Unit 8: Motivation and Emotion B – Emotions, Stress and Health

Emotion: Emotions include biological component (physiological response), behavioral component (expressive behaviors), and cognition (consciously experienced thoughts and feelings) Controversies: –Does physiological arousal precede or follow emotional experience? –Does cognition always precede emotions?

Theories of Emotion James-Lange Theory –“we feel sorry because we cry” –Physiological response comes first, then comes experienced emotion Cannon-Bard Theory –emotion-arousing stimulus triggers the physiological response and the subjective experience of emotion at the same time –the two are separate but simultaneous –one does not cause the other Two-factor Theory – Schacter-Singer Theory –to experience emotion we must be both physiologically aroused and cognitively label the arousal

Embodied Emotion (Physiology of Emotion) Fight-or-flight response is activated Sympathetic nervous system (part of autonomic) causes adrenal glands to secrete adrenalin (epinephrine) and noradrenalin (norepinephrine) –Causes sugar to pour into bloodstream, respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure increase, digestion slows and energy is diverted to muscles, pupils dilate, perspiration, blood clots more quickly Then, parasympathetic nervous system (part of autonomic) steps in to stop further arousal so body eventually returns to normal

Physiology and Specific Emotions Similarities –Fear, anger, sexual arousal all look very similar in terms of physiological responses Differences –Fear v. rage – finger temperature and hormone secretions differ –Fear v. joy – different facial muscles –These differences make the James- Lange theory seem possible

Positive v. Negative Emotions Positive emotions –Linked to left hemisphere –More baseline frontal lobe activity correlated with a more upbeat attitude –Perhaps due to rich supply of dopamine receptors in left frontal lobe (stimulus of left nucleus accumbens causes euphoria) Negative emotions –Linked to right hemisphere

Research on emotions of those with severed spinal cords: George Hohmann (1966) Those with lower spinal cord injuries reported little change in their emotions Those with higher spinal cord injuries reported a considerable decrease in emotional intensity Support for James-Lange theory?

The Role of Cognition in Emotion Cognition helps us define physiological responses –Schacter-Singer experiment (1962) – spillover effect – we take cues from those around us to label our own emotions Cognition does not always precede emotion –LeDoux (2002) – some emotions bypass the cortex going straight from thalamus to amygdala so some emotional reactions involve no deliberate thinking – it is easier for our feelings to overtake our thinking than vice versa because amygdala sends more neural pathways up to cortex than vice versa –Lazarus – even such instant reactions require us to use cognitive appraisal to decide if situation is a threat or not

Detecting Lies Polygraph measures changes in breathing, cardiovascular activity, and perspiration Control questions – likely to elicit a white lie so baseline changes can be established Critical questions – if response is weaker than with control, you are considered to be telling the truth Problems: physiological arousal is very similar from one emotion to the next, tests are wrong about 1/3 of the time Guilty knowledge test better – assesses physiological responses to crime details only known by guilty Paul Ekman – expert in micro facial expressions of guilty Michael Gazzaniga – working on identifying brain activity when lying

Expressed Emotion We read nonverbal cues, body language and facial expressions, to detect emotion Hard to conceal some emotions –Duchenne smile We find it hard to detect faked emotions –Introverts excel at reading emotions –Extraverts are easier to read Judith Hall – women are generally better at reading emotional cues and spotting lies Men and women are similarly empathic but women express it more Women tend to experience emotional events more deeply Cultural differences in emotional expression vary

Facial Expressions Our facial expressions not only communicate emotions but also regulate and amplify them –i.e. our expressions feed our feelings Snodgrass (1986) – behavior feedback phenomenon

Experienced Emotion Carol Izard (1977) – ten basic emotions – joy, excitement, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, guilt Tracy and Robins (2004) – add pride Sharon (1996) – add love

Fear Adaptive – prepares body for danger Learned through association (classical conditioning), observation Biologically we are predisposed to fear things that threatened our ancestors survival (common phobias are of snakes, spiders, heights) Amygdala is key – gene has been isolated –Short version results in less of a protein causing more serotonin to be available –This makes the amygdala respond more to frightening situation

Anger Chronic hostility linked to heart disease (Type A personality) Catharsis theory of expressing anger for emotional release doesn’t work Expressing anger magnifies it Ways to handle anger: wait until you can respond appropriately, find ways to calm yourself, forgiveness

Happiness Happy people are healthier and live more satisfied lives Feel-good, do-good phenomenon Increasing interest in positive emotions (field of positive psychology) We overestimate the duration of our emotions and underestimate our capacity to adapt Limitations of correlation between wealth and well-being (diminishing returns) Adaptation-level phenomenon – we compare our current experiences to recent experiences – following an increase in income, that will then be the norm as basis for comparison, for example Relative deprivation – we feel worse off than those we compare ourselves to Predictors of happiness – self-esteem (Westerners), social acceptance (Easterners), optimism, agreeable, close relationships, satisfying work and leisure, meaningful religious faith, sleep well, exercise Genes influence personality traits that contribute to happinesss

Stress and Health Fields of behavioral medicine, health psychology, psychoneuroimmunology Stress can be good or bad: –Distress – bad –Eustress – good Stress is a result of how we appraise a situation Short-term stress challenges us but long- term stress can make us sick

Stress Response Walter Cannon identified the fight-or-flight response in the 1920s Hans Selye identified GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome) –Phase 1 – alarm – sympathetic nervous system is activated –Phase 2 – resistance – hormones dumped –Phase 3 – exhaustion – body is depleted causing vulnerability to illness, or even death Severe stress ages people by shortening the telomeres on ends of DNA so cells can no longer divide

Categories of Stressors Catastrophes – huge events – rates of depression and anxiety go up Significant life changes – loss of job, divorce, etc. – more vulnerable to disease Daily hassles – everyday annoyances – for some, may be the most significant source of stress (Type A personality)

Stress and Disease Psychophysiological illness Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) –Lymphocytes B – form in bone marrow and fight bacterial infections T – form in thymus and attach cancer cells and viruses –Microphage – identifies, pursues, and ingests harmful invaders and worn out cells –Natural killer cells (NK cells) – go after diseased cells –Immune system activity is influenced by age, nutrition, genetics, body temperature, and stress –Stress can cause immune system to react too strongly (autoimmune diseases like arthritis, lupus, MS) –Stress can cause immune system to be suppressed (because of competing energy needs), allowing cancer cells to multiple – doesn’t cause cancer, but may cause it to progress more quickly –Women are less susceptible to infections but more susceptible to autoimmune diseases –Stress may cause HIV to progress more quickly