Experimental Psychology 1

Identification Of

EmotionsDeva Pramod V B

M.Sc. Psychology

Department of Psychology

Bharathiar University, India

vbdevan.psy@gmail.com

Experimental Psychology

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Definition

“feelings states that involve a pattern of cognitive,

physiological and behavioural reactions to events.”

"positive or negative experience that is associated with a

particular pattern of physiological activity."

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Nature of emotions

• Emotions are triggered by external or internal eliciting

stimuli.

• Emotional responses result from our appraisal of these

stimuli,

• Our bodies respond physiologically to our appraisals.

• Emotions include behavior tendencies.

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The main characteristics of emotions are:

• Every emotion is followed by physiological change such as rapid heartbeat, change in the pulse rate, change in blood pressure, and change in the facial expression, voice and body movements.

• Emotion is accompanied by a feeling of pleasantness and unpleasantness, following physiological changes.

• Emotions are subjective and purely individual. The same situation may evoke different emotions in different individuals.

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• Emotions rise abruptly. The passing away of emotions is, however slow, leaving behind an emotional state which lasts for some time.

• Emotions have swings. One emotion may give rise to another emotion and the two may get merged.

• An emotion mostly raises when the organism faces a difficult situation or when the basic need is challenged or is not satisfied. In fact, a situation, real or imaginary, is always connected with an emotion.

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• Emotion is a tripolar response having affective, cognitive and conative aspects.

• Emotions have wide range and are not restricted to a particular age period. They occur to children, adolescents and adults.

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Components of emotion

Cognitive Component

Physiological Component

Behavioral Component

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• Eliciting Stimuli• Trigger cognitive appraisals and emotional responses.

• The Cognitive Component• The interpretations and meanings that we attach to sensory stimuli. • Culture and Appraisal

• The Physiological Component • Brain structures and neurotransmitters• Hemispheric activation and emotion

• The Behavioral Component • Evolution and emotional expression• Facial expression of emotion• Cultural Display Rules

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Primary Emotions

• The 6 photos of the previous slide makes the major Primary Emotions: Happy, Sad, Surprise, Fear, Disgust and Anger

• Primary emotions are those that we feel first, as a first response to a situation.

• Thus, if we are threatened, we may feel fear. When we hear of a death, we may feel sadness. They are unthinking, instinctive responses that Humans have. One would typically see these in animals also, which confirms the suspicion that they have an evolutionary basis.

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Secondary Emotions

• Secondary emotions appear after primary emotions. They trigger some other kind, for example where the fear of a threat turns to anger that fuels the body for a fight reaction. They may also come from more complex chains of thinking

• Secondary emotions turn emotions into complex reactions. They increase the intensity of your reactions. Differentiating between primary and secondary emotions provides powerful coping skills

• Some of these are triggered by thinking about what might happen, what might have happened, what did not happen, etc., unlike primary emotions which are triggered only by actual occurrences

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Kinds of emotions (Secondary)

• Positive emotions

• Negative emotions

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Positive Emotions

• Secondary Emotions are divided into Positive and Negative Emotions.• Positive Emotions are,• Love • Astonished • Appreciation• Enthusiasm• Vitality

• Confidence• Gratitude• Patience• Trust• Optimistic

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Negative Emotions

Negative Emotions are: • Guilt• Depression• Pride• Jealousy• Self Pity• Anxiety• Resentment

• Envy• Frustration• Shame• Denial• Offended• Regret• Worry and Grief

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Emotional Expressions

• Observable verbal and nonverbal behaviours that communicate an internal emotional or affective state

• Examples of emotional expression are facial movements such as smiling or scowling, or behavior like crying or laughing

• Can occur with or without self-awareness

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Emotion and Facial Expression

• The term "expression" implies the existence of something that is expressed

• Facial expressions are associated with particular human emotions.

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The Seven Basic Emotions and their Universal Expressions

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Joy or Happy

• Universally and easily recognized• Interpreted as conveying messages• Related to enjoyment, pleasure, a positive disposition, and friendliness• Used so often to hide other emotions and deceive or

manipulate other people

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Sadness

• Often conceived as opposite to happy ones, but this view is too simple, although the action of the mouth corners is opposite

• Convey messages related to • Loss, • Bereavement, • Discomfort, • Pain, • Helplessness, etc

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Anger

• Primary concomitant of interpersonal aggression• Expression conveys messages about• Hostility• Opposition• Potential attack

• Anger is a common response to anger expressions, thus creating a positive feedback loop and increasing the likelihood of dangerous conflict

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Fear

• Fear expressions convey information about • Imminent danger• A nearby threat• A disposition to flee• Likelihood of bodily harm etc.

• The specific objects that can elicit fear for any individual are varied

• Experience of fear has an extremely negative felt quality, and is reduced, along with the bodily concomitants, when the threat has been avoided or has passed

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Disgust

• Often part of the body's responses to objects that are revolting and nauseating

• Rotting flesh, faecal matter and insects in food, or other offensive materials

• Obnoxious smells are effective in eliciting disgust reactions

• Often displayed as a commentary on many other events

• People that generate adverse reactions, but have nothing to do with the primal origin of disgust

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Surprise

• Surprise expressions are fleeting, and difficult to detect or record in real time

• Always occur in response to events that are unanticipated

• They convey messages about something being unexpected, sudden, novel, or amazing

• The brief surprise expression is often followed by other expressions that reveal emotion in response to the surprise feeling or to the object of surprise, emotions such as happiness or fear.

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Contempt

• Contempt is related to disgust, and involves some of the same actions, but differs from it

• Because its elicitors are different and its actions are more asymmetrical

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Conclusion

In psychology and philosophy, emotion is a subjective, conscious experience characterized primarily by psychophysiological expressions, biological reactions, and mental states.

Facial expressions of emotion are part of our evolutionary history and are a biologically innate ability, we all have the ability to read them. It is an ability that gets better on the job in our everyday lives.

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