EMOTIONS

HE Component: Affect

Berba | Cuadra | Rosales

EMOTIONS
How emotions occur

How much our physiological responses, facial expressions, and

interpretations contribute to emotions

Whether feeling or thinking comes first in experiencing an emotion

Whether there is a set of basic or universal facial expressions that occur

across all cultures

What the functions of emotions are

How specific emotions work

How emotions are used in lie detection

EMOTIONS
the affective aspect of consciousness

a state of feeling

Mind and body’s integrated response to a stimulus of some kind

Guide our perceptions of the world, our memories of the past

and even our moral judgments of right and wrong, most
typically in ways that enable effective responses to the current
situation.
EMOTIONS
EMOTIONS: Four Components

Stimulus Subjective Feeling

Physiological
Observable Behaviors
Reponses
How do they fit together?

Peripheral Theories of Emotion

Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Affective Neuroscience Approach

How do they fit together?

Peripheral Theories of Emotion

Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Affective Neuroscience Approach

Peripheral Theories of Emotion
emphasize how physiological changes in the body give
rise to emotional feelings.
James-Lange Theory
Facial-Feedback Theory
Peripheral Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory
late 1800s

William James and Carl Lange

Emphasizes specific physiological patterns as causing

emotional feelings

Event Arousal Interpretation Emotion

Peripheral Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory
Criticism
Cannon-Bard Theory
Different emotions are not necessarily associated
with different patterns of physiological responses.

Arousal

Event
Emotion
Peripheral Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory
Criticism
People deprived of most of the feedback from
their physiological responses experience
emotions with little or no change in intensity
Complex emotions require a considerable amount
of interpretation or appraisal of the situation
Peripheral Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory
Intensity.
Physiological changes may increase the intensity
of emotional experiences.
Peripheral Theories of Emotion
Facial-Feedback Theory
originated with Charles Darwin

Sensations or feedback from the movement the facial

muscles and skin are interpreted by the brain as
different emotions
Event Facial Changes Emotion
Peripheral Theories of Emotion
Facial-Feedback Theory
Criticism
Little evidence that it’s the feedback from these
different muscle groups that actually causes the
emotion.
Peripheral Theories of Emotion
Facial-Feedback Theory
Intensity.
Feedback from facial muscles may influence
mood and overall emotional feeling and increase
the intensity of your subjective emotional
experience.
Peripheral Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory
Facial-Feedback Theory

Physiological changes in the body and feedback from

facial muscles contribute to but do not themselves
cause different emotions.
How do they fit together?

Peripheral Theories of Emotion

Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Affective Neuroscience Approach

Cognitive Appraisal Theory
Thoughts alone can give rise to emotions illustrates the
importance of cognitive factors.
Schachter-Singer Experiment

1. Injected subjects with epinephrine that caused

physiological arousal.

2. Subjects were placed in different situations—

a happy one or an angry one.
Cognitive Appraisal Theory
Thoughts alone can give rise to emotions illustrates the
importance of cognitive factors.
Schachter-Singer Experiment

Subjects looked around for other causes in their

environment.

Event Arousal Reasoning Emotion

Cognitive Appraisal Theory
Schachter-Singer Experiment
Cognitive processes, such as thoughts, interpretations, and
appraisals of situations, can trigger emotions.

Interpretation or appraisal or thought or memory of a

situation, object, or event can contribute to, or result in,
your experiencing different emotional states.

Arousal
Event Thought
Emotion
Cognitive Appraisal Theory
Thought then emotion.

Thinking or appraisal of thoughts occur before emotions.

Emotion without conscious thought.

Instant emotion without conscious thought or appraisal

How do they fit together?

Peripheral Theories of Emotion

Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Affective Neuroscience Approach

Affective Neuroscience Approach

Brain’s Neural
Event Circuits Emotion
(Amygdala)
Affective Neuroscience Approach

• Outside-In approach
– gather data from the outside (ex.
surveys) to know what’s inside

• Inside-Out approach
– Affective Neuroscience
Affective Neuroscience Approach
Four Qualities of Emotions

Emotions are felt and expressed in

stereotypical facial expressions

Distinctive physiological responses

follow it up
Affective Neuroscience Approach
Four Qualities of Emotions

Less controllable and can be

irrational in nature
Affective Neuroscience Approach
Four Qualities of Emotions
Influence Cognitive thinking
Newer forebrain can alter/modify limbic system
processing
Common reason for inconsistent performances of
individuals
Affective Neuroscience Approach
Four Qualities of Emotions
Some emotions and the display of such emotions
are actually innate in us Humans
Even the blind, whom have never seen “smiles”
know how to smile and express happiness
Affective Neuroscience Approach
Four Qualities of Emotions
Critical in detecting and handling
emotions

Acts as “detector” of emotions

Damage and absence of Amygdala

will hinder proper experience of emotions
Affective Neuroscience Approach
Brain Circuitry

Involvement
Slow “Quick”
of Prefrontal
Response Response
Cortex
Brain Circuitry
Slow Response

1 2 3 4

Visual
Eyes Thalamus Amygdala
Cortex

1. Responsible for receiving stimuli

2. Information Relay to Visual Cortex
3. Reconstructs or creates image from neural
signals
4. Interprets the image and triggers the
corresponding emotions related to it
Brain Circuitry
Quick Response

Eyes Thalamus Amygdala

This process doesn’t involve the visual cortex

Highly believed to have emerged as a life-saving
response
Occurs during grave threats to the individual
Brain Circuitry
Prefrontal Cortex

Involved in complex functions which include reasoning,

planning, decision making

Responsible for storing experiences of emotions

Allows emotions to occur despite the absence of the

object/entity in a physical sense

Responsible for reward/consequence analysis and the

emotional repercussions of man’s decision making
RECAP: Four Components of Emotion

Stimulus Subjective Feeling

Physiological
Observable Behaviors
Reponses
RECAP: Theories of Emotion

Peripheral Theories of Emotion

Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Affective Neuroscience Approach

RECAP: Theories of Emotion
James-Lange Theory

Physiological Interpretation/
Event Response/Arousal Emotion
Perception
RECAP: Theories of Emotion
Cannon-Bard Theory

Physiological
Response/Arousal
Event

Emotion

Both happen at the same time and neither

one causes the other
RECAP: Theories of Emotion
Facial Feedback Theory

Event Facial Changes Emotion

RECAP: Theories of Emotion
Cognitive Appraisal Theory

Event Arousal Reasoning Emotion

RECAP: Theories of Emotion
Affective Neuroscience Approach

Brain’s Neural
Event Circuits Emotion
(Amygdala)
 “Facial expressions of emotion are
universal, not learned differently in each
culture”
Charles Darwin

Thoughts?
 UNIVERSAL
FACIAL
EXPRESSIONS
Universal Facial Expressions

Highly believed that Humans are innately able to express

certain expressions and emotions
Birth of the such Theory originated from Charles Darwin
There are generally, 6-7 emotions that are thought to be
universal
Universal Facial Expressions
Individuals from varying cultures and
societies were tested (both isolated/
primitive and advanced societies)

Individuals were shown 20 different

expressions, and in summary almost all
were able to identify key expressions such as smiling

Results showed no variation between Western and Primitive

societies
Universal Facial Expressions
Individuals within 4-6 weeks are able to
express the concept of “smiling”

This included individuals whom were

born blind and were never exposed to
the concept of “smiling”

There was discovered to be an order of discovering facial

expressions (Smile->Angry/Sad->Fear)

FUN FACT: While frowning requires less muscles to activate,

smiling is easier to do.
Universal Facial Expressions
Some individuals within 5 years of age
are unable to determine the facial
expression for “disgust”

Some emotional expressions bank

highly on its context

Interpretation of expressions is dependent

on personal experiences and cultural
background
FUNCTIONS OF
EMOTIONS
Three Functions of Emotions

Send social signals

Help in adaptation and survival

Arouse and motivate behaviors

(1) Send social signals
Social signal
Behavioral cues that show intention and status
during social interaction
Examples of social signals:
Facial expressions
Vocal signals
Body language
(1) Send social signals
Facial Expression
A gesture executed by facial muscles to represent
an emotion
Review: six basic emotions
Angry Surprised
Happy Disgusted
Sad
Fearful
(1) Send social signals
Microexpression
Brief, involuntary facial expressions that expose a
person’s true emotions
Galvanic skin response - changes in sweating
of the fingers (or palms) that accompany
emotional experiences
(2) Help in adaptation and survival
Evolutionary Theory of Emotions

Evolutionary Theory of Emotions

“One function of emotions is to help us evaluate
objects, people, and situations in terms of how
good or bad they are for our well-being and
survival.”
(2) Help in adaptation and survival
Adaptation and Survival

The role of emotions in adaptation and

survival:
Emotions have survival value
Facial expressions help manage sensory
experiences
Emotions affect attention and memory
(2) Help in adaptation and survival
Attention and Memory
Attention
Focus one’s attention and thus better detect and
respond to emotional situations

Memory
Emotions help increase memory of emotionally-
charged events and remember events that are
beneficial or dangerous to our well-being
(2) Help in adaptation and survival
Attention and Memory
Attention
Focus one’s attention and thus better detect and
respond to emotional situations

Example:
• When you feel angry when you feel threatened, it
makes you attentive and concentrate to try to get
out of the situation you are in
(3) Arouse and motivate behaviors
Arousal
The state of being physiologically alert, awake, and
attentive
Controlled by the reticular activating system (RAS)

Think of the RAS as a “pacemaker” for arousal

- When the “pacemaker” slows down, you feel sleepy, lethargic,
or have difficulty concentrating
- When the “pacemaker” speeds up, you feel highly active, alert,
and ready to respond to different things in the environment
(3) Arouse and motivate behaviors
Arousal
The state of being physiologically alert, awake, and
attentive
Controlled by the reticular activating system (RAS)

Yerkes-Dodson Law
Performance on a task is an interaction
between the level of physiological arousal
and the difficulty of the task
(3) Arouse and motivate behaviors
Yerkes-Dodson Law *You may think of
“arousal” as “stress”
(3) Arouse and motivate behaviors
Lie Detection
How does it work?
Review: Four components of emotion
Interpret stimulus
Subjective feeling
Physiological response
Show observable behaviors
(3) Arouse and motivate behaviors
Lie Detection
Lie detector (polygraph) tests
Based on the theory that, if a person tells a lie, he
or she will feel some emotion such as guilt or fear,
which will be accompanied by microexpressions
that can be measured with a machine called a
polygraph
(3) Arouse and motivate behaviors
Lie Detection
Lie detector (polygraph) tests
Sensors record:
- breathing rate
- pulse
- blood pressure
- perspiration
(basically physiological responses) – James-Lange Theory
(3) Arouse and motivate behaviors
Lie Detection
Errors
Lie detectors are wrong 25-75% of the time
Innocent people are thought to be guilty
There are “strategies” for faking results
- subjects think of something that can raise their
heart beats while answering control questions
(Cognitive Appraisal Theory)

- Mostly errors occur because results rely on the examiner’s interpretation

EMOTIONS
vs
FEELINGS
Emotion vs Feeling

Emotion Feeling
Body’s integrated response The perception of events
occurring in regions of the within the body; mental
brain, altering a person’s associations and reactions to
physical state emotions
 WHAT IS
HAPPINESS?
Happiness
A state of well-being and contentment
Usually indicated by smiling and laughing
Can result from momentary
pleasures, short-term joys,
and long-term satisfaction
Happiness
Involves the amygdala which recognizes happy facial
expressions and remembering happy occurrences
Also in a special reward/pleasure center in the brain,
including:
Nucleus accumbens
Ventral tegmental area
Several neurotransmitters, especially dopamine
- Also controlled by 4 major hormones
“Happy Chemicals”

Dopamine Serotonin

Oxytocin Endorphin

“DOSE” HORMONES
“Happy Chemicals”

Dopamine

“Happiness Drug”
• Pleasure hormone
• Reward chemical; controls the brain’s reward
and pleasure center
• Involved in addiction; gets produced when
you take drugs such as cocaine and heroin
“Happy Chemicals”

Oxytocin

“Cuddle Hormone” or “Love Hormone”

• Released through closeness with another person
• Triggered through social bonding, eye contact,
attentiveness
“Happy Chemicals”

Serotonin

• Understood to control your greater mood

• Controls mood due to sleep, appetite, arousal, aggression
• 80% exists in the gut and governed by state of hunger
(which is why you feel grumpy when you’re hungry)
“Happy Chemicals”

Endorphins

• Body’s natural painkillers

• Responsible for “runner’s high” or the feeling of euphoria
after prolonged physical exertion
• Fight or flight mechanic
Long-Term Happiness
Adaptation Level Theory
We quickly become accustomed to receiving
some good fortune
We take the good fortune for granted within a
short period of time
The initial impact of our good fortune fades
and contributes less to our long-term level of
happiness
“Happiness is not a
fixed state”
Thank you!
Questions?
References
http://www.apa.org/pubs/highlights/peeps/issue-82.aspx
http://www.paulekman.com/micro-expressions/
http://study.com/academy/lesson/arousal-in-psychology-definition.html
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jesper_Hopstaken/publication/266206
451/figure/fig1/AS:271639090823202@1441775214661/Figure-1-The-classical-
Yerkes-Dodson-law-describes-low-levels-performance-for-low-and.png
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happiness
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emotion
http://www.paulekman.com/facial-expressions/the-science-of-inside-out/