PART TWO

EMOTION
 Emotion
• What is emotion?
– Feeling, or affect, that can involve physiological arousal,
conscious experience, and behavioral expression
– A positive or negative reaction to a perceived or remembered
object, event, or circumstance, accompanied by a subjective
feeling
• State characterized by physiological arousal and changes in
facial expressions, gestures, posture, and subjective feelings
• Emotion involves a subjective conscious experience,
accompanied by bodily arousal and characteristic overt
behavioral expressions
 Components of Emotion
• Components of emotion include:
– Cognitive: thoughts, beliefs and expectations
– Physiological: Internal and external physical
changes related to arousal
– Behavioral: Outward signs of an emotional
state
 Cognitive Component
• The cognitive component is what we actually
call the “Emotion”.
• We experience a certain cognitive process when
we are emotional. This is the pure emotion that
we have as a mental process
• Eight primary emotions (Plutchik, 2001)
– Fear, Surprise, Sadness, Disgust, Anger,
Anticipation, Joy, Trust
• Six universal emotions
– Anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise
 Physiological Component
• Physiological component is the physical changes
that occur when we are experiencing an emotion
• They include:
– Vascular changes, Hormonal changes, Respiratory changes,
Circulatory changes, Visual changes, Muscular changes
• In other words, some of our physiological
changes are: heart rate, breathing rate and depth,
blood pressure and flow to various parts, activity
of the stomach, hormones in the blood, …
 What cause the physiological
change?
O rg a n iz a tio n o f th e N e rvo u s S ys te m

N e rvo u s
S ys te m

C e n tra l P e rip h e ra l
N e rvo u s S ys te m N e rvo u s S ys te m

B ra in S p in a l C o rd A u to n o m ic P e rip h e ra l
N e rvo u s S ys te m N e rvo u s S ys te m

S ym p a th e tic P a ra s ym p a th e tic
D ivis io n D ivis io n
 Physiological Component
• Arousal
– Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
• Takes messages to and from the body’s internal
organs, monitoring such processes as breathing,
heart rate, and digestion
– Sympathetic nervous system
• Involved in the body’s arousal being responsible for
quick response to a stressor
– Parasympathetic nervous system
• Calms the body, promotes relaxation and healing
Physiological Reactions
 Behavioral Component
• Emotions are Personal; they can only be
inferred from behavior of the organism.
• We can simply observe the person’s behavior
and infer the emotion that s/he is experiencing.
• What are the different sources of information
in/on the individual from which emotion can
be inferred?
– MANY
 Behavioral Component
• Facial Expressions- it is posible to know the
emotion of a person by looking onto his/her
face.
• The face is the most important cue to
emotion
• The six universal emotions (Anger, disgust, fear,
happiness, sadness, surprise) have a fairly uniform
facial expressions
 Facial Expressions
ANGER FEAR DISGUST

SURPRISE JOY SADNESS

Back
Universal Facial Expressions
 Behavioral Component
• Eye contact
• Body Movement and Posture
• Touch
• Voice Quality
• Personal Space
• Explicit Acts
Eye Contact
Body Posture
Body Posture
 Theories of Emotion
• James-Lange Theory of Emotions
• suggested that we infer our emotional states from our
physiological responses to emotional stimuli
– Emotion results from physiological states triggered by stimuli in
the environment
– Emotion = perception of the physiological changes
– Emotions are a byproduct of physiological state
• Emotional responses are the results of physiological
changes in our body.
• Depending on the change, we experience a specific
emotion
• Emotion depends on feedback from the body
 Theories of Emotion
• Cannon-Bard theory
– Emotion and physiological reactions occur
simultaneously
– Stimulus provokes physiological arousal AND
emotional response at the same time
– Loud noise causes the initiation of the flight or fight
response AND evokes fear at the same time
– Emotion and physiological changes are independent of
each other and happen simultaneously
 Theories of Emotion
• Cognitive Theory (Schachter and Singer)
– Similar to James-Lange theory
– Emotions are based on physiological arousal and the
context of the situation
– Intensity of physiological state determines intensity
of emotion but not the type of emotion
– Type of emotion is elicited by situation and
experience (cognitive interpretation)
• We look for a reason for why we are experiencing the
physiological change and if there is a proper answer
from the environment, then we feel the associated
emotion
 Summary of Theories
• James and Lange proposed that we experience emotions as a
result of physiological changes that produce specific
sensations. In turn, these sensations are interpreted by the
brain as particular kinds of emotional experiences. This view
is called the James-Lange theory of emotion.
• In response to the difficulties inherent in the James-Lange
theory, the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion was developed.
The major thrust of the theory is to reject the view that
physiological arousal alone leads to the perception of
emotion. Instead, the theory assumes that both physiological
arousal and the emotional experience are produced
simultaneously by the same nerve stimulus, which Cannon
and Bard suggested emanates from the brain’s thalamus.
 Summary of Theories
• According to an explanation that focuses on the role of
cognition, the Schachter-Singer theory of emotion,
emphasizes that we identify the emotion we are
experiencing by observing our environment and
comparing ourselves with others.
• In short, the Schachter-Singer theory of emotions is
important because of its suggestion that, at least under
some circumstances, emotional experiences are a joint
function of physiological arousal and the labeling of
that arousal. When the source of physiological arousal
is unclear, we may look to our surroundings to
determine just what it is we are experiencing.
 Classification of Emotions
• Basic/Primary emotions
– Happy, sad, fear, anger, surprise, disgust
– Common to all members of species [regardless of culture
of learning]
– Criteria:
• Arises early in life without requiring experience
• Similar across cultures
• Has biological basis and perhaps facial expression
• Mixed Emotions- emotions that result from the
mixing of the primary emotions in different
intensity
Fig. 12.13 Primary and mixed
emotions. In Robert Plutchik’s
model there are eight primary
emotions, as listed in the inner
areas. Adjacent emotions may
combine to give the emotions
listed around the perimeter.
Mixtures involving more widely
separated emotions are also
possible. For example, fear plus
anticipation produces anxiety.
(Adapted from Plutchik, 2001.)
 The Function of Emotions
• Preparing us for action
– A link between events in our environment and our responses
• Shaping our future behavior
– Act as reinforcement
• Helping us to interact more effectively with others
– Act as a signal to observers, allowing them to better
understand what we are experiencing and to predict our
future behavior
• Survival value – help individual judge another’s intent or
behavior
• For infants: ability to convey information to caretaker through
expression of emotions (no verbal skills)
 Truth, Lies, and Polygraph
• Polygraph: Device that records heart rate, blood
pressure, respiration, and galvanic skin response
(GSR); lie detector
• GSR: Measures sweating
• Irrelevant Questions: Neutral, non-threatening, non-
emotional questions in a polygraph test
• Relevant Questions: Questions to which only
someone guilty should react
• Control Questions: Questions that almost always
provoke anxiety in a polygraph (e.g. “Have you
ever taken any office supplies?”)
Fig. 12.17 A typical polygraph includes devices for measuring heart rate, blood pressure,
respiration, and galvanic skin response. Pens mounted on the top of the machine make a
record of bodily responses on a moving strip of paper. (right) Changes in the area marked
by the arrow indicate emotional arousal. If such responses appear when a person answers a
question, he or she may be lying, but other causes of arousal are also possible.
 Other Ways of Detecting Lies
• Illustrators: Gestures people use to illustrate
what they are saying
• When lying, illustrators tend to decrease
• Emblems: Gestures that have widely
understood meanings within a particular
culture
• When lying, emblems tend to increase
 Cultural difference in Emotion
• What provokes certain emotions may differ from culture to
culture
• Other Cultural differences in the display of emotions
– Display rules: culture-specific rules for when and how certain
emotions are to be displayed
– Body language: The use of posture, arm and head movements,
gaze and gesture to convey information – use of body language
varies across cultures although some gestures are universal
– Emotion Work: The display of a specific emotion to fulfill a role
or job of some sort – ex: you must smile and be friendly in class
despite having just had a fight with your roommate