313392 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Polygraph, Autonomic Nervous System, Nonverbal Communication
Topic of Emotion in Psychology
1. An emotion is a response of the whole organism, involving physiological
arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience.
● Theories of emotion generally address two major questions:
o Does physiological arousal come before or after emotional feelings,
and
o how do feeling and cognition interact?
2. The James-Lange theory is the theory that our experience of emotion is our
awareness of our physiological responses to an emotion-arousing stimulus.
3. The Cannon-Bard theory is the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus
simultaneously triggers physiological responses and the subjective
experience of emotion (one does not cause the other).
4. The two-factor theory is the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience
emotion one must be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal.
● Lazarus agreed that that some emotional responses do not require conscious
thinking.
o Emotions arise when we appraise an event as harmless or
dangerous, whether we truly know it is or not.
o They travel a high road. A stimulus following this path would
travel by way of the thalamus to the brain’s cortex where it would
be analyzed and labeled before the response command is sent out,
via the amygdala (emotion-control center).
o This is especially true of more complex feelings like hatred and love.
● Zajonc and LeDoux, however, have contended that some simple emotional
responses occur instantly, not only outside our conscious awareness, but
before any cognitive processing occurs.
o This is especially true of simple likes, dislikes, and fears. (e.g. When
someone views a big spider behind glass, they may experience fear
even though they know the spider can’t hurt them.
● This interplay between emotion and cognition illustrates our dual-track
mind.
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5. Carroll Izard identified 10 basic emotions, most present in infancy:
● Joy, interest-excitement, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear,
shame, and guilt
● Others believe that pride is a distint emotion, signaled by a small smile, head
slightly tilted back, and an open posture (Tracy & Robins, 2004).
● Love, too, may be a basic emotion (Shaver et al., 1996).
o Izard has argued that other emotions are combinations of these 10,
with love, for example, being a mixture of joy and interest-
excitement.
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Document Summary
Topic of emotion in psychology: an emotion is a response of the whole organism, involving physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience. This interplay between emotion and cognition illustrates our dual-track mind: carroll izard identified 10 basic emotions, most present in infancy: Joy, interest-excitement, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, and guilt. Others believe that pride is a distint emotion, signaled by a small smile, head slightly tilted back, and an open posture (tracy & robins, 2004). Love, too, may be a basic emotion (shaver et al. , 1996). It triggers your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). To provide energy, your liver pours extra sugar into your bloodstream. To help burn the sugar, your respiration increases to supply needed oxygen. Your heart rate and blood pressure increase. Your digestion slows, diverting blood from your internal organs to your muscles. Your pupils dilate, letting in more light. To cool your stirred-up body, you perspire.
