Understanding Emotions: Generation, Components, and Impact on Human Behavior - Prof. R. Wi, Study notes of Psychology

Download Understanding Emotions: Generation, Components, and Impact on Human Behavior - Prof. R. Wi and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! 1/17 How are emotions generated? - What is cognition? What is emotion? o Example: Same event, 2 different emotional reactions and two different changes in behavior: receiving a B on an exam – distressed aims to work harder, satisfied aims to slack off.  Emotions: a feeling state that is a reaction to a recent event. Emotions are associated with “motivation”.  Mood: feeling state that you always have if you are awake. Often, it’s not about anything that you are aware of.  Motivation: a process that influences the direction, persistence and vigor of goal-directed behavior. o The emotional reaction to receiving the letter grade B on an exam is dependent on appraisal. An average student with a 2.2 grade point average has a positive reaction whereas an honor student with a 3.9 grade point average has negative emotional event. They appraise the event differently. - Cognition = knowledge  What is the difference between cognitive content and cognitive process?  Cognitive content: a large percentage of emotional reaction comes back to your beliefs. Conscious process.  Cognitive processes: unconscious - What cognitive process is necessary to generate an emotion? o Appraisal: the process in the mind that gives personal meaning to events. o No appraisal, no emotion - Lazarus Model of Emotion: “The father of cognition” - What are the four components of the emotion that results from appraisal? 1. The subjective-experiential component: a feeling state 2. Somatic component: a change in body a. Example: Quarterback – day of the game he always throws up. This is a somatic component. 3. Cognitive component: refers to thoughts generated and to the appraisal process 4. Motivational component (action tendency): motivational behavior. 1/19/12 Q: Which component most relevant to understanding the role of emotions in human behavior? Why? Can emotions be unconscious? A: The motivational component. E motion. Q: Are all 4 components always activated? A: No Q: What is the difference between conscious emotion and unconscious emotion? Give examples. A: 1. Missing two components as in subliminal advertising: picture of a car and subliminal presentation of a word or picture that elicits a positive emotional response e.g. happy, smile, love, good, picture of smiling face. - Consuming a new lemon-lime drink 2. Missing cognitive component (worrying) of the emotion of anxiety 3. Missing 2 components: many decisions we make use unconscious emotions called automatic emotions. 4. Missing 3 components: repressors - Responses to physical or psychosocial threat - the only thing that appears is the somatic component Blue ribbon emotions: conscious, generated by schema-based appraisal (cognitive) Schema-based appraisals: based on beliefs about self, world, and others. They are declarative memories and emotional memories. - An individuals beliefs reflect their life experiences. Automatic appraisals: based on emotional (associative) memories. - Emotional memory: classically conditioned memory. Q: What is a schematic model (schema; implicational belief) A: Schemas are beliefs (models) about self, world and others. Based on life experiences. Essential to appraisal process (schema-based, but not automatic) that leads to emotional reactions. Q: One cognitive component of the appraisal process is cognitive interpretation of events. Define this term and give an example to clarify its role in appraisal. Appraisal are always made with respect to goals and beliefs The appraisal tendency theory: once an emotion has been generated, the appraisal process becomes biased in that you are more likely to appraise events in a way that will maintain that emotion. (slide 33) For example, an individual who is angry is more likely to appraise events as being frustrating or demeaning, or obstructions. Similarly, if someone is anxious (fearful) she is more likely to make appraisals of danger and threat in the environment. Anger is about being blocked pursuing a goal by an external agent. - Schema based appraisal or appraisal that involves implicational beliefs - Automatic appraisal no connection to implicational beliefs, but based on classical conditioning. Based on emotional (associative) memories. Automatic appraisal is based on emotional (associative) memories. Is it necessary to experience the reward or punishment to develop an emotional memory? No. - Observational learning of phobias by children Use the “minuteman” study to illustrate the difference between an emotional memory and a declarative memory. - Minuteman had a seizure multiple times a day - Hippocampus essential to develop declarative memories - Damage to the hippocampus led to inability to form new declarative memories o Crossword puzzles, going to a party, meeting new people - Evidence that he could form and retrieve emotional memories and generate an emotion via automatic appraisal o Stooge provokes anger and an emotional memory. Emotion measured by somatic component (heart rate, blood pleasure, sweating) o Return of the Stooge elicits emotional memory and thereby through automatic appraisal an emotional response as measured physiologically and by verbal comments. 1/31/12 What is the Two Memory Hypothesis? - You can form emotional memories for the first three years of your life before declarative memories are formed - Emphasis on early childhood o Infant given negative treatment will cause the development of negative emotional memories, which will in turn effect reactions later in life - Declarative memories are based on language Discuss the role of emotional memories in reactive attachment disorder - Orphanage in Soviet block countries: found physical and sexual abuse with no affection - Terrible experiences which develop negative emotions and then there’s automatic appraisal Use the “lunch example” to show how emotional memories influence declarative memories. - Tell me what you ate for lunch last year at this time in 2002 - Student remembered example because husband proposed to her How are emotional memories developed? - Winters’ Family – use water guns to train cat – ordering emotional memories to change behavior - Operant conditioning Why use cats? - No implicational beliefs - All they have is automatic appraisal and emotional memories. Can’t form appraisal memories. What is the relationship between a negative emotional memory and avoidance motivation? - Anxiety is an anticipatory emotion that allows people to avoid a punishment Positive Emotional Memory - Sound of a can opener causes cats to come running into the kitchen - Associate sound with award for tuna What is the relationship between a positive emotional memory and approach motivation? - Approach motivation: to seek a reward - Anticipatory pleasure: dog excited to ride in the car and stick head out the window 2/2/12 Case of peter: Went from schema-base to automatic appraisal. Q: Are emotions generated by automatic appraisal always conscious (as was the case for Julie and Peter)? A: No The case of Elliot: Lacked emotional associations - Lost understanding of emotional consequences Q: Discuss the role of emotions in decision-making. A: Emotions are a type of knowledge that is important in making decisions. Emotions help us predict the emotional consequences of decisions: Will a reward or a punishment result from the decision? Thus, it is the motivational approach of the emotion – either approach (rewards) motivation or avoidance (punishment) motivation – that provides the critical information used in decision-making. Somatic markers make predictions which we use in decision. 2/7/12 Positive somatic marker = go for it... there is a reward Negative somatic marker = beware… don’t go there Is it necessary to be consciously aware of our emotional responses to be able to use this information in decision-making? No. Experiments that Test Affect-As-Information Theory - Studies using false feedback paradigm, e.g. words like rilea, ojwox, kprael - The weather and an ambiguously described individual o University of Illinois participated in a study which proved weather has a negative effect on mood, particularly if they do not see the sun very much. Using the same information. - Used in advertising to sway your opinion, e.g., advertisements that elicit positive emotional responses such as laughter (geico), feelings of belonging (beer) Give other examples of applications of the Affect-As-Information 1. Fear and driving when there is no speed limit (“gut feeling”) a. Emotional memory: fast driving and punishment (injury or death) b. Professor driving in Germany 2. “Gut feeling” (somatic marker) of anxiety (“twinge” of anxiety) and approaching stranger a. Emotional memory: being friendly and punishment (rejection) Ex: Anxiety around strangers due to past experience of professor saying “what are you talking to me… I don’t know you.”  emotional memory formed, being friendly and rejection, which led to a negative somatic marker.