5. Biopsychology of Emotion, Stress and Health Flashcards
(24 cards)
Why are emotions important?
- help us avoid situations
- emotions don’t require a common language
- allow communication
- associated with everything e.g relationships, work etc
- motivate actions: if we hate something, we avoid
- mental health disorders are linked to defective emotions
- biologically valuable: evaluation, attention, motivation, social connection etc
How does Darwin’s theory explain emotion across all species?
- emotions are shown across all species
- allows animals and humans to communicate
- used as a survival mechanism
How does Darwin’s theory explain emotion in humans?
show facial expressions which accompany emotional state
- may display what behaviour will happen next
- sometimes our behaviour can be opposite
What happens when we experience emotions?
- range of emotions: different reaction
- physiological reaction: warm, shaky, sweating etc
Does our emotional response or physiological response happen first when we experience emotion?
- so interconnected it is hard to unpick
What is the James-Lange physiological theory of emotion?
- fear elicited
- then physiological arousal
- then emotional fear
- arousal and fear are independent
- emotion is received by cortex, which triggers a change in organs
What is the Cannon-Bard physiological theory of emotion?
- elicit fear
- physiological arousal and emotion fear are independent but come at the same time
What is the Two-Factor physiological theory of emotion?
- elicit fear
- physiological arousal and emotion fear communicate and interact (complex)
What is the facial feedback hypothesis?
- if told to smile you are more likely to be happy
What is shown when fear is elicited?
- protecting others
- submission
- clenched muscles
- using hands to protect
- wide eyes
How is fear conditioning shown on animals?
CS= tone
US= shock
CS + US become associated
- leads to CR of fear
How did little albert study show fear conditioning in humans?
- a white rat (neutral stimulus) was shown to Albert, initiating a neutral response (curiosity)
- loud noise of hammer lead to fear (UCR)
- during conditioning: rat and bang were paired
- lead to the white rat now eliciting fear response without the bang
How does the fear response happen in the brain?
threatening sound
What is Kluver-Bucy syndrome?
- first seen in monkeys where anterior temporal lobes were removed
- specifically damage to the amygdala
- symptom: decreased emotional reaction (lacked fear)
What brain mechanisms are involved in human emotion?
limbic system
- hippocampus: learning and memory formation
- amygdala: fear, memory, acquisition of extension
prefrontal cortex: higher order functions e.g executive functions, mediating conflicting thoughts
How does the right hemisphere model explain emotion?
- specialises in experience of emotion
How foes the balance model explain emotion?
- right hemisphere specialises in negative emotions
- left hemisphere specialises in positive emotions
What is stress?
- difficult to define
- our mental, physical, emotional and behavioural reactions to any perceived demands/threats
What is the structure of stress?
- unusual demand:
- physical, personal, social (overlap) - perceived as: significant, an adversity
- responses: physiological, emotional, cognitive
- response: adaptation, coping/failure to cope, cost/benefit
Why did stress evolve?
- historically stress was physical: needed to survive physical attacks
- evolved to be an adaptive function
What are the two short term stress responses?
- anterior pituitary, adrenal cortex, glucocorticoids
- SNS, adrenal medulla, noradrenaline and adrenaline
What are the three types of stress?
- positive: brief increases in heart rate, mild elevations in stress hormone (‘use stress’)
- tolerable: serious, temporary stress responses, buffered by supportive relationships
- toxic: prolonged activation of stress response systems in the absence of protective relationships, continuous and overwhelming
What is the adaptive immune response?
- presence of an immune system e.g virus
- recognition of antigen e.g T helper cells, cytokines
- immune system defence response e.g lymphocytes
- antigen defeated
- immune system ‘remembers’ specific antibodies
How is the amygdala involved in fear conditioning?
- amygdala receives input from sensory systems such as auditory cortex
- processes signals then sends them to other areas of the brain to respond accordingly
multiple pathways:
- PAG: to elicit a behavioural response
- hypothalamus: elicit sympathetic response, increase arousal
happens at the same time
