emotion

Question 1

what is emotion?

Answer 1

the physical and psychological changes that influence your behaviour in response to a feeling or situation

Question 2

what is the two-factor theory of emotion?

Answer 2

• suggests that emotion is caused by assigning a cognitive label to the physiological response to a situation
• people experience the same level of physiological arousal in various situations
• environment + physiological reaction + cognitive label = emotion

Question 3

criticisms of the two-factor theory of emotion

Answer 3

• researchers who repeated the study found that the confederate had a small impact on emotions
• focuses on the autonomic NS and does not consider the emotional processes that are part of the central NS

Question 4

what is the appraisal theory of emotion?

Answer 4

• suggests we experience emotions based on our assessment of a situation or event
• first step in experiencing emotion is appraising the situation
• this will initiate the emotional response

Question 5

what are the components of the limbic system?

Answer 5

• amygdala: activates certain emotions such as fear, implicated in social processing and recognising emotions, involved in conditioning
• hippocampus: regulation and expression of emotion, directly regulated to amygdala and fed information from amygdala, recalls anything relevant to the situation
• hypothalamus: basic survival actions
• thalamus: recieves sensory information

Question 6

what is LeDoux’s model of emotion?

Answer 6

• proposes there are two pathways of emotion in the brain

Question 7

what is the short route in LeDoux’s model?

Answer 7

short route: environmental stimuli are processed through the thalamus and sent straight to the amygdala
- occurs as an inital appraisal
- beneficial in survival situations

Question 8

what is the long route in LeDoux’s model?

Answer 8

long route: recieves sensory information in the thalamus and then passes this to the sensory cortex, which passes to the hippocampus and amygdala
- enables us to appraise the situation using further systems to determine if we are in danger or not

Question 9

define happiness

Answer 9

a state of wellbeing that encompasses a deep and meaningful satisfaction with life

Question 10

what factors influence happiness?

Answer 10

• age
• physical health
• culture
• religion
• income and employment

Question 11

what is subjective wellbeing?

Answer 11

• how people evaluate their lives to detemine their level of wellbeing
• suggests people can evaluate their lives from 3 main areas:
  – the domains of their lives
  – global judgement
  – ongoing feelings
• life satisfaction + affective balance = subjective wellbeing

Question 12

what is psychological wellbeing?

Answer 12

focuses on six key areas:
- autonomy
- environmental mastery
- personal growth
- positive relations with others
- purpose in life
- self-acceptance

Question 13

what is the broaden and build theory of emotion?

Answer 13

• focuses on the affect of positive emotions on wellbeing
• suggests positive emotions encourage greater wellbeing