Emotions: Part 1Intro to Psych

Class # 52/11/14

“To the psychologist alone can such questions occur as: Why do we smile, when pleased, and not scowl? Why are we unable to talk to a crowd as we talk to a single friend? Why does a particular maiden turn our wits so upside-down? The common man can only say, "Of course we smile, of course our heart palpitates at the sight of the crowd, of course we love the maiden! And so, probably, does each animal feel about the particular things it tends to do in presence of particular objects. To the lion it is the lioness which is made to be loved; to the bear, the she-bear. To the broody hen the notion would probably seem monstrous that there should be a creature in the world to whom a nestful of eggs was not the utterly fascinating and precious and never-to-be-too-much-sat-upon object which it is to her.”

- William James, The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2

What’s the point James is trying to make?

Of course all of these things seems natural to us, but the reason they do is not because they are logical truths or facts.

They emerge from aspects of our biological nature that are subject to chance

HUH?

ASK YOURSELF: Why does poop smell? Why does chocolate taste good? Why do we love our children? Why do we get angry when people hit us? Why do we feel good when someone does us a

favor?

Subject to Chance???

They seem SO BASIC as to be obvious BUT ARE THEY?

The first step to insight is to ask ourselves questions that are so basic but that have an answer that is difficult to put to words

Why is our flesh warm? Why does water turn solid when it gets cold?

The questions to ask…

What we’re going to talk about today and Thursday

Why they exist? What they’re there for?

How they work?

Emotions

Wrong Theory of Emotions

Lt. Cmdr. Data Android Described as:

Competent & Capable Lacking emotion

http://youtu.be/yNMspTxy2yA

As illustrated by STAR TREK!

Mr. Spock Half-Vulcan, Half-Human Also described as:

Capable & Competent Lacking emotion

Spock no emotion:http://youtu.be/dNd1OQeQhjs

Spock with emotion:http://youtu.be/k9vHopyEtzs

Wrong Theory of Emotions

Common sense says “Gee, if I could only think rationally and reasonably and not let my emotions guide my behavior, I’d be much better off!

WRONG!

Wrong Theory of Emotions

Steven Pinker, on what drove Mr. Spock: “Spock must have been driven by some motives or

goals. Something must have led him to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new

civilizations, and to boldly go where no man had gone before. Presumably, it was intellectual curiosity that set him to drive and solve problems. It was solidarity

with his allies that led him to be such a competent and brave officer. What would he have done if attacked by

a predator or an invading Klingon? Did he do a handstand, solve a 4 color map theorem? Presumably,

a part of his brain quickly mobilized his faculties to scope out how to flee and how to take steps to avoid a vulnerable predicament in the future. That is, he had

fear.”

Wrong Theory of Emotions

Without emotions to drive us we would do

nothing at all Everything we do has a basis in our

emotions

EMOTIONS

How can we illustrate this connection between emotions and how we live our lives in a scientific way?

By studying the unusual or unfortunate cases of individuals who seem to have “lost” their emotions

Who remembers Phineas Gage????

Emotions & Science

Phineas Gage! 28 year old railroad worker who took a 13lb

metal rod to the face and brain & lived to tell the tale

Was a nice, respectable, reliable, and trustworthy fella before his accident

A family man

Gage & Emotions

But after his accident? He became “fitful and irreverent, indulging at

times in a gross display of profanity, manifesting but little deference for his fellows, impatient of restraint or advice, a child in his intellectual capacities and manifestations. He had the animal pleasures of a strong man. His foul language is so debased that women are advised not to stay long in his presence.” Antonio Damasio, Descartes’ Error

Gage & Emotions

Couldn’t hold a job, lost his family, and ended up in the circus, travelling around with his metal rod, telling his tale

Individuals with brain damage like Gage’s, to the frontal cortex, lose their ability to care about things, or to prioritize.

Gage & Emotions

These are not men who have lost their emotions. They are men who have lost a large part of their emotional capacity

Emotions set goals and establish priorities for us Without them we wouldn’t do anything; we

couldn’t do anything Your desire to go out with friends, have a

relationship, raise a family: all priorities set by your emotions

Emotional Capacity

What do we “read” to figure out what emotions another person is experiencing???

Their face!

How can we tell another person’s emotions?

Facial expressions are one of the most important ways in which we communicate our actions

http://youtu.be/umhb95CyyUk

Paul Ekman, psychologist and foremost expert on emotions and facial expressions

Faces

Lower your eyebrows and draw them together

Tense your upper and lower eyelids STARE (bulging eyes are ok) Press your lips together; make the corners

straight or point down What emotion is this face?

ANGER!

Make a face!

Can You Read People’s Emotions? From The New York Times website, October 3,

2013

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/well-quiz-the-mind-behind-the-eyes/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=2

POP QUIZ!

Raise the corners of your lips back and up Raise your cheeks Raise your lower eyelids What face is this?

SMILE!

Make another face!

Smiles are UNIVERSAL Young children smile Blind children smile Smiles are not uniquely human

Smiles & Emotions

Smiles are social signals Not all smiles = happy People smile when they wish to

COMMUNICATE happiness Example: Professional Bowlers Example: Olympic medalists

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ818um6bfw

Smiles & Emotions

Smiles of Greeting Also called a “Pan Am

smile” Big and FAKE Politicians are known to

give Pan Am smiles

Types of Smiles

Smile of Genuine Happiness Can you spot the

difference? It’s all in the eyes Duchenne Smile 1 out of 10 people can

fake a Duchenne smile

Types of Smiles

Coy (or appeasement) smile Very specialized smile A smile of stress or

embarrassment No eye contact, and you kinda

turn your head away Given when you want people to

like you, include you, or get people to feel positively about you

Usually in a high stress situation, often with some sort of risk

Types of Smiles

Different smiles have psychological validity Different smiles to represent different moods,

emotions, thoughts Example: Babies

When mommy approaches: genuine smile of happiness

When a stranger approaches: greeting smile Example: Married Couples

Smile of genuine happiness vs greeting smile when they see each other

Smiles & Moods

Basic emotion All human have it in some degree Even nonhumans have it

Non-social emotion Not an emotion based solely on interaction

with other people You can be afraid of falling off a cliff (doesn’t

involve another person)

Fear

Distinctive facial expression

Example: Lee Harvey Oswald is shot Man in the white hat His face is fear & anger

Fear

What are we afraid of? Snakes, spiders, heights, storms, large

animals, darkness, blood, strangers, humiliation, deep water, leaving home alone

What do these have in common? Also scary to our ancient ancestors: All through evolution these have been scary to

us Represent things that can harm or kill us

Fear

What are we less afraid of? Guns, cars, electrical outlets

Less harmful to us throughout our evolution Are things we can avoid to protect ourselves

Similar fears have been found in primates What are inner city kids in Chicago afraid of?

Guns? Violence? Knives? Nope – snakes and spiders These naturally cause fear & concern, their

environment doesn’t

Fear

Emotions toward our kin Emotions toward our non-kin (but who we

interact with)

Focus on emotions that generate altruistic or kind behavior

Social Emotions

Are animals merely survival machines? Do they have emotions? Not according to evolutionary theory

Example: Animal with Gene A: cares for its offspring,

loves & nurtures them while they grow up Animal with Gene B: cares only for itself,

doesn’t care for its young, they’re left to fend alone and likely die

Social Emotions

Which Gene is likely to survive and carry on through reproduction? Gene A: According to natural selection, Gene A

will live on through the generations because it focuses on REPRODUCTION, not survival

Reproduction is the key to “survival of the fittest”: those with the right genes will survive; those with other genes won’t

Social Emotions

Another perspective The Cold Virus

Why do you sneeze when you get a cold? Think about it from the virus’ perspective…

It wants to reproduce. How can it do that? It needs to occupy other bodies. But how can it get

there? It needs to be propelled to other bodies. By

sneezing!

Social Emotions

Viral Reproduction A powerful virus would skip the respiratory

system & go straight for the body’s control center: the brain Imagine a virus that infects an animal, takes over

its brain & modifies it to make the animal go around biting people so the virus can reproduce. FREAKY!

And also called RABIES

Social Emotions

A baby crying: what does it mean? It’s a distress call, but it has to be done just the right

way It must be annoying enough for us to want to help

feed me! Pick me up! Can’t be so annoying that the people around want to kill

you We are wired to respond to the distress call because it is

extremely annoying I’m coming, baby, but only because it will make you shut

up!

Social Emotions

Good thing babies are so cute!

But do not be tempted to say “Isn’t it wonderful that the way nature works is that babies are cute?”

Human babies are not metaphysically cute They’re cute because that’s how our brains

are wired They’re cute because there are certain cues

that correspond to the way our brains are wired

Studies in adults reveal a bias toward individuals with “baby face”

Why are babies cute?

AWWW!

Baby faces in adults are perceived to mean the person is naïve, helpless, kind, and warm In Mock Trials, people with baby faces are more

likely to be found innocent that people with non-baby faces

Baby Faces

What the hell?!

Cupboard Theory (Skinner) Babies’ attachment to their parents is because

the parents provide food Because of operant conditioning the baby is

drawn towards the adult Alternative Theory – Bowlby

Babies are drawn to their mother for comfort and social interaction as well as fear of strangers

Babies & Us

Harlow: experiments with primates using wire mothers and cloth mothers To see which the baby monkey preferred: food

only or comfort and warmth only? Wire mothers: gave food only Cloth mothers: gave warmth and comfort only

http://youtu.be/CU9jKlNK1Qc

Babies & Us

Baby Face Man or Testosterone Face Man?

Quiz! Who is Sexier?