EMOTION

Emotions are conscious mental reactions (such as anger or fear)

subjectively experienced as strong feelings usually directed toward a
specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and
behavioral changes in the body.

For instance, a person experiences joy when they receive good news and
fear when they are threatened

The Elements of Emotional Experience

Emotion involves
(1) A subjective conscious experience (the cognitive
Component
(2) Bodily arousal (the physiological component)
(3) Characteristic overt expressions (the behavioral component)

• Subjective experience

A subjective experience refers to the emotional and cognitive impact of a

human experience as opposed to an objective experience which are the
actual events of the experience.

For instance, we are all having a subjective experience whenever we are

experiencing pain. Although we as an individual can identify and feel the
specific components of the pain no one else can fully measure or feel our
own subjective experience of pain.
 • Physiological component

Emotional processes are closely tied to physiological processes.

If you've ever felt your stomach lurch from anxiety or your heart palpate
with fear, you've already experienced the strong physiological reactions
that can occur with emotions.
This physiological response is the result of the autonomic nervous
system’s reaction to the emotion we’re experiencing. The autonomic
nervous system controls our involuntary bodily responses and regulates
our fight-or-flight response.
 • Behavioral component
At the behavioral level, people reveal their emotions through
characteristic overt expressions such as smiles, frowns, furrowed brows,
intense vocalizations, clenched fists, and slumped shoulders.

Primary emotions
• In 1972, psychologist Paul Ekman suggested that there are six basic
emotions that are universal throughout human cultures: fear, disgust,
anger, surprise, joy, and sadness.
• In the 1980s, Robert Plutchik introduced another emotion
classification system known as the wheel of emotions.
• Plutchik proposed eight primary emotional dimensions: joy vs.
sadness, anger vs. fear, trust vs. disgust, and surprise vs.
anticipation.6 These emotions can then be combined to create
others, such as happiness + anticipation = excitement.

Positive emotion: an emotional reaction designed to express a positive

affect, such as happiness when one attains a goal, relief when a danger has
been avoided, or contentment when one is satisfied with the present state
of affairs.
Emotions and the brain
Emotions are assumed to be the product of neural circuits in the brain.
Limbic system plays a vital role in emotional expression
The limbic system is a set of brain structures primarily responsible for
emotional processing and behavior.
✓ Hippocampus: Involved in memory formation and spatial
navigation.
✓ Amygdala: Key role in processing emotions, particularly fear
responses and emotional memories.
✓ Hypothalamus: Regulates basic biological needs such as hunger,
thirst and sexual behavior. Also involved in emotional responses and
hormonal regulation
✓ Cingulate Gyrus: Linked to emotional processing and cognitive
functions, including attention and decision-making.
* According to MacLean's limbic system theory of emotion, these
interconnected brain structures work together to process and regulate
emotions, motivations, and behaviors. The limbic system helps
individuals respond to various stimuli in their environment, form
emotional memories, and navigate social interactions.
• The right hemisphere seems to be specialized for
processing emotional [Link] with
damage to the right hemisphere have difficulty in
understanding the emotional tone of another person's
voice or in correctly describing emotional scenes (Heller,
1997). Similarly, among healthy persons with no damage
to their brains, individuals do better at identifying others
emotions when such information presented to their right
hemisphere rather than to their left hemisphere
• The right hemisphere also seems to be specialized for the
expression of emotion; for instance, patients with damage
to the right hemisphere are less successful at expressing
emotions through the tone of their voice
than persons without such damage.
• In addition, there appear to be important differences
between the left and right hemispheres of the brain wich
respect to two key aspects of emotion: valence-the extent
to which an emotion is pleasant or unpleasant; and
arousal— the intensity of emotion. Activation of the left
 hemisphere is associated with approach, response to
reward, and positive affect (i.e., positive feelings),
whereas activation of the right hemisphere is associated
with avoidance, withdrawal from aversive stimuli, and
negative affect
The fight-or-flight response
The fight-or-flight response, also known as the acute stress
response, refers to the physiological reaction that occurs when
in the presence of something mentally or physically terrifying.
• Walter Cannon (1932) was one of the first theorists to
describe the fight-or-flight response. The fight- or-flight
response is a physiological reaction to threat in which the
autonomic nervous system mobilizes the organism for
attacking (fight) or fleeing (flight) an enemy.
The three stages of fight-or-flight are:

The alarm stage: During this stage, the central nervous system
is ramped up, preparing your body to fight or flee.
The resistance stage: This is the stage in which the body
attempts to normalize and recover from the initial elevated
fight-or-flight response.
The exhaustion stage: If the first two stages occur repeatedly
over time, such as when under chronic stress, this can cause
the body to feel exhausted and begin to break down.

Physical signs
✓ Dilated pupils
✓ Pale or flushed skin
✓ Rapid heart rate and
breathing
✓ Trembling

Polygraph (lie detector)

✓ Lie detection is based on the assumption that when an
individual experiences apprehension, fear, or emotional
excitement, his or her respiration rate, blood pressure,
and galvanic skin resistance sharply increase.
✓ A polygraph instrument records the changes as the
individual is questioned by a trained examiner. The
examiner interprets the recordings and renders an opinion
as to the truthfulness of the person examined.
✓ The theory behind the polygraph technique holds that a
conscious mental effort to deceive made by a normal,
healthy person will cause certain physiological changes
detectable by the polygraph instrument. These changes
are driven by the autonomic nervous system, which
regulates the body’s internal environment and is
generally involuntary.

Sudden Death
Grief is a natural response to loss, but sudden death can
intensify its emotional impact. Shock, disbelief, and
confusion are common initial reactions, often giving way to
a rollercoaster of emotions including sadness, anger, guilt,
and even numbness. The absence of a chance to prepare
emotionally can complicate the grieving process,
sometimes leading to unresolved feelings that resurface
over time. Individuals may experience prolonged periods of
sadness, making it essential to acknowledge and express
their emotions to facilitate healing.
Sudden death can trigger post-traumatic stress disorder

Expression of Emotion
Emotions are our subjective inner experiences. Yet we are
able to recognize the presence of various emotions in others,
and we are able to communicate our own feelings to them
as well.
These communication occur by nonverbal cues, facial
expressions and body language.
Nonverbal cues:- outward signs of other’s internal
emotional states shown in their facial expressions, body
postures, and other behaviors.

Facial expressions - Modern research suggests that it is

possible to learn much about others' current moods and
feelings from their facial expressions. In fact, it appears that
six different basic emotions are represented clearly, and
from an early age, on the human face, anger, fear, sadness,
disgust, happiness, and surprise (Ekman, 1992). In addition,
some findings suggest that another emotion- contempt-may
also be quite basic.
The findings of several studies indicate that although facial
expressions may indeed reveal much about others'
emotions, interpretations of such expressions are also
affected by the context in which the expressions occur, and
by various situational cues. For instance, if participants in a
study are shown a photo of a face showing what would
normally be judged as fear but are also read a story
suggesting that the person is actually showing anger, many
describe the face as showing this emotion-not fear.
Gestures, posture, and movements - Body movements can
be used to reinforce or emphasis what a person is saying and
also offer information about the emotions and attitudes of a
person
Body language- kinesics
• Gestures that serve the same function as a word are
called emblems. Eg: ok, come here
 • Gestures which accompany words to illustrate a verbal
message are known as illustrators. Eg: nodding the
head in a particular direction when saying 'over there'.
• Gestures used to give feedback when conversing are
called regulators.
• Adaptors are non-verbal behaviours which either
satisfy some physical need.
Adaptors include such actions as scratching or adjusting
uncomfortable glasses, or represent a psychological need such
as biting fingernails when nervous.

Assessment of Emotion
Three ways to measure emotions:
1. Introspective reports
To identify the internal and external changes that a person
undergoes on joy ,fear ,sorrow etc. and also helps to describe
what the person was feeling.
2. Observation of facial expression .
To identify which emotion experienced by looking to one
facial expression.
face is the index of mind.
3. Measurement of physiological changes in emotion.
Nowadays we have techniques to measure Bl. Pressure, BI.
Volume and heart rate.
• Galvanic Skin response: This test measures the activation
of sweat glands during emotional arousal resulting in
lowering of electrical resistance of skin
• Electrocardiography or Electrocardiogram: This test
measures changes in the rate and rhythm of the heart
during emotional arousal.
• Electroencephalogram(EEG): This test measures the
brain rhythmic activity during emotional arousal.

THEORIES OF EMOTION

James-Lange Theory of Emotion

According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, an external

stimulus leads to a physiological reaction. Your emotional
reaction depends upon how you interpret those physical
reactions.
For example, suppose you are walking in the woods and see a
grizzly bear. You begin to tremble, and your heart begins to
race. The James-Lange theory proposes that you will conclude
that you are frightened ("I am trembling. Therefore, I am
afraid").
James-Lange theory offers a more surprising view of emotion.
It suggests that subjective emotional experiences are actually
the result of physiological changes within our bodies. In other
words, you feel frightened when making your speech because
you notice that your heart is racing, your mouth is dry, and so
on. As William James himself put it (1890,
p. 1066): "We feel sorry because we cry, angry because we
strike, and afraid because we tremble."

The Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

This theory suggests that various emotion-provoking events

induce simultaneously the subjective experiences we label as
emotions and the physiological reactions that accompany
them.
In the situation just described, the sight of the audience and of
your professor, pen poised to evaluate your performance,
causes you to experience a racing heart, a dry mouth, and other
signs of physiological arousal and, at the same time, to
experience subjective feelings you label as fear. In other
words, this situation stimulates various portions of your
nervous system so that both arousal, mediated by your
autonomic nervous system (discussed in Chapter 2), and
subjective feelings, mediated by your cerebral cortex and
other portions of the brain, are produced.

Schachter-Singer Theory

Also known as the two-factor theory of emotion

The Schachter-Singer theory is a cognitive theory of emotion

that suggests our thoughts are responsible for emotions.
Schachter-Singer theory or, sometimes, as the two-factor
theory, emotion-provoking events produce increased arousal
(Schachter & Singer, 1962). In response to these feelings, we
then search the external environment in order to identify the
causes behind them. The factors we then select play a key role
in determining the label we place on our arousal, and so in
determining the emotion we experience. If we feel aroused
after a near miss in traffic, we will probably label our emotion
as "fear" or perhaps "anger." If, instead, we feel aroused in the
presence of an attractive person, we may label our arousal as
"attraction" or even "love." In short, we perceive ourselves to
be experiencing the emotion that external cues tell us we
should be feeling.
The Schachter-Singer theory is a two-factor view because it
considers both arousal and the cognitive appraisal we perform
in our efforts to identify the causes of such arousal.

For example, if you experience a racing heart and sweating

palms during an important exam, you will probably identify
the emotion as anxiety. If you experience the same physical
responses on a date, you might interpret those responses as
love, affection, or arousal.

Cognitive Appraisal Theory

According to appraisal theories of emotion, thinking must
occur first before experiencing emotion. Richard Lazarus was
a pioneer in this area of emotion

For example, if you encounter a bear in the woods, you might

immediately begin to think that you are in great danger. This
then leads to the emotional experience of fear and the physical
reactions
The facial-feedback theory
suggests that emotions are directly tied to changes in facial muscles. For
example, people who are forced to smile pleasantly at a social function
will have a better time at the event than they would if they had frowned
or carried a more neutral facial expression
This hypothesis suggests changes in our facial expressions sometimes
produce shifts in our emotional experiences rather than merely reflecting
them. In addition, other research suggests that changing our bodily
postures or even
the tone of our voices may influence emotional experiences.

Opponent process theory

• Richard Solomon
When you experience one emotion, the other is temporarily inhibited.
With repeated stimulus, the initial emotion becomes weaker, and the
opposing emotion intensifies.
opponent-process theory of emotion (Solomon, 1982). The theory
suggests that (1) an emotional reaction to a stimulus is followed
automatically by an opposite reaction, and (2) repeated exposure to a
stimulus causes the initial reaction to weaken and the opponent process,
or opposite reaction, to strengthen.
You may be apprehensive about trying out an adventure sport, such as
skydiving. However, after your first experience, you feel exhilarated. The
more you engage in the sport, the more the initial fear gets suppressed to
the opposing reaction of relief and exhilaration.

Evolutionary Theories of Emotion

Darwin (1872) believed that emotions developed because of their adaptive
value. Fear, for instance, would help an organism avoid danger and thus
would aid in survival. Hence, Darwin viewed emotions as a product of
evolution.
These evolutionary theories consider emotions to be largely innate
reactions to certain stimuli. As such, emotions should be immediately
recognizable under most conditions without much thought. After all,
primitive animals that are incapable of complex thought seem to have
little difficulty in recognizing their emotions. Evolutionary theorists
believe that emotion evolved before thought. They assert that thought
plays a relatively small role in emotion, although they admit that learning
and cognition may have some influence on human emotions. Evolutionary
theories generally assume that emotions originate in subcortical brain
structures that evolved before the higher brain areas in the cortex
associated with complex thought.
Evolutionary theories also assume that natural selection has equipped
humans with a small number of innate emotions with proven adaptive
value