1. Chapter 13
Emotion
Phineas gage
theories of emotion

2. Theories of Emotion
Does your heart pound because you are afraid... or are you afraid because you feel your heart pounding?

3. Emotion
William James and Carl Lange came up with the James-Lange Theory of Emotion.
We feel emotion because of biological changes caused by stress.
The body changes and our mind recognizes the feeling.

7. James-Lange Theory of Emotion
Experience of emotion is awareness of physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli
Fear
(emotion)‏
Pounding
heart
(arousal)‏
Sight of
oncoming
car
(perception of
stimulus)‏

8. James-Lange (cont.)
Subjects report feeling more sad when viewing scenes of war, sickness, and starvation if their “sad face” muscles are activated.
They also find comic strips funnier if their “happy face” muscles are activated.

9. Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion
The physiological change and cognitive awareness must occur simultaneously.
They believed it was the thalamus that helped this happen.

10. Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion
Sight of
oncoming
car
(perception of
stimulus)‏
Pounding
heart
(arousal)‏
Fear
(emotion)‏
Emotion-arousing stimuli simultaneously trigger:
physiological responses
subjective experience of emotion

13. Two-Factor Theory of Emotion http://www. youtube. com/watch
Stanley Schachter explains emotions more completely that the other two theories.
They happen at the same time but…
People who are already physiologically aroused experience more intense emotions than unaroused people when both groups are exposed to the same stimuli.
Biology and Cognition interact with each other to increase the experience.

17. Schachter’s Two Factor Theory of Emotion
Cognitive
label
“I’m afraid”
Fear
(emotion)‏
Sight of
oncoming
car
(perception of
stimulus)‏
Pounding
heart
(arousal)‏
To experience emotion one must:
be physically aroused
cognitively label the arousal

18. Schachter’s Two-Factor
Epinephrine Study:
Injection
Told
Emotion
Group 1
Epinephrine
Will increase arousal
Mild
Group 2
Will have no effect / other side effects
Strong

19. Autonomic nervous system controls physiological arousal
Emotional Arousal
Autonomic nervous system controls
physiological arousal
Sympathetic
division (arousing)‏
Pupils dilate
Decreases
Perspires
Increases
Accelerates
Inhibits
Secrete stress
hormones
Parasympathetic
division (calming)‏
Pupils contract
Dries
Slows
Activates
secretion of
stress
EYES
SALIVATION
SKIN
RESPIRATION
HEART
DIGESTION
ADRENAL
GLANDS

20. Arousal and Performance
Yerkes-Dodson Law
Performance peaks at lower levels of arousal for difficult tasks, and at higher levels for easy or well-learned tasks
Performance
level
Difficult tasks
Easy tasks
Low
Arousal
High

21. Yerkes Dodson Law: What type of motivational level do you need??
TASK MOTIVATIONAL LEVEL
easy high
moderate moderate
difficult low

22. Arousal Theory We are motivated to seek an optimum level of arousal.
Yerkes-Dodson Law

23. Expressing Emotion
Smiles can show different emotions: A) Mask anger B) Overly polite C) Soften criticism D) Reluctant compliance

24. Experienced Emotion - Fear
Learning Fear
Observation / Experience
Genetic / Evolutionary Predispositions?
Biology of Fear
Amygdala – emotions of fear
Hippocampus – memory of fear

25. Expressed Emotion
People more speedily detect an angry face than a happy one (Ohman, 2001a)

26. Expressing Emotion How good are you at detecting emotions?
Culturally universal expressions

27. Experiencing Emotion http://education-portal
The Amygdala-a neural key to fear learning

28. Experiencing Emotion Catharsis Feel-good, do-good phenomenon
emotional release
catharsis hypothesis
“releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges
Feel-good, do-good phenomenon
people’s tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood

29. Experiencing Emotion Does money buy happiness? Average per-person
Year
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10% 0%
Average
per-person
after-tax income
in 1995 dollars
Percentage
describing
themselves as
very happy
$20,000
$19,000
$18,000
$17,000
$16,000
$15,000
$14,000
$13,000
$12,000
$11,000
$10,000
$9,000
$8,000
$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
Percentage very happy
Personal income

30. Experiencing Emotion Adaptation-Level Phenomenon Relative Deprivation
tendency to form judgements relative to a “neutral” level
Relative Deprivation
perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself
Is Happines Relative (8 min)

31. Opponent-Process Theory of Emotion
Strong
Neutral
First experience
(a)‏
After repeated experiences
(b)‏

32. Happiness is... However, Happiness Seems Not Much
Researchers Have Found That
Happy People Tend to
Have high self-esteem
(in individualistic countries)‏
Be optimistic, outgoing, and agreeable
Have close friendships or a satisfying
marriage
Have work and leisure that engage
their skills
Have a meaningful religious faith
Sleep well and exercise
However, Happiness Seems Not Much
Related to Other Factors, Such as
Age
Gender (women are more often
depressed, but also more often joyful)‏
Education levels
Parenthood (having children or not)‏
Physical attractiveness

33. Theories of Emotions Review

34. ? Reflection What affects your emotions?
What theory do you think is most accurate regarding emotion? Why?
How are motivation and emotion connected? ?