Motivation and emotion part 9 Flashcards
(34 cards)
OVERVIEW: Biological and Cognitive Aspects of Emotion
Imagine emotions as a theatre play:
The biological systems are the actors, stage, and lights — they make it physically happen.
The cognitive aspects are the script and director — they interpret and guide what happens.
Biological systems include?
C.N.S. (Central Nervous System) – the brain and spinal cord, like the theatre’s central command.
Endocrine system – hormone factories (like adrenaline for fear); think of this as special effects!
Neural circuits – the wiring between brain areas (backstage crew coordinating scenes).
Neural discharge rate – the speed of electrical firing (how fast the crew runs the show).
Facial feedback – your face “talking back” to your brain about what you’re feeling.
Cognitive aspects include?
Appraisal – how you evaluate a situation (“Is this dangerous or exciting?”).
Knowledge – your past experiences (your emotional vocabulary).
Attributions – the cause you assign to things (“Did I fail because I’m dumb or unlucky?”).
Socialization background – how your culture/family taught you to feel (“Don’t cry, be strong”).
Cultural identities – shared emotional expressions, like how Americans smile more than Scandinavians.
COMMON EXPERIENCE OF EMOTION in (Biological and Cognitive Aspects of Emotion)
Stimulus → Emotion → Body Reaction
This is how we usually think emotions work:
Example (from the slide):
“As soon as we see red lights flashing and hear the siren of a police car, fear arises and this feeling of fear makes our heart race and our palms sweat.”
🧠 This means:
You see/hear something (stimulus)
You feel fear (emotion)
Your heart races (body reaction)
But… that’s not the only way to understand emotions. Let’s look deeper ⬇
🔹 James-Lange Hypothesis: Flipping the Script
The James-Lange hypothesis says:
“The body reacts and the resulting emotional reactions occur in us before we realize what is happening.”
In this model:
Stimulus → Body Reaction → Emotion
So instead of “I see a bear, feel fear, and then my heart races”, it’s:
“I see a bear → my heart races → therefore, I feel fear.”
🧠 Think of it like this:
You’re driving and your body hits the brakes (physiological reaction) before you even consciously realize the danger. Then your brain says, “Ah! I must be afraid!”
Important highlighted sentence:
“Physiological adjustments are not a direct consequence of emotional experience.”
This means: Emotions don’t cause the body to react — the body reacts first, and the emotion comes after.
_________________
Example Analogy (from the slide):
“Think about your body’s physiological responses to a shower that turns suddenly and unexpectedly cold…”
Imagine standing under a warm shower. Suddenly, it blasts cold water:
You gasp.
Your heart rate jumps.
You tense up.
Your eyes widen.
Only after all this, you think: “What the hell! That was freezing!” — and then feel startled or angry.
🔹 Cartoon Explanation (slide with the “Gross” character) (James-Lange Hypothesis)
You’re relaxing on a beach chair. Something gross happens.
First, your face cringes and your body tenses.
Then, you feel disgust.
Again: Body reaction precedes emotion.
🔹 Criticism of James-Lange: Cannon-Bard Theory
Now, not everyone buys James-Lange’s idea.
The Cannon-Bard theory criticizes it by saying:
“Physiological changes barely influence the emotional experience.”
Here are the specific criticisms (very important for the exam!):
“The type of bodily reactions James was referring to were actually part of the general fight-flight bodily mobilization response that does not vary from one emotion to another.”
In simple terms: The body reacts the same for fear, anger, excitement — so how can you tell them apart if it’s just your heart rate?
“The emotional experience occurs faster than physical changes.”
You sometimes feel something before your body can even react.
“Although physiological activation intensifies the emotion, it does not originate it.”
So, the body supports the emotion, but doesn’t create it.
Contemporary Perspective on James-Lange and Cannon-Bard Theory
Modern views try to mix both old theories:
“Some emotions show physiological specificity, with unique patterns of Autonomous Nervous System (ANS) activity.”
Translation: Some emotions really do have unique body responses.
And:
“Physiological activation influences emotional regulation but does not directly trigger it.”
It helps you manage emotions but doesn’t start them.
And:
“Physiological activation accompanies, regulates and prepares the framework for the emotion, but is not a direct cause of it.”
Like mood lighting in a room — it doesn’t cause the party, but sets the vibe.
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
This is the theory behind “smile and you’ll feel happy”.
“The subjective aspect of emotion arises from:
* Movements of facial muscles
* Alterations in facial temperature
* Modifications in the glandular activity of the facial skin”
When you smile:
Your face muscles move,
Your skin temperature changes,
Your brain receives proprioceptive feedback (sensing your facial position),
And interprets this as “I must be happy!”
So,
“Emotion involves the perception of proprioceptive feedback from facial expression.”
🔹 Strong vs. Weak Facial Feedback Hypothesis
“In the strong version of the FFH, it is suggested that manipulating facial muscles to display an emotion triggers the emotional experience.”
Smile → feel happy. Frown → feel sad.
“In the weak version of the FFH, it is proposed that facial feedback can influence the intensity of the emotion.”
It doesn’t cause happiness, but it can boost or dampen what you’re already feeling.
Current Position FFH
“Emotions go two ways: the emotions we feel and the emotions we express; Emotions activate facial expressions and facial expressions, in turn, feed back to exaggerate and suppress the emotions we feel.”
This is a feedback loop:
You feel joy → you smile → smiling enhances the joy.
You feel sadness → you frown → frowning makes it deeper.
BUT:
“Critics argue that the contribution of this facial feedback is small and that other factors are more important.”
So smiling might help a bit, but it’s not a magic trick.
Are Facial Expressions of Emotion Universal? (Biological systems)
This question taps into the nature vs. nurture debate in emotional psychology.
✅ Highlighted statement:
“People from different cultures identify the same facial expressions with the same emotions.”
This suggests a universal component to facial expressions. Think about how a smile or a frown means basically the same thing in Japan, Nigeria, or Denmark.
✅ Two key aspects:
Innate aspect:
“Even blind babies and children show this ability.”
⚙️ That means you don’t need to see a smile to know how to make one — it’s hardwired, like a reflex.
🧠 Analogy: It’s like yawning — even people who’ve never seen others yawn still yawn when sleepy. The emotional expression is built into your biological operating system.
Learned aspect:
“Training, imitation and emotional regulation (e.g. inhibition) influence this.”
This is the cultural/learned side — like how we’re taught not to laugh at funerals. You might feel something, but you regulate it.
🧠 Is It Possible to Control Emotions Voluntarily? (Biological systems)
✅ Important highlighted sentences:
“Some emotions just happen to us.”
“Require prior exposure to a triggering event.”
“Part of the emotional experience can be voluntarily regulated.”
This section separates emotional trigger (biological) from emotional control (cognitive).
🧠 Analogy:
Imagine emotions like a car engine that starts suddenly. You can’t always stop it from starting, but you can steer it.
For example:
You feel anger when insulted (emotion just happens)
But how you respond (yell, cry, breathe deeply) is regulated
🎯 Takeaway:
Even if emotions seem automatic because they are biological, we can regulate them through cognition (e.g., reframing the situation, taking deep breaths, positive self-talk).
🔶 Appraisal Theory (Cognitive Systems)
✅ Highlighted:
“Emotions do not arise without a prior cognitive evaluation of the event.”
“It is the evaluation (not the event itself) that triggers the emotion.”
This is appraisal theory — it’s not what happens to you, but how you interpret it.
🧠 Analogy: Imagine two people stuck in traffic.
Person A thinks: “Ugh, I’ll be late! This sucks!” → Feels anger
Person B thinks: “Perfect! More time for my audiobook!” → Feels content
🎯 Appraisal = Emotional Meaning = Emotional Trigger
🧠 Two-Factor Theory (Schachter-Singer)
“Any emotional state is made up of two elements:
Arousal or physiological activation
Cognitive aspects (Introduced by this theory)”
🧪 Experimentally Supported Model:
“When a person experiences physiological arousal, they tend to seek an explanation for it through causal attribution.”
🧠 Analogy:
Imagine you drink 3 coffees (heart races, sweaty palms). Then someone flirts with you. You might misattribute your arousal to romantic excitement instead of caffeine.
So:
Stimulus → Physiological activation → Causal attribution → Emotion
🎯 This explains how context shapes emotion.
Causal attribution is the mental process of explaining why something happened, especially your own emotional or physiological state.
Richard Lazarus Theory (Advanced Appraisal)
This is a detailed appraisal model. It says emotion comes from how you value an event’s personal importance.
✅ Highlighted ideas:
“It includes the evaluation of personal relevance, that is, the impact on individual well-being.”
Lazarus says we go through:
Primary Appraisal:
“Relevance of the subject (well-being, goals, self-worth)”
(Relevance of the subject (Personal relevance (well-being) / Alignment with
personal objectives (goal achievement) / Involvement of the self (e.g., self-worth).)
Secondary Appraisal:
“Coping Ability (Perceived Coping Abilities)”
🧠 Analogy:
Think of this like Google Maps for emotion:
Primary = Is this destination important to me?
Secondary = Can I handle the traffic?
If something is important AND you feel unprepared → intense emotion (like panic or stress)
If it’s unimportant or you feel confident → low emotion
Full pathway:
Perception → Valuation (Primary/Secondary/Revaluation) → Emotion → Action
📘 Common Characteristics of Appraisal Theories (Roseman & Smith, 2001)
These are EXAM GOLD — memorize each point.
“Each emotion is triggered by a specific evaluation.”
→ Emotions are like apps — you press different buttons (evaluations) to open different apps (emotions).
“In addition to individual and temporal differences, emotional responses are defined by appraisal.”
→ People and time matter — your response to an insult at age 10 vs. age 30 is different.
“Situations that receive the same evaluation provoke the same emotion.”
→ If two people both see a job interview as threatening, both will feel anxious.
“It is always the evaluation that precedes and provokes the emotion.”
→ Evaluation comes before the emotion, just like setting a recipe before cooking.
“Evaluations help make emotions appropriate responses to situations.”
→ Fear of lions = adaptive; fear of flowers = irrational.
“Appraisals can explain why some emotional responses are inappropriate.”
→ If your brain makes the wrong evaluation, your emotion will be off.
“Changes in assessment may lead to clinically relevant changes.”
→ Therapy can help you reappraise things differently, changing emotions (this is called cognitive restructuring in CBT).
The Emotional Process
“Emotion is an adaptive process that involves multiple components.”
Think of emotions as a car engine that starts when something in your environment “presses the gas pedal.”
They are adaptive, meaning they help you survive and respond to the world. Emotions are not just “feelings” — they also include body reactions and behaviors.
🧱Components of Emotion
These are the building blocks:
Psychophysiological responses – your body’s automatic reactions (e.g., heart racing, stomach churning).
Expressive manifestations – facial expressions (e.g., frowning, crying).
Motor behaviors – what you do (e.g., running away, hugging someone).
“These elements demonstrate that emotions have an objective basis, even if they are experienced subjectively.”
So even if emotions feel personal, there’s a biological signature you can observe.
📍 STEP 1: Occurrence or Appearance of the Stimulus
“The capacity of a stimulus to trigger an emotional response can be innate or acquired through personal experiences.”
A stimulus is anything that triggers your attention — like a loud noise, a spider, or a sad memory.
This trigger can either be:
Innate (you were born reacting to it, like sudden pain), or
Acquired (learned from your own experience, like fear of public speaking).
“The stimulus may be real or imagined, present or from the past, consciously perceived or not.”
Yes, even a thought or hallucination can act as a stimulus!
👀 STEP 2: Stimulus Perception
“This is a fundamental aspect, as without the perception of a stimulus, the individual does not become aware of the existence of an event or situation with certain connotations of imbalance or danger, and thus the emotional process is not initiated.”
So: if you don’t perceive a trigger, the emotional engine doesn’t start.
➤ Perception can be conscious or non-conscious
Conscious perception:
You see a spider and think, “Yikes!”
“Conscious perception is influenced by cognitive, biological, and affective variables, which act as a filter…”
Your personal experiences, mental state, and biology shape how sensitive you are to that spider.
Non-conscious perception:
“The stimulus does not have enough salience… to capture attention, but some processing occurs.”
Think of walking in a forest, and suddenly feeling uneasy — you didn’t notice the snake, but your body did.
“The stimulus must also be perceived as meaningful or destabilizing through a process of appraisal or evaluation.”
📊 STEP 3: Evaluation and Assessment
“Evaluation and appraisal… is a necessary step in the emotional process.”
Now your brain analyzes the stimulus:
Is it dangerous? Is it important? Does it affect my goals?
This appraisal determines what emotion you’ll feel — fear, joy, anger, etc.
“It is not a sufficient variable… the emotional process… requires physiological changes, which serve as evidence…”
Your body must still react.
❤️🔥 STEP 4: Emotional Experience (Feeling)
“Awareness of an emotion is essential, but… There can be an emotional process without the individual being aware of it.”
Yes — you can be emotional without knowing it.
➤ For example:
You feel tense and sweaty, but can’t name why. Later you realize: “Oh! I’m nervous about my exam.”
❓ “Can we experience emotions without feeling it?”
“Yes, this entire emotional process can be occurring without you realizing what emotion you are feeling.”
Your body reacts first. Labeling the emotion comes later.
