Emotion and Learning

Question 1

observational learning

Answer 1

A basic form of learning is observational. This is where animals learn about danger / group norms etc by observing the reactions of other group members.

Question 2

Are wild animals scared of snakes and how can this influence animals in captivity?

Answer 2

Yes wild animals are but animals in captivity are not originally, but when they see there peers be scared of snakes they also learn this phobia - observational learning

Question 3

chameleon effect

Answer 3

People unconsciously mimic the postures of the people they interact with to facilitate comfortable social interactions.

Question 4

When a waitress either mimicked half her customers by literally repeating their order or did not mimic her customers, who received more tips?

Answer 4

It was found that she received significantly larger tips when she mimicked her customers than when she did not.
We like people who are attentive towards us

Question 5

When an experimenter mimicked some Ps actions and not others then dropped some pens, who was more likely to help?

Answer 5

The people who’s actions were mimicked

Question 6

Emotion mimicry

Answer 6

When we observe emotion, we mimic that emotion. Our own facial muscles copy those of another person. The brain interprets its own physiological body states to experience emotion.

Question 7

What do Electromyography (EMG) discriminate between in facial expressions?

Answer 7

positive (zygomaticus) and negative (corrugator) emotions

Question 8

When Ps were shown happy or sad images how did their facial expressions respond?

Answer 8

When viewing happy images they had increased zygomaticus but for sad more corrugator emotions.

Question 9

when told to ignore happy/sad images did their face still respond?

Answer 9

Even when told to ignore images they will still mimic and copy - tells us lots of social information.

Even if the face is only shown for a few milliseconds they will mimic - suggesting it is subconscious.

Question 10

primary reinforcer

Answer 10

A primary reinforcer is an unconditioned stimulus (US) that naturally and automatically elicits a response without prior learning, because it satisfies a biological need (e.g., food, water).

Question 11

Secondary rienforcer

Answer 11

A secondary reinforcer is a conditioned stimulus (CS) that gains its reinforcing power through association with a primary reinforcer. It has no inherent biological value but becomes reinforcing through learning. e.g., the bell

Question 12

Emotional classical conditioning

Answer 12

A harmless/neutral stimulus can evoke fear responses, such as in phobias.

Question 13

When Ps were conditioned to a blue square and an electric shock, how did their skin receptors respond?

Answer 13

Psychological reaction such as skin conductance to shock also had explicit knowledge were people will pick the square

Question 14

what is physiological conditioning mediated by?

Answer 14

amygdala

Question 15

when the amygdala is damaged do people still have a physiological response to the blue square?

Answer 15

no they have no skin response or physical symptoms like sweating and shaking but they do acknowledge they prefer the red square over the blue square

Question 16

What is the conscious part of conditioning mediated by?

Answer 16

the hippocampus

Question 17

with hippocampal damage do Ps get the physiological response to the blue square?

Answer 17

YES, but they are not aware that they have a preference for the red square over the blue square.

Question 18

Extinction

Answer 18

The autonomic response is observed for a few trials but then declines.
In contrast the reduced liking of the stimulus can remain for a long time afterwards. The resistance to extinction makes advertising potent.

Question 19

does marketing through using a celeb have a long lasting effect?

Answer 19

you wont keep being in love with the advert because of the celeb but maybe have a subconscious love for the item after and not remember why

Question 20

Unconscious aspect of conditioning

Answer 20

• This lack of awareness is what can make advertising (e.g. product placement) effective on social media and in movies.
• That is, a preference is acquired but we do not know where it came from.

Question 21

When Ps were shown a nonsense word then either a positive or negative word which nonsense word did they prefer?

Answer 21

Even though the +/- word was shown for a few seconds they had a preference for the positive nonsense word.

Question 22

what does the nonsense word study show?

Answer 22

Subconscious conditioning. We can like different things even nonsense words.

Question 23

Mere exposure effect

Answer 23

People tend to like passively presented neutral stimuli.

Stimuli that have been presented in the past are preferred more than novel stimuli.

Question 24

key features of mere exposure effect

Answer 24

Applies to neutral stimuli: Things that we don’t already love or hate.

Works without conscious awareness: People may not realize they’ve seen the image or word before — but still prefer it.

Preference without recognition: Even when they can’t remember seeing it, they still rate it more positively.

Stronger when unnoticed: The effect is often stronger when people aren’t aware of the exposure.

Question 25

example of mere exposure effect

Answer 25

Imagine seeing a random shape or symbol a few times during the day — maybe in the background of ads, or on signs. Later, you're asked to pick which symbol you like best from a group. You’ll likely choose the one you’ve seen before — even if you don’t remember seeing it.

Question 26

why does mere exposure effect happen?

Answer 26

Familiarity feels safe. Another theory: Repeated exposure increases perceptual fluency — your brain processes the familiar thing more easily, and that feels good.

Question 27

perceptual fluency model

Answer 27

. You figuring out what is on the screen and what this is - brain detects that its getting easier for you to understand and your brain likes that.

Question 28

operant conditioning

Answer 28

learning via positive or negative reinforcement or even punishment

Question 29

When Ps were shown a white square they had to press - different rewards they'd get. Reward had three levels - happy face more happy extremely happy. Triangle had no outcome. They could also get money reward. Did male react more to the social or money reward?

Answer 29

Men reacted faster to cues signalling high money rewards than high social rewards while reacting equally slow to cues signalling low reward

Question 30

When Ps were shown a white square they had to press - different rewards they'd get. Reward had three levels - happy face more happy extremely happy. Triangle had no outcome. They could also get money reward. Did women react more to the social or money reward?

Answer 30

Women’s reaction times did not differ significantly with respect to incentive type or magnitude

Question 31

Did Ps react more to reward vs triangle?

Answer 31

Significantly faster reaction times for all levels of reward compared to ‘no outcome’ trials (triangles)

Question 32

Do men activate the limbic system for social rewards?

Answer 32

Men’s activation in the prospect of monetary rewards encompassed a wide network of mesolimbic brain regions compared to only limited activation for social rewards.

Question 33

Women's activation of the limbic system for social for money rewards

Answer 33

Women’s activation was more equal for monetary and social rewards

Question 34

Striatum and Reward Processing – Study 1

Answer 34

Participants chose between two cards to receive monetary rewards, while their brain activity was measured. 🧠 Key Finding: Financial rewards led to increased activation in the striatum, a brain area involved in processing rewards.

Question 35

Study 2 – Emotional Rewards (Reputation)

Answer 35

Participants were shown positive traits others used to describe them (HSR trials), along with their own photos, and rated how desirable those traits were. 🧠 Key Goal: To see if positive social feedback activates the same reward centers as money.

Question 36

Striatum Activation in Study 2

Answer 36

When participants received positive feedback about their reputation, their striatum was activated — just like in the monetary reward task. ❤️‍🔥 We care deeply about how others perceive us — social approval feels rewarding at a brain level.

Question 37

what activates the striatum

Answer 37

Both money and social approval activate the striatum Seeing images of ourselves paired with positive traits makes the effect stronger 💡 This shows how reputation and emotional rewards are processed like tangible rewards in the brain.

Question 38

Anticipation reinforcement

Answer 38

the sense of excitement and hope that others will like your photo / post (German study)

Question 39

Variable ratio reinforcement

Answer 39

Social media gives you a trickle of notifications to keep you coming back

Question 40

Does social media reinforce explicit posting?

Answer 40

yes - Self-sexualization was higher on Instagram - Wanting attention was the strongest predictor of posting sexualized pictures - Women who posted more sexualized pictures (revealing clothing and suggestive poses) got more likes and followers

Question 41

What brain structure is consistently found to be smaller in individuals with PTSD?

Answer 41

The hippocampus.

Question 42

Does trauma exposure cause hippocampal shrinkage (neurotoxicity) according to this study?

Answer 42

No, smaller hippocampal volume appears to be a pre-existing vulnerability factor, not a result of trauma.

Question 43

How was the role of pre-existing hippocampal volume determined?

Answer 43

Using monozygotic twins discordant for combat exposure—both PTSD and non-exposed co-twins had smaller hippocampi.

Question 44

What did the study find about hippocampal volume and PTSD symptom severity?

Answer 44

There was a negative correlation: smaller hippocampus → more severe PTSD symptoms.

Question 45

Was hippocampal volume associated with combat severity?

Answer 45

No, there was no correlation between combat exposure intensity and hippocampal volume.

Question 46

Did comorbid factors like alcohol abuse or depression explain hippocampal volume differences?

Answer 46

No, these factors were more common in PTSD veterans but not in their co-twins, who also had smaller hippocampi.

Question 47

Did amygdala or total brain volume show similar effects as the hippocampus?

Answer 47

No, the effects were specific to the hippocampus.

Question 48

In what group did hippocampal volume differences become most apparent?

Answer 48

In veterans with severe, chronic PTSD (CAPS > 65) and their co-twins.

Question 49

What might be the functional consequence of smaller hippocampi in PTSD?

Answer 49

It may lead to stronger fear conditioning and stress responses, contributing to PTSD vulnerability.

Question 50

What is the likely origin of smaller hippocampal volume in PTSD patients and their twins?

Answer 50

Genetic/familial inheritance is the most probable explanation.

Question 51

Default Implications Model

Answer 51

This model proposes that bodily cues have fixed, invariant meanings. For example: Brow tension → difficulty, confusion → indecisiveness Head shaking → disapproval or negativity Smiles → positive judgments Under this model, the interpretation of these cues does not change with context.

Question 52

Contextual Implications Model

Answer 52

In contrast, this model argues that the meaning of bodily cues is flexible and shaped by the task or context. For example: Brow tension during a hard decision → effort → decisiveness Brow tension during an easy decision → unnecessary effort → indecisiveness Head shaking during a tragic clip → sympathy (bad situation) Head shaking during a moral transgression → condemnation (bad person) This model predicts cue × context interactions rather than uniform effects.

Question 53

is supression effortful in default implications model?

Answer 53

contrast effects (e.g. impact of context) are unlikely, and suppression is effortful

Question 54

strengths of default model

Answer 54

+ A fast, effortless system that corrects unexpected input from the top-down. + Efficient - only need to act if it goes wrong

Question 55

weakness of default model

Answer 55

But errors could be costly, and this model only extracts very coarse information about emotion – all higher social information left to later processes

Question 56

research support for default model

Answer 56

We unconsciously and automatically mimic facial expressions when we see them * Subjects find things funnier if they tense their cheek muscles – even if they’re not told to smile * Subjects like objects more when they nod their heads than when they shake their heads * Subliminal smiles and frowns can change how people rate neutral objects

Question 57

evaluation of Contextual Implications Model

Answer 57

+ Builds uncertainty into the model + Relying on context makes us more likely to choose the appropriate response - But cognitively effortful – may be tricky to interpret context cues under high cognitive load (i.e. lots of distractions)