week 5, day 1

Question 1

Central Themes: Are there distinct expressions for each emotion?

Answer 1

1. Valence: pos/neg
2. Arousal/activation: so deactivated or activated

Question 2

Darwin’s principles:

Answer 2

1. Principle of function (“Serviceable assoc habits”)
2. Principle of form (antithesis)

Question 3

Principle of function (“Serviceable assoc habits”)

Answer 3

1. Certain actions are of service during certain mental states
2. Facial expressions may appear the way that they do b/c they are helpful for the sender
3. testing if expressions are functional:
   
   • Having them looking at a wall and estimate how much of the wall can you see
   • Result:
     • Disgust face field of view smaller than fear face
     • fear enhances sensory acquisition
4. also tested by measuing their scrunched noses
   
   • Disgust: nasal passage practically closed

Question 4

Principle of form (antithesis)

Answer 4

When an opposite state of mind is induced there is a tendency to perform movements in a direction opposite nature (even if they aren’t of any functional use)

Question 5

Fear and Disgust have opposite forms (Susskind et al., 2008)

Answer 5

1. Looking at vectors on face (based on shape of face and where the lights are reflecting where are the angles going?
   
   1. fear vectors out, disgust vectors in
2. had comp reverse vectors
   
   • Gave ppl anti fear and anti disgust face
   • Results:
     
     • Anti disgust face was more likely interpreted as fear
     • And anti fear face more likely interpreted as disgust

Question 6

Facial Feedback Hyp

Answer 6

1. Facial movement can influence our emotional experience
2. Implication: we can bring about an emotion based on changing the body (getting in the backdoor)

Question 7

studies for facial feedback hyp

(disclaimer: effects are all subtle)

Answer 7

1. Do smiles inc perceptions of funniness? (strack et al., 1988)
   
   • hold instrument in teeth -> contract zygomaticus major -> smile
   • hold instrument in lips -> lengthens zygomaticus major -> frown
   • Results: when holding in teeth you report things as more funny
2. Do furrowed brows inc sadness?
   • hold golf tees together -> furrowed brow
   • have them on -> normal
   • results: sad stimulus more sad when furrowing
3. How could we block expressions? (Wollmer et al., 2012)
   
   • Placebo vs Botox
   • results: feel emotions less strongly after having received botox
4. Botox patients looking at emotional states (Neal & Chartrand, 2011)
   
   • Restylane vs Botox
   • Botox group shows less accuracy predicting emotion than restylane group

Question 8

Smiles

Answer 8

1. what smiles convey about status
   
   • Lower status individuals smile more
   • Comes from submissive face in animals
2. Smiles related to play/laughter
   • With babies you open your mouth very wide but not with teeth