Chap 10: Motivation (3)

Question 1

If the amygdala detects a
threat, it almost instantly triggers activity in the _______, which leads to autonomic arousal
and hormonal responses

Answer 1

If the amygdala detects a
threat, it almost instantly triggers activity in the hypothalamus, which leads to autonomic arousal and hormonal responses

Question 2

Explain the role of the thalamus in emotions.

Answer 2

Sensory inputs capable of eliciting
emotions arrive in the thalamus, which simultaneously routes the information along two separate
pathways: to the nearby amygdala and areas in the cortex.

Question 3

Highly anxious children tend to have an enlarged _______.

Answer 3

Highly anxious children tend to have an enlarged amygdala.

Question 4

What is the facial-feedback hypothesis?

Answer 4

Proponents of the facial-feedback
hypothesis asserts that facial muscles send signals to the brain and that these signals help the brain recognize the emotion that one is experiencing.

Question 5

Define display norms.

Answer 5

Display rules are norms that regulate the appropriate expression of emotion.

Question 6

Explain James-Lange theory of emotion.

Answer 6

The conscious experience of emotion results from one’s perception of autonomic arousal.

( you’re fearful because your pulse is racing. )

Question 7

What was Cannon’s criticism of James-Lange’s theory?

Answer 7

• physiological arousal may occur without the experience of emotion (if one exercises vigorously, for
  instance).
• visceral changes are too slow to precede the conscious experience
• different emotions, such as fear, joy, and anger, exhibit almost identical patterns of autonomic arousal.

Question 8

Explain Cannon-Bard’s theory of emotion.

Answer 8

Cannon-Bard theory argues that
emotion occurs when the thalamus sends signals simultaneously to the cortex (creating the conscious experience of emotion) and to the autonomic nervous system (creating visceral arousal).

Question 9

What was Schacter’s two-factor theory?

Answer 9

The experience of emotion depends on two factors: (1) autonomic arousal and (2) cognitive interpretation of that arousal.

Schachter proposed that when you experience visceral arousal, you search your environment for an explanation.

Question 10

People experience more than just eight to ten emotions. How do evolutionary theories account
for this variety?

Answer 10

They propose that the many emotions that people experience are produced by
(1) blends of primary emotions
(2) variations in intensity