Towards a science of emotions

Sandeep Gautam

The Importance of being Cognitive

Cogsci.SE

ART SCIENCELiterature PsychologyAesthetics Behavioral

economics

The study of emotions

Expressions used by Ekman

Infants facial expressions

Facial expressions in infants- Izard– Enjoyment-joy, Distress- anguish, Rage- anger;– Fear-terror, Disgust- revulsion, Startle- surprise– Shame-shyness-humiliation, Interest-excitement– Contempt-scorn, Guilt-remorse

Developmental time course by Katherine Bridges– 1 month to 12 months

Bridge’s Schema

Navarasa in Natyashastra

Eight Rasas/bhavas in Natyashastra (Bharat Muni)

Eight rasas arranged in four pairs– hasya derives from shringar for example.

Hasya- Shringar: or that of  joy—affection (love)

Karuna- Raudra: or that of  sadness—anger Bhayanak- bibhitsa: or that of fear—disgust Veera- Adbhuta: or that of  interest (self-

assurance) —surprise

Emotion dimensions

Factors of PANAS-X scale– Positive affect

Joviality , Attentiveness; Self-assurance, Surprise.

– Negative affectSadness, Hostility; Fear, Guilt.

Emotion dimensions

Factor structure by Fontaine/Scherer– Valence: from Joy (pleasant) to Sadness

(unpleasant)– Arousal: from Attentiveness/ Love (passively

energised) to Anger/ Hostility (active energy)– Dominance : from Interest/ Self-Assurance (in

control) to Fear-Anxiety (lack of control)– Predictability :from Surprise (preference for

unpredictable) to Disgust (aversion to unpredictable)

Two emotional families (Carver and Scheier)

Joy, Sadness, Anger and Attentiveness/ love/ affection

Fear, Interest /self-assurance, Surprise and Disgust/guilt

Approach motivation related affects – elation, eagerness and excitement at one end to

frustration, anger and sadness on the other end Avoidance motivation related affects

– relief, serenity and contentment to fear, guilt and anxiety

Motivation leads to emotion

Approach motivation– Desired end state– Opportunity focus– On success and failure or frustration in reaching a reward

Avoidance motivation– Dreaded end state– Threat focus– On success or failure or facilitation in escaping from danger

Why all this toil and trouble?

Once the Million $ Q of basic emotions is settled, we can focus on – Emotions and Motivations– Emotions and Personality/ Psychopathology– Emotions and Underlying biological systems– Emotions and Music– Emotions and Colors or visual arts– Emotions and Movies

Emotions and positive psychology

Valence (joy-sadness): The pleasant life – HAPPINESS

Arousal (attentiveness-anger): The engaged life – FLOW

Potency (Interest- fear): The responsible life – WILLPOWER

Predictability (surprise-disgust): The meaningful life -PURPOSE

Emotions and self-regulation

Emotions as signals as to how well we are avoiding threat/ approaching rewards

Avoidance focus associated with psychopathology and less favorable outcomes

Have an opportunity focus rather than a threat focus

Being mindful of emotions, leads to control over them

Thank You!

Q&A– Sandeep Gautam– sandygautam@yahoo.com– http://the-mouse-trap.com– http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-fundam

ental-four

Emotion dimensions and Personality traits (FFM)

Mapping to Personality (pathology)– Fear-Interest: Negative emotionality : Neuroticism: HA– Joy-Sadness: Positive emotionality: Extraversion: NS– Anger- Affection: Antagonism: Agreeableness: RD– Surprise-Disgust : Disinhibition vs. constraint:

Conscientiousness: P– Detached/’outsider’/dissociated/apathy? -

Shame/guilt/pride/righteous ? Schizotypy? Openness to experience/Intellect/ non-conformity?

Underlying neurobiology (Gray etc.)

Joy-Sadness = BAS: E (reward sensitivity/ approach) – serotonin -raphae(like)

Attentiveness- Anger = BIS sub component related to arousal? : A (impulsivity/ arousal)- dopamine –VTA, vmSNPC (want/need)

Fear- Self-assurance = FFFS: N (fear/ panic)- Norepenephrine – LC (learn)

Surprise- Disgust = BIS sub component related to attention: C (anxiety/inhibition) – dopamine- dmSNPC (prediction)

Nonconform- socially conform = Dream-wake-sleep system- acetylcholine (create/memory)