Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
Published byRoxanne Nelson Modified over 9 years ago
1
Clip
2
Do you think love is an emotion? When you are experiencing love, how does… Your behavior change? Facial expressions, approach/avoidance, vocal tone Your physiology change? SNS Activation, PNS Activation, Brain Activity Your cognitive appraisals change? What are your thoughts? Your subjective feelings change? Valence versus Arousal
3
Is Love an Emotion? Yes! William James, Phil Shaver, Barbara Fredrickson, Lazarus No! It’s a mixed emotion (Izard, Ekman) It’s an attitude (Ekman; Hendricks) It’s a stage (Sternberg) Dimensional Theorists – Russell & Barrett, Watson & Russell Initial Research applied the prototype approach to answer this question.
4
Prototype Approach: List as many examples as you can for the category EMOTION… (Fehr & Russell, 1984)
5
What is the best example of an emotion? (Fehr & Russell, 1984) Worst 1 Best 6 Happiness (5.00) Love (5.46) Anger (5.15) Hate (5.26) Sadness (5.04) Joy (4.89) Fear (4.78)
6
List 5 Characteristics: How do you know when you are in love? Not Very Common Very Common 17
7
Passionate LoveCompanionate Love TrustPositive Mood Sexual Desire: physiological arousal Sexual Intimacy: open communication with partner about sexuality Exclusivity, SatisfactionTrust, Tolerance, Commitment, Intimacy IdealizationRelaxedness/calmness Positive Emotions : joy/rapture, happiness, contentment Positive Emotions: joy, contentment Negative Emotion: JealousyNot associated with negative emotions: anger, hatred, anxiety, loneliness Intense; Fleeting / short-lived Slow onset (Regan et al., 1998; Lamm & Weismann, 1997)
8
Prototype Approach People consider love to be the best representation of an emotion When probed further, people identify the following components of love: Appraisals (commitment, trust, idealization etc.) Positive and Negative Emotions Physiological arousal (sexual desire) Behavior (sexual intimacy) What are some problems with using the prototype approach to determine whether love is an emotion? If love is an emotion, it seems like we may have 2-3 types of love emotions.
9
Love as a Basic Emotion: Eliciting Stimulus Eliciting Stimulus: Momentary surges of love, in reaction to an eliciting stimulus
10
Love as a Basic Emotion: Eliciting Stimulus Surges of Love: eliciting stimulus is the other person toward whom we feel love Momentary surges of love, in reaction to an eliciting stimulus Sometimes we love our partners, sometimes we don’t! Barbara Fredrickson Barbara Fredrickson Not an eliciting stimulus, but a plot (Ekman) Love includes at least 2 people and a context Characteristic story or script If context is required to experience emotion, then not a basic emotion Individual Difference Variable, not a momentary emotion I can be mad at my partner, but still love them!
11
Love as a Basic Emotion: Eliciting Stimulus and Cog Apps Manipulation #1: Self Condition: Write about moments when felt particularly in love or loving Typical Condition: describe what typically happens when a person feels in love or loving DV: Experimenter Coding Causes of love Responses to love
12
Love as a Basic Emotion: Eliciting Stimulus and Cog Apps Causes (Eliciting Stimuli): Finding the other attractive Felling loved by the other Communicating easily / openly with the other Responses (Cognitive Appraisals): Being obsessed with the other Being forgetful or distracted, daydreaming about the other Wanting to spend time with the other Feeling self-confident and energetic because of the other
13
Love as a Basic Emotion: Cognitive Appraisals Early Stage / Passionate Love Exhilaration, intrusive thinking, craving for emotional union Late Stage/ Companionate Love Calm, security, social comfort, emotional union What are Tom’s appraisals? (start at 6:30) What are Tom’s appraisals? (start at 6:30) Could be that as our appraisals change, our emotions change
14
Love as a Basic Emotion: Behavior Changes Cat Cat Tenderness, proximity seeking Think attachment! Mimicry - Behavioral synchrony Mutual gaze time and manipulating gaze (Rubin, 1973; Kellerman, Lewis, & Laird, 1989)
15
Love as a Basic Emotion: Behavior Change – 4 Gaze Conditions Gazing at each other’s hands Having 1 partner gaze at eyes of partner, who is looking away Have both partners look in eyes to count eyeblinks Gazing into each other’s eyes to gain rapport (Rubin, 1973; Kellerman, Lewis, & Laird, 1989)
16
Love as a Basic Emotion: Facial Expressions Darwin: Maternal vs. Romantic Ekman: No unique facial expression Could be positive – “I love you” Could be negative – “Don’t cross the street!” Love facial expressions are distinct from joy Love/Eroticism Expression: semi-closed eyes Love/Tenderness Expression: slight smile, slight head tilt
17
Love as a Basic Emotion: Facial Expressions Manipulation #1: Joy and Happiness Love Sadness Anger DV = judges ratings of facial expressions
18
Love as a Basic Emotion: Facial Expressions Well, let me tell you. Now that I'm in love, 1 think about John (Susan) constantly. I can twist any conversation around in my mind so that it's really about him (her). I imagine what he (she) would say to me and how I might tell him (her) things 1 have never told anyone else before. When I see him (her), POW! my heart takes a leap, my cheeks flush, and I can't help smiling. At night before I go to bed, l think of how adorable he (she) is and how much I love him (her).
19
Love as a Basic Emotion: Facial Expressions
20
Love as a Basic Emotion: Physiological Changes SNS: Blushing, ↑ HR, ↑ Sweat PNS: ↓ HR, ↓Sweat Increase in vasopressin, oxytocin, dopamine Brain Activation (positively correlated with intensity of passionate love) Insula Cingulate Cortex – laughter, joy, amusement, social interactions Caudate Nucleus/Putamen – dopamine release; reward circuit Ventral Tegmental Area – dopamine cells
21
Love as a Basic Emotion: Is love universal? Anthropological data from166 non-Western cultures Folklore, poems, literature, etc. Themes of romantic love present in 88.5% of cultures But, love absent in 19 cultures But only 1 explicitly stated romantic love did not exist Could be b/c these cultures lacked discussion of motivations for sexual relationships Seems the theme of love is partially universal. (Jankowiak & Fischer, 1992)
22
Is love universal? Prototype Approach: US versus China List all the features of love. Caring happiness trust sharing commitment honest/sincerity, understanding excitement warmth giving Pain sadness loneliness sacrifice, pain, jealousy, unrequited love, being tied down, separation, loss betrayal/desertion time consumption conflict
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com. Inc.
All rights reserved.