Chapter 13
Emotion
Theories of Emotion
 Does
your heart pound because
you are afraid... or are you
afraid because you feel your
heart pounding?
Emotion
 Willam
James and Carl
Lange came up with the
James-Lange Theory of
Emotion.
 We
feel emotion because
of biological changes
caused by stress.
 The
body changes and our
mind recognizes the
feeling.
James-Lange
Theory of Emotion

Experience of emotion is awareness of
physiological responses to emotion-arousing
stimuli
Sight of
oncoming
car
(perception of
stimulus)
Pounding
heart
(arousal)
Fear
(emotion)
James-Lange (cont.)
 Subjects
report
feeling more sad
when viewing scenes
of war, sickness, and
starvation if their
“sad face” muscles
are activated.
 They also find comic
strips funnier if
their “happy face”
muscles are
activated.
Cannon-Bard Theory of
Emotion

The physiological
change and cognitive
awareness must occur
simultaneously.

They believed it was
the thalamus that
helped this happen.
Cannon-Bard
Theory of Emotion
Sight of
oncoming
car
(perception of
stimulus)
Pounding
heart
(arousal)

Emotion-arousing
stimuli simultaneously
trigger:
 physiological
 subjective
emotion
Fear
(emotion)
responses
experience of
Two-Factor Theory of Emotion
start @ 3:50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2qdvELqskc
 Stanley
Schachter explains emotions
more completely that the other two
theories.
 They happen at the same time but…
 People who are already physiologically
aroused experience more intense
emotions than unaroused people when
both groups are exposed to the same
stimuli.
 Biology and Cognition interact with
each other to increase the
experience.
Schachter’s Two Factor
Theory of Emotion
Pounding
heart
(arousal)
Sight of
oncoming
car
(perception of
stimulus)

Fear
(emotion)
Cognitive
label
“I’m afraid”
To experience emotion
one must:

be physically aroused

cognitively label the
arousal
Schachter’s Two-Factor
Epinephrine
Study:
Injection
Told
Emotion
Group 1
Epinephrine
Will
increase
arousal
Mild
Group 2
Epinephrine
Will have no
effect /
other side
effects
Strong
Emotional Arousal
@ 8:02
Autonomic nervous system controls
physiological arousal
Sympathetic
division (arousing)
Parasympathetic
division (calming)
Pupils dilate
EYES
Pupils contract
Decreases
SALIVATION
Increases
Perspires
SKIN
Dries
Increases
RESPIRATION
Decreases
Accelerates
HEART
Slows
Inhibits
DIGESTION
Activates
Secrete stress
hormones
ADRENAL
GLANDS
Decreases
secretion of
stress
hormones
Experienced Emotion - Fear

Learning Fear
 Observation
 Genetic

/ Experience
/ Evolutionary Predispositions?
Biology of Fear
 Amygdala
– emotions of fear
 Hippocampus
– memory of fear
Expressed Emotion

People more speedily detect an angry
face than a happy one (Ohman, 2001a)
Expressing Emotion
How good are you at detecting emotions?
 Culturally
universal expressions
emotion 1 - surprise
emotion 2 - fear
emotion 3 - disgust
emotion 4 - anger
emotion 5 - happiness
emotion 6 - sadness
emotion 7 - fear
emotion 8 - disgust
emotion 9 - anger
emotion 10 - sadness
Experiencing Emotion
Catharsis
emotional release
 catharsis hypothesis

“releasing”
aggressive energy (through
action or fantasy) relieves aggressive
urges
Feel-good,

do-good phenomenon
people’s tendency to be helpful when
already in a good mood
Experiencing Emotion

Does money buy happiness?
Average
per-person
after-tax income
in 1995 dollars
$20,000
$19,000
$18,000
100%
$17,000
90%
$16,000
$15,000
80%
$14,000
70%
$13,000
Personal income
$12,000
60%
$11,000
50%
$10,000
Percentage very happy 40%
$9,000
30%
$8,000
$7,000
20%
$6,000
10%
$5,000
0%
$4,000
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Year
Percentage
describing
themselves as
very happy
Experiencing Emotion

Adaptation-Level Phenomenon


tendency to form judgements relative to a “neutral” level
Relative Deprivation

perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one
compares oneself

Is Happines Relative (8 min)
Opponent-Process Theory
of Emotion
Strong
Strong
Neutral
Neutral
Strong
Strong
First experience
(a)
After repeated experiences
(b)
Happiness is...
Researchers Have Found That
Happy People Tend to
However, Happiness Seems Not Much
Related to Other Factors, Such as
Have high self-esteem
(in individualistic countries)
Age
Be optimistic, outgoing, and agreeable
Gender (women are more often
depressed, but also more often joyful)
Have close friendships or a satisfying
marriage
Education levels
Have work and leisure that engage
their skills
Parenthood (having children or not)
Have a meaningful religious faith
Physical attractiveness
Sleep well and exercise
How do Emotions Affect
Behavior?

Positive Effect
 help
us
organize our
behavior
 energize
our
motivation to
act
 help
us get “in
tune” with
others

Negative Effect
 cause
behavior
to be
unorganized or
socially
disapproved
 create
barriers
to behavior
Theories of Emotions Review