Emotion

Psych 36: Biopsychology

What is Emotion?
Three components:
Physiological reaction
Behavioral response
Conscious, subjective

feeling with a valence

(positive or negative)

Why Emotion?
Survival advantages
Arousal
Recognition of and better
learning of rewards &
punishments,

Emotion is not just a

luxury - we could not
survive without it!

Are There Basic

Emotions?
Darwin strong biological basis for
emotions

Emotions as innate
Therefore, they should be universal
across human cultures

Most agree: 6-8 basic emotions:

anger, happiness, sadness, fear,
disgust, surprise, contempt,
embarrassment

Emotions Recognized
Around the World

Anger

Happiness

Sadness

Disgust

Surprise

Fear

Contempt

Embarrassment

Dimensions of Emotion
All emotions can be

characterized by two factors:

Valence (pleasant-unpleasant
or good-bad)

Anger

Arousal - intensity of the

response (high-low)

Includes all 6 basic emotions

Useful way to assess neural
correlates of emotion

sadness

Happiness

Emotional Experience
How are emotions experienced?
What occurs first, the physiological,

behavioral or subjective feeling of an

emotion?

Three theories

James-Lange Theory
Each emotion has a specific physiological
reaction

Automatic nonconscious interpretation of the

physiological response leads to the subjective

feeling or emotion

W. James: We feel sorry because we cry,

angry because we strike, afraid because we

tremble.

Cannon-Bard Theory
Subjective feelings and the Physiological
responses occur simultaneously and
independently

Emotional stimulus goes to the thalamus, then

Hypothalamus (Autonomic N.S. response)
Neocortex subjective feeling
Emotions do not have different patterns of
physiology

Schachter-Singer
Theory
2 Factor theory
Emotions is a result of physiological arousal
+ cognitive appraisal of the situation.

physiological arousal contributes only to the

emotions intensity - it doesnt indicate the
emotion at all

Theories of Emotion Awareness

Current Views of
Emotion
Physiological arousal for emotions has
been shown to vary physiological
reaction for happiness is quite
different than anger

But anger & fear?

Several studies have shown that

bodily feedback changes a persons

perception of emotion

Facial Feedback in
Emotion
Emotional facial configurations produce different patterns
of autonomic arousal & subjective feelings consistent with
the associated emotion

Posed Facial
Expressions
Subjects reported subjective
feelings consistent with the
associated emotion

Cartoons are rated as more

amusing during induced
smiling

Makes a stimulus more

painful when making a sad

face

Posed Facial Expressions

Women who have had facial muscles

paralyzed with Botox and are unable to

frown report less negative mood(!)

Limiting the ability to express an emotion

also limits its perception

Attempts at angry expressions also

produce less amygdala activity

The Facial Feedback

Hypothesis
The idea that ones facial expressions
can have an effect on emotional
experience

Physiological feedback provides

information about the quality and

intensity of our emotions

Mood repair

Other Physical Feedback

and Emotion
Briefly holding a warm

cup led to evaluating a

person more positively

Postural feedback
Quadriplegics report

diminished emotions

It is clear the brain uses

feedback to construct
our emotional
experiences

Brain Structures in Emotion

Many neural structures are active in the

construction, experience and responses to

emotion

Limbic system (the emotional brain)

Network of structures (nuclei)
Located on the medial surface of the

hemispheres and in parts of the cortex

Organized into many feedback systems

The Limbic System

The Amygdala
The amygdala
plays a role in
fear & anxiety

The most

connected
structure in the
limbic system

The Ventral Tegmental Area

(VTA)
A small group of neurons located in the midbrain
It targets the nucleus accumbens critically
involved in addictive behavior

The Prefrontal Cortex

Understanding behavior
and its consequences

Executive functions

planning, prioritizing,
organizing behavior

Social rules
the final destination for

much of the brains

information about emotion
before action is taken.

The Prefrontal Cortex

Hemisphere activity differs for pleasant and
unpleasant emotion

Left more active for pleasant emotion

Right more active for sad emotions
Sad
Emotions
Happy
Emotions

Not Just in Humans..

Something similar

has been found for

members of other
species

When dogs appear to

be happy, their tails

tend to wag more to
the right

The left hemisphere for

dogs appears to be
more active during
happiness

The Right Hemisphere &

Emotion
Research: posterior right

hemisphere may be more involved

in processing emotion stimuli

Left side of the face usually shows

greater emotional expression

Right-hemisphere damage
Difficulty recognizing emotional
facial expressions and tone of
voice

ANS problems

Right Hemisphere &

Emotion
Which of these faces
is happier?

Which is more sad?

The Limbic System

Processes emotional

significance of everything in
the world

Allows us to experience, learn

about, and create memories of

emotion - pleasure, pain, joy,
depression, euphoria, etc.

Is undoubtedly important in
shaping and maintaining
personality