Chapter 11- Emotional Behaviors Flashcards
(52 cards)
What is Emotion?
Psychologists define emotion in terms of these components
Cognition - (This is a dangerous situation)
Action (Run for the nearest exit)
Feeling (I feel frightened)
Physiological changes
Emotions and Autonomic Arousal
How it arouse the autonomic nervous system (book)
Emotional situations arouse the autonomic nervous system
Most situations evoke a combination of sympathetic and parasympathetic arousal
book : Emotional situations arouse the autonomic nervous system , which has 2 branches - the sympathetic and the parasympathetic
Again, the sympathetic : fight or flight response
parasympathetic : increase digestion, and other processes that save energy
However, each situation evokes its own special mixture of sympathetic and parasympathetic arousal.
example, nausea is associated with sympathetic stimulation of the stomach (decreasing its contractions and secretions) and parasympathetic stimulation of the intestines and salivary glands .
The James-Lange Theory of Emotion
So, how does the autonomic NS relate to emotions ?
Common sense holds that first we feel an emotion , which then changes our heart rate and prompt other responses. (book)
James-Lange theory suggests that autonomic arousal and skeletal action occurs first in an emotion
The emotion felt is the label we give the arousal of the organs and muscles
What we experience as an emotion is the label we give to our response: I am afraid because I run away or
I am angry because I attack (book)
Cognitive aspect come first ( appraisal of the situation) –> then action —> then the feeling aspect
check image at slide 6
The James-Lange Theory of Emotion—Predictions
James-Lange theory leads to two predictions:
1) People with a weak autonomic or skeletal response should feel less emotion
2) Increasing one’s response should enhance an emotion
Emotions and Autonomic Arousal—Pure Autonomic Failure
Research findings
Research findings
Paralyzed people report feeling emotion to the same degree as prior to their injury (This finding indicates that emotions do not require feedback from muscle movements)
expect: that people would report no emotions.
Pure autonomic failure
Output from autonomic nervous system to body fails (Heartbeat and other organs activities continues but the NS no longer regulate them)
People with this condition report feeling same emotions, but less intensely (ex: refer to the cognitive aspect: Yes, im angry, because this is a situation that calls for anger. But they do not feel the anger, or if they do, they feel it weakly.)
Suggests other factors are involved in the perception of emotion
Emotions and Autonomic Arousal—BOTOX
BOTOX blocks transmissions at synapses and nerve-muscle junctions
People with BOTOX injections report:
Weaker than usual emotional responses after watching short videos
Implies body change is important part of feeling an emotion
However, people with certain types of brain damage show normal emotional responses
Is Physiological Arousal Sufficient for Emotions?
According to the James-Lange theory, emotional feelings result from the body’s actions
Panic attacks are marked by intense sympathetic nervous system arousal (rapid heartbeat, fast breathing, etc.)
Only if perceived as occurring spontaneously
Creating certain body actions may also slightly influence emotion
Smiling slightly increases happiness
Inducing a frown leads to the rating of stimuli as slightly less pleasant
Indicates that perception of the body’s actions do contribute to emotional feeling
However, body’s actions are not required
Is Emotion a Useful Concept?
An emotion is usually considered a coherent “whole”
However, it has three or more aspects (cognition, feeling and action)
All aspects do not always occur together
The Limbic System
Emotions
Emotional experiences arouse many areas of the brain
The limbic system includes the forebrain areas surrounding the thalamus
Traditionally regarded as critical for emotion
PET and fMRI studies suggest particular cortical areas are activated during an emotional experience
Brain Imaging Studies
Recent review of brain imaging studies indicated no strong evidence exists for localization of emotions
No brain area is critical for emotion in general without contributing to other behavioral aspects
check slide 16 for image
Theory of Lisa Feldman Barrett
Emotions are a category in the same sense that weeds are a category
Nothing in nature makes weeds different from flowers
Perception (for weeds) and social construct (for emotion) are the distinguishing factors
Do People Have a Limited Number of Basic Emotions?
Main support for the idea of basic emotions
Facial expressions exist for happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, surprise, and perhaps other emotions
We rarely interpret emotion based solely on facial expressions
Two or more emotions can be present in a single facial expression
Context and gestures important
An alternative view
Emotional feelings vary along two continuous dimensions
Example: weak to strong, pleasant to unpleasant, approach versus avoid
check image on slide 20
Attack and Escape Behaviors
Most of the vigorous emotional behaviors we observe in animals fall into the categories of Attack and escape
These behaviors and their corresponding emotions (anger and fear) are Closely related physiologically and behaviorally
Attack Behaviors
Attack behaviors depend on the individual and the situation
Example: if an hamster intrude into another territory , the home hamster sniffs the intruder and eventually attacks , but usually not at once.
Initial attack causes increase activity in the corticomedial area of the amygdala, an structure in the temporal lobe.
Increases victim hamster’s probability of attacking back when faced with subsequent attack
so, if another hamster intrudes , the home hamster attack faster and more vigorously than before.
Book: If we directly stimulate the corticomedial amygdala, a hamster is primed to attack, even without the previous experience of fighting.
Human behavior is similar to this regard : After someone has insulted you, you become more aggressive , and that mood can last. Even though one person has irritated you, you might yell at someone else.
Heredity and Environment in Violence
Individual differences in aggressive, violent, or antisocial behavior depend on both heredity and environment
Several studies had found that violence is particularly enhance in ppl with both a genetic predisposition and a troubled early environment.
Environment
Witness or victim of violence in childhood
Living in a violent neighborhood
Abused children are more likely to express violent behavior
Exposure to lead harms developing brains
Heredity
Twin studies indicate significant amount of heritability although there is some debate about experimental design
MAOA gene (This enzyme breaks down the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin)
—low activity form shows a link to aggression
There still seems to be a high interaction between genetics and the environment in which a person was raised
Among those who were seriously maltreated in childhood, the rate of antisocial behavior was significantly higher for those with low MAO_A activity
Not clear why decreased MAO_A should be linked to increased aggression .
Genes, Environment, and Antisocial Behavior in Men
check figure on slide 33
Results of a study, in which investigators compared people who had genetic differences in the production of the enzyme monoamine oxidase A
Effect of Hormones—Aggressive Behavior
Male aggressive behavior heavily depends on testosterone
Young men (highest amount of testerone lvl) have highest rates of aggressive behaviors and violent crimes
On average, men engage in more aggressive and violent behaviors than women
Women also commit violent acts, but they are usually minor attacks.
Increasing testosterone in women
Women’s task was to examine photos of faces and try to identify the emotion
Most became less accurate at recognizing facial expressions of anger.
Other research, shows that testosterone increases responses of the amygdala to photos showing angry expressions.
Increased the amount of time looking at angry faces
Results in more arguing during collaborative tasks
Increases the responses of emotion-related areas.
check slide 35 for pic
Serotonin Synapses and Aggressive Behavior
Several lines of evidence link aggressive behavior to low serotonin release.
Impulsiveness and aggressive behavior have been linked to low serotonin release
Serotonin turnover:
The amount of serotonin that neurons released, absorbed, and replaced
When neurons release a NT such as serotonin, they reabsorb most of it and synthesize enough to replace the amount that washed away. Thus, the amount in the neuron is fairly constant for the NT. We have no idea how much is release.
We use body fluids such as from CSF to measure how much is release. (book)
Turnover is Measured by the concentration of 5-HIAA (serotonin main metabolite) in the cerebrospinal fluid
check image on slide 37
Serotonin Synapses and Aggressive Behavior—Studies
Experimental results in several genetic strains of mice
Social isolation lowered serotonin turnover by the greatest amount in strains that reacted with greatest amount of fighting after isolation
Serotonin activity is lower in juvenile rodents than in adults, and fighting is more frequent in the juveniles
Thoughts : Perhaps in humans too, low serotonin activity may be a reason for increased aggressiveness in adolescent males
Studies in humans
Low serotonin turnover found in people with history of violent behavior, including people convicted of arson and other violent crimes
and people who attempt suicide by violent means
Relationship between serotonin and aggression is small
Serotonin role is not specific to aggression
Cannot be used to make predictions about an individual
Testosterone, Serotonin, and Cortisol
According to a growing consensus, aggressive behavior does not correlate strongly with any one chemical because it depends on a combination
Testosterone, facilitates aggressive, assertive, dominant behavior
Serotonin tends to inhibit impulsive behaviors
Cortisol inhibits aggression
Aggressive behavior depends on ratio of testosterone to cortisol
Fear and Anxiety
Proneness to approach, avoidance, and anxiety varies with the situation and the individual
Role of the amygdala:
Important for enhancing the startle reflex
book: regulate current level of anxiety.
Startle reflex
Extremely fast response to unexpected loud noises
Fear and Anxiety—Startle Reflex
Auditory information stimulates an area of the pons that commands tensing of neck and other muscles
Information reaches the pons within 3–8 milliseconds
Startle response occurs within two-tenths of a second
Startle reflex is more vigorous if already tense
Startle reflex can be used as a behavioral measure of anxiety
Can be used with laboratory animals to explore brain mechanisms
The Amygdala and Learned Fears
check image on slide 43
Fear and Studies of Rodents
First measure the normal response to a loud noise
Research paired a stimulus such as light with shock
Animals learn to associate light with the shock. They present the light just before the loud noise and det. how much the light increases the startle response.
Stimulus becomes a fear signal
Stimulus previously associated with pleasure or absence of danger. Becomes a safety signal
Decreases the startle reflex
