition Can Define Emotion  spillover effect: sometimes our arousal response spills over into our response to the next event.  e.g. getting a job offer after returning from a run – would you feel more elated than normal?

Cognition Can Define Emotion  Research has shown that arousal can be experienced as one emotion or another very different one, depending on how we interpret and label it.  People who are insulted after raising arousal by having them pedal an exercise bike will find it easy to attribute their arousal to the provocation.  Research supports that arousal can spill from one emotion to another.

Cognition Does Not Always Precede Emotion  Objective: SWBAT distinguish the two alternative pathways that sensory stimuli may travel when triggering an emotional response.

Cognition Does Not Always Precede Emotion  Sometimes we experience an unlabeled emotion.  Research on subliminal stimuli has shown that we can be influenced by stimuli even before cognition occurs.  There is a pathway between the eye or ear via the thalamus to the amygdala (our emotional control center).  This allows a super fast emotional response before our intellect notices.

Cognition Does Not Always Precede Emotion  Because the amygdala sends more neural projections than it receives, it is easier for our feelings to hijack our thinking than for our thinking to rule our emotions.  Emotions arise when we appraise an event as beneficial or harmful to our well-being, whether we truly know it is or not.  Complex emotions come from our interpretations and expectations.

DO NOW  What part of the brain is known as our “emotional control center?”  Which comes first: emotion or cognition?

Cognition Does Not Always Precede Emotion  Some emotional responses involve no conscious thinking.  e.g. simple likes, dislikes, and fears  Such responses are difficult to alter by changing our thinking.

Cognition Does Not Always Precede Emotion  Other emotions are greatly affected by our interpretations, memories, and expectations.  e.g. depression, hatred, and love.  For these emotions, learning to think more positively about ourselves and the world around us helps us feel better.