Transcript Fundamental Issues in Developmental Psychology

Arousal and Emotion
What’s their use??
Assist in decision making
Readiness
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Quality of performance
Yerkes-Dodson Law
Easy task
Moderately
difficult task
Very difficult task
Degree of arousal
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Some arousal is necessary
High arousal: helpful on easy tasks
As level of arousal increases, quality of
performance decreases with task
difficulty
Too much arousal: harmful
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Concept of Emotion
• subjective feelings elicited by stimuli
that have high significance to an
individual
– stimuli that produce high arousal generally
produce strong feelings
– are rapid and automatic
– emerged through natural selection to benefit
survival and reproduction
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Theories of Emotion
Common-Sense Theory
Stimulus
Perception
Emotion
(Tiger)
(Interpretation
of stimulus-danger)
(Fear)
Bodily
arousal
(Pounding
heart)
• Common sense might suggest that the
perception of a stimulus elicits emotion
which then causes bodily arousal
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James’s Peripheral Feedback Theory
James’s Theory
Stimulus
(Tiger)
Perception
(Interpretation
of stimulus-danger)
Bodily
arousal
Emotion
(Fear)
(Pounding
heart)
• perception of a stimulus causes bodily
arousal which leads to emotion
• support: spinal cord injuries, locked-in syndrome
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Schachter’s Cognition-Plus-Feedback Theory
Stimulus
(Tiger)
Bodily
arousal
Perception
(Interpretation
of stimulus-danger)
(Pounding
heart)
Emotion
(Fear)
Type
Intensity
• Perception and thought about a stimulus
influence the type of emotion felt
• Degree of bodily arousal influences the
intensity of emotion felt
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Schachter’s Cognition-Plus-Feedback Theory
• Degree of bodily arousal influences the
intensity of emotion felt
• Support: experiments with norepinepherine injections
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Ekman’s Facial Feedback Theory
• Each basic emotion is associated
with a unique facial expression
– Sensory feedback from the expression
contributes to the emotional feeling
– Support: hold pen between teeth, and world seems
funnier!
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1.80
1.80
1.60
1.60
Average anger score
Average happiness score
Ekman’s Facial Feedback Theory
1.40
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
1.40
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
Frown
Smile
Facial expression
Frown
Smile
Facial expression
Facial expressions have an effect on self-reported
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anger and happiness
Temperature change
(degrees C)
12.0
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
-2.0
0.16
0.12
0.08
0.04
0.00
(a)
Disgust
Surprise
Happiness
Sadness
Fear
Anger
Disgust
Surprise
Happiness
Sadness
Fear
-0.04
Anger
Heart rate change
(beats per minute)
Ekman’s Facial Feedback Theory
(b)
Facial expressions can produce effects on the rest of the body
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Brain-Based Theory of Emotions
• Amygdala
– evaluate the significance of stimuli and generate
emotional responses
– generate hormonal secretions and autonomic
reactions that accompany strong emotions
– damage: “psychic blindness”, inability to recognize
fear in facial expressions and voice
– stimulation: feeling of fear
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Brain-Based Theory of Emotions
• Frontal lobes
– influence people’s conscious emotional feelings and
ability to act in planned ways based on feelings (e.g.,
effects of prefrontal lobotomy, Phineas Gage)
Frontal
Parietal
Occipital
Temporal
left frontal lobe
may be most
involved in
processing
positive emotions
right frontal lobe
involved with
negative emotions
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