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What are the five research traditions in emotions?
- Darwinian
- Jamesian
- Neuroscientific
- Cognitive
- Social
- constructivist
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What were Darwin's five methods of studying emotions?
- Observing infants
- Studying the insane
- Studying and recording expressions from photos
- Study of painting and sculpture
- Comparing cultures
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What were Darwin's principles of emotion?
- Serviceable associated habits: expressions are stimulus-related responses
- Principle of antithesis: some emotions lead to their opposite
- Principle of actions is due to nervous system, independent of will and habit: overflow category
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Susskind et. al.
- Disgust expression (narrow eyes, closed mouth, narrowed nostrils) reduces sensory input
- Fear expression (wide eyes, open mouth, wide nostrils) increases sensory input
- Disgust and fear are mirror image
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Ekman & Friesan (1971): cross-cultural studies
- Analyzed New Guinea people with no Western contact
- Asked to match facial expressions to emotion-specific stories
- High accuracy in matching faces
- Fear was difficult to distinguish
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Elfenbein & Ambady (2002)
- Analyzed 97 studies
- Strong universal contribution (about 60%)
- Sharing cultures gives extra information for interpretation
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Display rules
- Culture and situation affect emotional display
- When watching movies alone, Americans and Japanese had no difference in expression
- When observed, Japanese changed expression but Americans did not
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Arguments against universality of emotions
- No proof that expression=emotion
- Accuracy differs according to literacy and Western versus non-Western
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Jame's Approach
- Perception-->expression/autonomic/action-->emotion
- Self perceiving and interpreting action is emotion
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Evidence for Jame's theory
- Holding pen with lips or teeth-- higher funniness rating of jokes when holding pen with teeth
- 7/14 measures differ between fear and anger-- body is differentiated enough for different emotions
- Spinal cord lesions lead to change in emotions, the higher the lesion, the more the effect
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Schachter's two-factor approach
- Emotion=arousal+cognition
- Arousal is the motor, cognition is the steering wheel
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Evidence for Schachter's theory
- Injected participants with epinephrine
- One group was correctly informed about symptoms, one misinformed, one uninformed
- Mixed results
- Heartbeat perception--greater ability, more differentiated emotions
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LeDoux's two pathway approach
- Emotions developed for different purposes
- Amygdala and fear shortcuts the brain and speeds up reaction to stimuli
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Orbitofrontal cortex role in emotion
- Orbitofrontal syndrome: impulsive behavior, poor judgement and insight
- When damaged, cannot learn socially or transfer social cues to emotions
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Control of facial expression
- Voluntary facial expressions are controlled unilaterally-- lesion on right side freezes left half of face
- Involuntary expressions are controlled bilaterally-- lesion on one side does not affect expression
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Appraisal
- A rough evaluation of whether something is good or bad for you, intuition
- Not conscious or intellectual
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Role of appraisal in emotion
- Participants watched gruesome Rite of Passage movie
- 4 groups: no soundtrack, scientific view, positive interpretation, negative interpretation
- Denial group had lowest arousal
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Lazarus/Zajonc debate
- Lazarus: situation, knowledge and goals contribute to appraisal, which leads to emotion
- Zajonc: feelings come first and cognition follows, preferences need no inferences
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Mandler's approach
- Arousal serves to interrupt higher processing and direct attention
- Emotion highlights important events, whether positive or negative
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Oatley's approach
- Emotions result evaluation of goal-related events
- Constantly perceiving stimuli and monitoring, when stimuli affect goals, emotion interrupts planning
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Social constructivist approach
- Universality is overestimated and cultural differences are ignored
- Averill: culture contributes to appraisal of perceived events
- Emotions are temporary enactments of social roles
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Do negative emotions cause coronary heart disease?
- Anger: limited but suggestive evidence, hostility
- Anxiety/fear: strongest
- Depression: not clear, hopelessness
- Only if prolonged
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What are the action tendencies associated with negative emotions?
- Anger: fight
- Anxiety/fear: flight
- Depression: giving up/withdrawal
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What are the direct effects of emotion?
Biological pathways: SAM and HPAC axes
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What are the indirect effects of emotion?
Social and behavioral pathways: health behavior, coping resources, social support
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