EmotionsThey colour everything we do

Aims

Aim of this weeks lesson is to give you insight into various emotions and their origin and the difference between emotions and feelings.

Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will: • Be able to evaluate theories of emotion. • Recognise the difference between primary

and secondary emotions. • Have an understanding of the physiology of

emotions and brain regions involved.• Differentiate between feeling and emotions.

Emotions• Without emotions life would be dull. Emotions colour

everything that we do.

• It is our emotional reactions to the world that allow us to determine what parts of it are safe, and which are dangerous, which bring happiness, sadness, anger or depression.

• At its most fundamental level emotions provide us with information about ourselves that assist us with our daily lives.

How many emotions do we have?

*Guess the emotion activity

Pluntchik’s emotion wheel model suggests there are 8 basic emotions.

1. Joy 5. Sadness2. Trust 6. Disgust3. Fear 7. Anger4. Surprise 8. Anticipation

Plutchik’s emotion wheelPrimary and secondary emotions

Primary and secondary emotions

Primary =• Emotions that are in all humans regardless of

culture or differences in learning.• Aroused quickly, without our conscious

knowledge.• Evolved our time to assist with our survivalSecondary=• Emerge from primary emotions, blends of

emotions

Plutchik’s emotion wheelPrimary and secondary emotions

Guess emotion

• See if you can put an emotion to a face. What is Daniel Craig thinking?

• Have a look at the next slide and see if you find it easy to name each demonstrated emotions.

Question??

• How do you think it is that we experience emotions?

• How do they originate?

James (1884) / Lange (1887)

James (1884)• "My theory ... is that the bodily changes follow directly

the perception of the exciting fact, and that our feeling of the same changes as they occur is the emotion. Common sense says, we lose our fortune, are sorry and weep; we meet a bear, are frightened and run; we are insulted by a rival, and angry and strike. The hypothesis here to be defended says that this order of sequence is incorrect ... and that the more rational statement is that we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble ... Without the bodily states following on the perception, the latter would be purely cognitive in form, pale, colorless, destitute of emotional warmth. We might then see the bear, and judge it best to run, receive the insult and deem it right to strike, but we should not actually feel afraid or angry"

Cannon-bard theory (1929)

Cannon-bard (1929)

• An emotion is produced when some stimulus triggers the thalamus to send information simultaneously to the brain (specifically, the cerebral cortex) and the autonomic system (including the skeletal muscles), evoking two simultaneous reactions, the physiological excitement and the awareness of the emotion. None of these two reactions occasions the other. The theory assumes that the bodily process is independent from the psychological process.

Three components of emotions.

1. The subjective experience

2. The physiological experience

3. The behaviour associated with the emotion.

Schachter and Singer (1962)

Two factor theory: Emotion / Cognition Stimulus in the environment • This triggers Physiological change which the person

senses such as a rapid heart beat and muscles tightening. As the patterns of physiological change are similar, the person must

• Make an appraisal of the situation, Cognition. This decision is based on memory of past events in

similar situations and their interpretation of what they are feeling

Question??

• Have you experienced any emotions that seem to have arisen without cognitions being involved?

• If so what made this happen?

• What is the difference between those that clearly involve cognition?

Question??

• Emotional expression:

Do the people you know differ in how well they can recognise emotional expression in others?

What is the survival value of those facial expression and expressed emotion?

Emotion in the brain

•Research has shown that the amygdale, a small almond shaped structure deep inside the brain as well as the hippocampus seem to be the main areas involved with emotions.•These studies also show that the neural responses from a fear stimulus are also carried to the thalamus. This is a brain structure near the amygdala that acts as a channel for incoming sensory signals.

Physiological effect of emotion

• Whenever you feel a strong emotion, such as fear, embarrassment, anger, or joy, the organs in your body react. A cold sweat, a blush, and a "nervous stomach" are evidence that the sweat glands, blood vessels, and stomach are reacting to the emotions. These three reactions to emotion are evidence that there is a link between the brain and each of the organs involved.

Question??

• Do you think it is possible to tell what someone else is thinking / feeling from observing their emotional behaviour and change in physiology?

Emotions Vs Feelings

• Feelings are subjective and can not be studied scientifically therefore, Psychologists avoid discussing / studying feelings.

• Eric Jensen, Ph.D. author of The Learning Brain “Emotions are cross cultural – the same all over the world. Feelings are a subset of all of our mind-body states (disappointment, hunger, hope, etc. There are hundreds of them!). Feelings are a learned response in the culture in which you grow up (the family, the peers, the community, etc.)”

The autonomic nervous system experiment...

• Pair up with someone.• One experimenter, one participant.• Experimenter take participants pulse rate for

30 sec. Multiply by two to get average BPM• Participant will complete a dot to dot

Blogging...

• Write a blog (story) on your day. What was today like for you? Up, Down, good, bad. Explain in as much detail as possible your emotions and feeling of the day..

• Did you notice any physiological changes when you were writing?

We feel fine......

http://www.wefeelfine.org/wefeelfine_pc.html