Cognitive Level of Analysis

Session 11: Biology,Cognition & Emotion

Activity 1

In pairs read through the articles on emotion

You need to be ready to present what you read to the group

You have ten minutes

Discuss the extent to which biological and cognitive factors interact in emotion

Today’s learning outcome

What is emotion?

A feeling state characterised by physiological arousal, expressive behaviours, and a cognitive interpretation.

1. Physiological changes such as arousal of the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system that are not conscious

2. The person’s own subjective feeling of an emotion (e.g. happiness)

3. Associated behaviour such as smiling or running away

Emotion consists of three components:

Physiological Components of Emotion

Activity 2

Think of a time that you have experienced a strong emotion that you are willing to share with the rest of the class

Theories of Emotion

A biologically oriented psychologist defines emotion as physiological behavior; body arousal, hormones, brain activity and facial expressions are considered to be associated with pleasant or unpleasant mental states of the mind.

Conversely, cognitive psychologists focus on the mental aspects of emotions and how the unconscious and conscious mental processes influence emotional experiences and actions.

We will look at the interaction between the two in order to further understand emotions.

How do biological factors interact in emotion?

Amygdala is the small structure in the temporal lobe that appears to be critical in the brain’s emotional circuit

It is believed to play a critical role in emotional memories

Studies of animals and humans indicate that stress hormones such as adrenaline are released when strong emotions are evoked

1. Theory of the Emotional Brain (LeDoux, 1999)

2. Appraisal Theory (Lazarus, 1975)3. Two-Factor Theory-Schachter & Singer

(1962)4. Facial feedback hypothesis (Darwin)

Theories of Emotion

1. Theory of Emotional Brain- LeDoux (1999)

LeDoux describes 2 biological pathways of emotion in the brain1. Short route

goes from thalamus to amygdala (faster, immediate reaction)

2. Long routepasses via the thalamus, the sensory cortex and hippocampus before it goes to amygdala (thought out, slower)

Both pathways can be triggered simultaneously

An example…

A woman is walking home, late in the evening. At the next corner, she sees a man waiting. She just read in the newspaper a story about a women being raped, so she is afraid and her heart begins to race. She walks slowly as to if to prepare for what may come. This is the physiological arousal, the fight or flight response which prepares for a reaction to a stressful experience.

When the women is just about to pass the man, he comes toward he saying, “Excuse me, I am lost. Could you tell me where Linner Street is?”. The woman realizes she has misjudged the situation and relaxes/ she tells the man where the street is and continues walking calmly to her home.

How can this be explained in terms of the short and long route?

An example…

Short Route The emotional stimulus (man

who could be a potential aggressor) is first processed in thalamus which sends a signal to amygdala.

The perception of the potential stressor enables the brain to send signals to the body so that it can prepare for action

The example explained…

Long Route At the same time, the thalamus

sends the information via the indirect pathway to the cortex and hippocampus for closer inspection

The results in a more detailed evaluation of the stimulus- an appraisal-

In the example the woman becomes aware that there is no danger so she relaxes. Most of these processes are non

conscious

The example explained…

According to LeDoux (1999), the advantage of having a direct and indirect pathways to the amygdala and the stress response system is flexibility in response.

In the case of danger, the fast and direct pathway is useful because it saves time. This could be important in matters of life and death.

On the other hand, the long pathway allows for a more thorough evaluation of a situation, which can help people and animals to avoid inappropriate responses to situations.

1. Theory of Emotional Brain- LeDoux (1999)

2. Appraisal Theory- Lazarus (1975)

Appraisals are evaluations related to how a situation

will impact on one’s personal well being

Positive emotions emerge if the appraisal assesses

potential benefit

Negative emotions emerge if appraisal assess

potential harm

Lazarus claimed cognitive appraisal is an important

part of people’s reaction to emotional stimuli, and

that emotional experiences ARE NOT ONLY

physiological

People actively interpret and evaluate what is

happening to them (a principle of CLOA)

He suggested we initially make a brief analysis of a situation in terms of whether or not it represents a threat (we appraise a situation).

Assumed that cognitive appraisal of the situation determines the level of physiological arousal and the specific type of emotion to be experienced

Put simply you must first think about your situation before you

can experience an emotion.

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2. Appraisal Theory- Lazarus (1975)

LO 9.19 Cognitive-mediational theory.2. Appraisal Theory- Lazarus (1975)

Theory suggests cognition also important factor in emotion

Empirical support for Appraisal theory Speisman et al. (1964)

Lab experiment with independent measures design Showed participants a film that showed initiation ceremony involving unpleasant

genital surgery – a right of passage for young adolescent boys in a primitive society.

The aim of the study was to investigate if peoples emotional reaction the unpleasant film could be manipulated through cognitive appraisal

The experiment deliberately manipulated the participants appraisal of the situation and evaluated the effect of the type of appraisal on their emotional response using a self report questionnaire, and also a heart rate monitor.

Condition 1‘trauma’

Condition 2‘Denial’

Condition 3‘Intellectualisation’

soundtrack which emphasized pain and

mutilation.

soundtrack showed the participants

willing and happy.

soundtrack gave the anthropological

interpretation of the ceremony.

Speisman et al. (1964)

The results of self report questionnaires and heart rate monitoring showed that participants reacted more emotionally to the trauma condition (higher heart rate, and responses showing high emotional responses on the self report questionnaire).

This seems to support Lazarus's theory. Maybe it is not the events themselves that illicit emotional stress, but rather the individual interpretation or appraisal of these events

This could also be seen to as support to LeDoux’s theory of two biological pathways in the brain, as cognitive appraisal involves the hippocampus and neo cortex.

You might ask if a study like this can say anything about real life. It was a laboratory study with the manipulation of variables which always raises the issue of artificiality. There were also ethical issues involved here, because the research deliberately used deception and put participants in unpleasant situation. In conclusion, cognitive seems to influence the emotional reaction, so this study could then illustrate how cognitive and biological factors interact with emotion.

Emperical support for Appraisal theory

3. Two-Factor Theory-Schachter & Singer (1962)

Proposed yet another theory which suggests our physiology and cognitions create emotions.

Emotions have two factors–physical arousal and cognitive label.

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Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

Physiological arousal◦ Sweaty palms◦ Increased heart rate◦ Rapid breathing

Cognitive Label◦ Attribute source of

arousal to a cause. To have an emotion,

both factors are required.

3. Two-Factor Theory-Schachter & Singer (1962)

Schachter and Singer felt that physical arousal plays a primary role in emotions. However, they suggested that this arousal was the same for a wide variety of emotions, so physical arousal alone could not be responsible for emotional responses.

3. Two-Factor Theory-Schachter & Singer (1962)

Physiological responses related to the emotions of fear, anger, love, and boredom are very similar. It is often cognitive labels that distinguish these

emotions.

Excitement and fear involve a similarphysiological arousal.

3. Two-Factor Theory-Schachter & Singer (1962)

3. Two-Factor Theory-Schachter & Singer’s experiment (1962)

Lab experimentAim was to test the two factor theory of emotion to see if participants exhibited both cognitive and biological reactions to a stimulus. Participants: 184 male college students, taking classes in introductory psychology in US.Participants were told that the aim of the experiment was ‘to look at the effects of vitamin injections on visual skills’They were given an injection of either adrenalin (epinephrine) or a placebo, which has no side effects at all. The effects of adrenalin = increase in blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar level, respiration rate, and blood flow to the muscles and brain. Often experienced as tremors and faster breathing.

3. Two-Factor Theory-Schachter & Singer’s experiment (1962)

Participants were placed in a room with another participant who was actually a confederate in the experiment.

The confederate either acted in one of two ways:

1.euphoric 2. angry.

Results indicated that participants were more likely to feel either happier or angrier depending on the confederate

Schachter and Singer concluded that although individuals usually are aware of the reason for their aroused emotional state, if the reason is not apparent, they search their environment for clues to help them interpret the emotion.

4. Facial Feedback Hypothesis (Darwin)

Theory of emotion that assumes that facial expressions provide feedback to the brain concerning the emotion being expressed, which in turn causes and intensifies the emotion.

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Strack et al., 1988) Participants told they were taking part in a study

to determine the difficulty for people without the use of their hands or arms to accomplish certain tasks

Participants held a pen in their mouth in one of three ways. The Lip position result in a frown. The Teeth position would result in a smile. The control group would hold the pen in their nondominant hand.

All had to fill a questionnaire in that position and rate the difficulty involved. The last task, which was the real objective of the test, was the subjective rating of the funniness of a cartoon.

Those with smile rated cartoon as funniest

Empirical Evidence for Facial Feedback Hypothesis

LO 9.18 Facial feedback hypothesis4. Facial Feedback Hypothesis (Darwin)

What theories of emotion did we look at?

A recap…

What theories of emotion did we look at?

1. Theory of the Emotional Brain (LeDoux, 1999)2. Appraisal Theory (Lazarus, 1975)3. Two-Factor Theory-Schachter & Singer (1962)4. Facial feedback hypothesis (Darwin)

A recap…

Cognitive and biological factors do, to a large extent, interact in emotion, but in complex ways that are not yet well known

Emotions may influence cognitive processes such as memory, and cognitive processes such as appraisal may affect emotion but little is known about the exact workings of the physiological workings of emotions

Conclusions?