Week 8 - emotions Flashcards
Are both sympathetic and parasympathetic arousal evoked in most situations?
Yes! Both.
This statement applies to which theory? “you feel afraid BECAUSE you run away, and you feel angry BECAUSE you attack”.
the James-Lange theory. Emotion is the label you give your responses. The autonomic arousal and skeletal actions come first.
How does James define emotions?
Including: Cognitions, Actions and Feelings.
What is the sequence of the James-Lange theory?
Event - Appraisal (cognitive) - Action (behavioural aspect including physiology) - Emotional Feeling
Which two predictions does the James-Lange theory lead to?
People with WEAK autonomic or skeletal RESPONSES should feel LESS emotions
and
CAUSING or INCREASING someone’s responses should ENHANCE an emotion.
Do people with weak (or no) autonomic responses feel less emotion?
SORTOF! People with spinal injuries have similar emotions to beforehand.
However, those with pure autonomic failure experience emotions more weakly, confirming the James-Lange theory.
Do people with botox in their faces have reduced emotional experience?
Yes, they do, weirdly.
What is the implication of people feeling less with botox in their faces?
The implication is that FEELING A BODY CHANGE is IMPORTANT for FEELING AN EMOTION.
Do all the results suggest that autonomic responses and subjective experiences are perfectly correlated and connected?
No, it seems more complex.
What does this mean? “Emotions are “embodied””?
Emotions depend on responses of the body.
Is the James-Lange theory definitive?
No. Criticisms have been levelled suggesting that feedback from physiology is too slow to account for how fast we identify an event, that it does not distinguish one emotion from another, and that it is not necessary or sufficient.
Finish this sentence: Although emotional feelings correlate strongly with arousal of the autonomic nervous system…
…NO PARTICULAR EMOTION is consistently associated with a DISTINCTIVE PATTERN of autonomic activity.
With the exception of which emotion, no brain area appears to be specific for experiencing any particular emotion.
Happiness.
What does the Behavioural Activation System do?
Low to moderate autonomic arousal,
tendancy to approach (could characterise happiness or anger)
What does the Behavioural Inhibition System do?
Increases attention and arousal, inhibits action, and stimulates emotions such as fear and disgust.
What evidence is there for the BIS and BAS?
When people’s left hemisphere was primed, they were faster and more accurate at identifying happy faces. The reverse was true of the right hemisphere and sad/angry faces.
What is stress?
Non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it.
What is general adaptation syndrome?
The body’s response to stress (mainly due to activity of the adrenal glands).
What happens during the ALARM phase of stress?
Epinephrine is released, stimulating the sympathetic nervous system to ready body for emergency activity>
Adrenal gland salso release the hormone cortisol, which increases blood blucose, providing body with extra energy, as well as aldosterone, important for maintaining blood salt and blood volume. The body also suppresses less urgent activities, such as sexual arousal.
What happens during RESISTANCE, the second phase of stress?
The sympathetic nervous system response declines, but adrenal glands continue secreting cortisol and other hormones that enable the body to maintain prolonged alertness.
What happens during EXHAUSTION, the third phase?
Tired, inactive and vulnerable because the nervous and immune systems no longer have the energy to sustain their responses.
Stress activates two systems. The Sympathetic nervous System and the..
Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis.
What does activation of the human hypothalamus induce?
the anterior pituitary gland to secrete ADRENOCORTOCOTROPIC HORMONE (ATCH).
What does adrenocorticotropic hormone do?
stimulates the adrenal cortex to secrete cortisol, which enhances metabolic activity, elevates blood levels of sugar and increases alertness.
Compared to the SNS, how does the HPA axis react?
It reacts MORE SLOWLY, but it dominates the response to PROLONGED STRESSORS, such as living with an abusive parent or spouse.
Brief or moderate stress …. attention and memory formation, especially in the amygdala.
IMPROVES.
What is the amygdala important for, regarding stressful situations?
Learning fears.
