emotion and the brain Flashcards
(20 cards)
What are the basic emotions according to Paul Ekman?
Happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, and contempt.
What did Ekman believe about basic emotions?
They are universal and linked to distinct facial expressions, not requiring learning.
Which study challenged the universality of Ekman’s basic emotions?
Gendron et al. (2014) with the Himba tribe in Namibia.
What did Cowen & Keltner (2017) propose about emotions?
There are 27 nuanced emotional categories instead of just 6 or 7.
What issue did Sorenson (1975) find in replicating Ekman’s findings?
Failed to replicate results when using free labelling methods.
How can language influence emotion perception?
Similar to colour perception, language can shape how emotions are perceived (Athanasopoulos et al., 2010).
What controversial funding source supported Ekman’s research?
DARPA, which aimed to use emotion research for deception detection.
What is the METT and why is it controversial?
Micro-expression Training Tool; criticized for being unreliable and encouraging profiling (Bond & DePaulo, 2006; Denault et al., 2020).
What are the two extreme views on brain emotion representation?
Complete localisation vs. complete distribution of emotional processing.
What is the current view on how emotions are represented in the brain?
They are dynamic, distributed across brain networks.
Why is the Papez circuit considered incomplete?
Some areas (e.g., hippocampus) are more involved in memory than emotion, and important areas like the amygdala were not included.
What limitation do neuroimaging methods have?
They lack both high spatial and temporal resolution with full brain coverage.
What is fear conditioning?
A process where a neutral stimulus (tone) paired with a shock elicits a conditioned fear response.
What happens during fear extinction?
The conditioned response weakens when the tone is presented without the shock.
Which brain regions are involved in fear extinction?
Amygdala (fear), hippocampus (context), and prefrontal cortex (regulation).
What is cognitive reappraisal?
Reinterpreting emotional stimuli to reduce their emotional impact.
Which brain areas are involved in emotion regulation through reappraisal?
Anterior Insula, Anterior Cingulate Cortex, and Prefrontal Cortex.
What did Ochsner et al. (2002) find about reappraisal?
It reduced amygdala activation and increased PFC activation.
What did Vergallito et al. (2018) discover with brain stimulation?
Right VLPFC helps regulate negative affect and process internal and external signals.
What are practical uses of cognitive reappraisal?
Helpful for managing anxiety, depression, and public speaking (e.g., reappraising anxiety as excitement - Brooks, 2013).
