Discovering Psychology

#12 Motivation & Emotion

Facial Feedback/ James-Lange

Demonstration/Experiment

Module 16

Emotion

Explaining Emotions 2 Types of Theories

• Peripheral Theories– Physiological changes in the body give rise

to your emotional feelings• James-Lange Theory• Facial Feedback Theory

• Cognitive Theories– Your interpretations/appraisals of situations

give rise to your emotional feelings• Schachter-Singer Experiment

James-Lange Theory

• Our brains interpret specific physiological changes as feelings or emotions

• A different physiological pattern underlies each emotion

4 Steps

• Physiological Changes– Site of an approaching shark triggers physiological changes

• increasing heart rate & blood pressure

• secretion of various hormones

• Interpretation of Changes– Brain analyzes pattern of physiological change & interprets

each pattern as a different emotion

• Emotional Feeling– Different physiological changes produce different emotions

• You may or may not show an observable response– Scream

3 Criticisms of James-Lange Theory

• Different emotions are not necessarily associated with different physiological response patterns– Anger, fear & sadness share similar physiological

patterns

• People whose spinal cords have been severed at the neck still experience emotions

• Some complex emotions (e.g., guilt, jealousy) may require a considerable interpretation/appraisal of the situation

Facial Feedback Theory

• Sensations/feedback from movement of facial muscles & skin are interpreted by the brain as different emotions

• 4 Steps– Stimulus triggers changes in facial muscles & skin– Brain interprets feedback from facial muscles & skin– Different facial feedback results in different emotions– You may or may not show an observable response

Criticisms of Facial Feedback Theory

• Emotions can also be felt without any facial feedback– People whose facial muscles are completely

paralyzed still experience emotions

• Mood & Intensity– Feedback from facial muscles may intensify

your emotional feeling

Psych Sim

Expressing Emotions

Universal Emotions

Interactivity

Schachter-Singer Experiment

• Physiological Arousal– Injected subjects with epinephrine that caused

physiological arousal

• Subjects were placed into 1 of 2 conditions– Happy Situation

• Confederate was laughing & throwing paper airplanes

– Angry Situation• Confederate complained about filling out a long

questionnaire

• Results:– Participants in happy situation often reported feeling

happy – Observable behaviors = smiles– Participants in angry situation often reported feeling

angry– Observable behaviors = angry facial expressions

Schachter’s Two-Factors

• The Two Factor Theory of Emotion: views emotion as having two components (factors): physiological arousal and cognition. According to the theory, cognitions are used to interpret the meaning of physiological reactions to outside events.

Which Comes First: Feeling or Thinking?

• Cognitive-Appraisal Theory– You think before you feel– Example: wining the lottery

• Affective-Primacy Theory– In some situations, you feel

an emotion before having time to interpret/appraise the situation

– Example: seeing a snake

Universal Emotional Expressions

• Refer to a number of specific inherited facial patterns or expressions that signal specific feelings– Example: A smile signals a happy state

• Cross-Cultural Evidence

• Genetic Evidence

Cross-Cultural Evidence

– Recognition of facial expressions in different cultures suggests that there are innate universal facial expressions

– Examples: happiness, fear, surprise

Genetic Evidence

• Infants in all cultures develop facial expressions at about the same age

• At 4-6 weeks, babies smile

• At 3-4 months, babies show angry & sad facial expressions

• At 5-7 months, babies show fear

Functions of Emotions

• Send social signals– Facial expressions communicate your

personal feelings

• Help you adapt & survive– Psychoevolutionary theory of emotions

• We inherit the neural structure & physiology to express & experience emotions

• Emotional patterns evolved to help us adapt to our environment & promote survival

• Arouse & motivate behaviors– Yerkes-Dodson law

• Task performance is an interaction between physiological arousal and task difficulty

– For most tasks, moderate arousal helps performance

Can Money Buy Happiness?

• Adaptation Level Theory– When we experience a good fortune, we quickly become

accustomed to it – The initial impact fades & contributes less to long-term level

happiness– Therefore, money can’t buy happiness because we adapt to

the continuous satisfaction of having a lot of money

Influences on Long-Term Happiness

• Genetic Factors– About half your level of happiness comes from

genetic influences• Identical twins reared together or apart showed sig. higher

happiness correlations (.44 to .52) than fraternal twins reared together or apart (-.02 to .08)

• Personal/Environmental factors– Long-term level of happiness is associated with:

• enjoying simple daily pleasures• setting & achieving personal goals (purpose in life, network

of friends)

Psych Sim

Helplessly Hoping & Optimism

Showing Emotions: Why Don’t Men Cry?

• Display Rules– Specific cultural norms that regulate how,

when & where we should express emotion and how much emotion is appropriate

– Example:• Japanese & Chinese have more difficulty

identifying facial expressions of fear and anger compared to North Americans

What is Emotional Intelligence?

• Ability to perceive and express emotion, understand and reason with emotion and regulate emotions in one’s self and others

• Researchers are in the early stages of trying to define & measure emotional intelligence

Lie Detection

• Polygraph tests are based on the theory that if a person tells a lie he/she will feel some emotion that can be measured

• Polygraph– Lie detector that measures:

• chest & abdominal muscle movement during respiration

• heart rate• blood pressure• galvanic skin response (GSR)

• GSR – Changes in sweating of the

fingers or palms that accompany emotional experiences

Lie Detection

Control Question Technique

• Lie detection technique in which the examiner asks 2 kinds of questions:– Neutral Questions

• general questions that elicit little emotional response

• “Is your name Floyd?”

– Critical Questions• specific questions about some particular crime that only the

criminal would know

• “Did you rob the liquor store on 5th and Vine?”

• Examiner compares differences in physiological responses between neutral & critical questions

How Accurate are Lie Detector Tests?

• Researchers have been unable to identify a physiological response pattern that is specific to lying

• It is estimated that lie detector tests are wrong 25-75% of the time

• Most state & federal courts prohibit the use of polygraph evidence

• Federal law prohibits most employers from using polygraph tests to screen employees

Emotional Intelligence Test

Intrapersonal Activity

Positive Psychology

APA Unit Plan