PSY 1001H Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Startle Response, Social Emotions, Psy
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Psy 1001
Fall 2016
Emotion & Motivation (lectures, discussion section & chapter 11)
What is emotion?
1. What were the key components of Dr Gewirtz’s definition of emotion?
a state elicited by a strongly motivational event that produces a coordinated set of adaptive
responses
Emotional responses have three aspects:
“Feelings” - introspective, subjective (is my jealousy the same as yours?)
Autonomic responses – sympathetic activation, hormonal
Somatic responses – facial expressions (in humans), approach or avoidance
What does each of these refer to?
2. What is the evolutionary view of emotion as originally proposed by Darwin?
Emotions promote survival of species; emotional responses are instinctive and universal,
rather than learned and culture-specific
What is the adaptive value of emotion?
They can change based upon situation that is placed in front of a species and change
genetically.
What evidence suggests that these emotions are innate?
Can see evolution through them. (Sweating and shutting down salivation because of arousal,
lie tests) Fear in dogs lead to them making seem bigger.
3. What are Ekman’s six (or seven) basic emotions?
a. Happiness
b. Sadness
c. Anger
d. Fear
e. Disgust
f. surprise
How was this research done?
Research done by looking at different emotion on faces from people with different cultures.
Can’t be studied in animals. Shown at birth and primary emotions, can be combined to for
secondary emotions. Fear/sadness/disgust/anger hard to distinguish
How can researchers study emotion?
Evoking emotion in human participants
4. What is the International Affective Picture system (IAPS)?
800+ pictures with normative ratings of valence (pleasant vs unpleasant) and arousal
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
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How is research done with the IAPS?
Phobics and nonpsychopathic prisoners, measuring valence on x axis and arousal on y
5. Using the IAPS, what two dimensions of emotion are studied: valence (pleasant and
unpleasant) and arousal?
What kinds of images are associated with these dimensions?
6. This research has identified three primary motive systems:
Defensive – escape, avoidance, defensive displays, defensive aggression
Appetitive – eating, drinking, reproduction, nurturing young
Impulse control
What characteristics define each of these?
What is meant by “motive system?”
What one wants to achieve and which emotions are involved.
Evoking emotion in rats
7. How can researchers study emotion in rats?
Testing how easily a rat startles based upon their arousal.
What is the fear-potentiated startle response?
Loud, sudden noise occurs = startle
Not an emotional response; reflex, prepares for future action
Larger response when you are fearful (sketchy situation on west bank at 1 am) vs in a
lecture hall
How is the fear-potentiated startle acquired by rats?
How do individuals with phobias, psychopaths and normal people response to IAPS
images?
8. What is a phobia?
being scared of something
Compared to most people, how do individuals with a phobia respond to startle while
viewing pleasant, high arousal images?
lower
While viewing neutral, low arousal images?
About the same
When viewing unpleasant, high arousal images?
About the same
When shown the object of their phobia?
Significantly higher
9. What is a psychopath?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Emotion & motivation (lectures, discussion section & chapter 11) What is emotion: what were the key components of dr gewirtz"s definition of emotion? a state elicited by a strongly motivational event that produces a coordinated set of adaptive responses. Feelings - introspective, subjective (is my jealousy the same as yours?) Somatic responses facial expressions (in humans), approach or avoidance. Emotions promote survival of species; emotional responses are instinctive and universal, rather than learned and culture-specific. They can change based upon situation that is placed in front of a species and change genetically. Can see evolution through them. (sweating and shutting down salivation because of arousal, lie tests) fear in dogs lead to them making seem bigger: what are ekman"s six (or seven) basic emotions, happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise. Research done by looking at different emotion on faces from people with different cultures. Shown at birth and primary emotions, can be combined to for secondary emotions.
