Overview Notes 1.1 People in Groups
Problem 1 Head in the Clouds
Learning goals
- What is the transfer of arousal?
- What influences this transfer of arousal?
- How do emotions and arousal correlate?
- How does arousal affect behaviour and physical responses?
- What was the experiment about?
Structure/content of this tutorial:
1. Emotion and Arousal
● Theories of emotion
● Comparisons between them
2. Arousal and Later behaviour
● Attribution or Misattribution
● Excitation transfer
3. Articles Original experiment
● Dutton & Aron
● Meston & Frohlich
Emotion and Arousal
Definitions:
- Arousal = a physiological response that involves a high state of alertness
- Emotion = personal interpretation of arousal caused by a stimulus
Theories of emotions
Definitions:
- Awareness = objectively observing (of physical reaction). E.g. “I’m trembling”.
- Cognitive evaluation = identifying cause of physical reaction whereby connecting.
E.g. “I’m trembling because I’m scared of that bear”.
Theories on emotion In chronological order
James-Lange theory of emotion:
- Emotions occur as a result of physiological reactions to events.
- Seeing an external stimulus leads to a physiological reaction. Your emotional reaction
then depends on how you interpret those physical reactions.
- "I am trembling. Therefore, I am scared" instead of “I am scared. Therefore, I am
trembling.”
- Stimulus → physiological response ↔ awareness → emotional response
- Criticism: similar physiological response can be interpreted in multiple ways
,Cannon-Bard theory of emotion:
- Stimulus → brain activity (thalamus) → arousal and emotion
Singer-Schachter 2 factor theory of emotion:
- Two factors:
1. physical arousal
2. cognitive interpretation of that arousal
- Emotional experience are a result of cognitive evaluation of physical response
- Stimulus → physical response → cognitive evaluation/appraisal → emotional
response
- We need cognitive evaluation to identify the arousal in order to feel the emotion.
- In the process of cognitive labeling, the immediate environment is important in how
physical responses are labeled.
- Example: strange man (stimulus) → heart racing (physical response) → associating
physical reaction to fear (cognitive evaluation) → feeling emotion fear (emotional
response).
,Arousal and Later behaviour
Definitions:
- Attribution = labelling physiological change to a cause/reason. This happens in the
moment of arousal.
- Misattribution = wrongly attributing causes (such as in the bridge experiment). This
can happen because many stimuli have similar physiological symptoms.
Transfer of arousal = excitation transfer theory by Zillman. It is the residual effect of arousal
that kicks in at a later moment. It involves an arousing activity.
1. Learnt (emotional) behaviour, e.g. middle finger when angry.
2. Arousal of a second source (prior arousal), e.g. when been to the gym before.
3. Interpretation of an aroused state followed by a response (like happy or angry).
This theory applies to any type of strong emotion. So besides aggression, also for happiness
or affection. This is expressed by learnt behaviour such as hugs or kisses.
Two-factor theory of emotion = theory by Schachter suggesting that when you are unsure
of the cause/meaning of physical reaction, you turn to others for explanation as to how to
label/identify the arousal as an emotion.
- Stimulus → physical reaction → cognitive labelling → emotion.
- We also must identify the arousal in order to feel the emotion.
- Criticism ephedrine experiment: inconsistent results (not everyone responded the
same, there were exceptions)
So the main difference between attribution and transfer of arousal is the moment it kicks in
(attribution in the moment, transfer of arousal later on).
Misattribution of arousal happens in the moment > bridge experiment.
Excitation transfer of arousal happens after the moment > rollercoaster experiment.
, Articles/experiment
Bridge experiment - Aron-Dutton
Their experiment showed the misattribution of arousal by describing how people make a
mistake in assuming what is causing them to feel aroused. In this case, the physical reaction
related to fear, was mislabeled as sexual arousal. This misattribution can happen because
many stimuli have similar physiological symptoms. As a result, people might perceive
someone as more attractive because of higher physical stress.
Experiment 1 > Bridge 1 (high and low) observations:
- More sexual results TAT on high bridge
- More participants called interviewer back on high bridge
- The control group was on the lower bridge
Experiment 2 > Bridge 2 (only low) observations:
- Everyone on low bridge
- Control group was asked 15 minutes later
- Control group was less aroused after 15 minutes, which shows that time is important
factor
Results experiment 1 and 2: More males contacted the female experimenter when they had
just walked down the dangerous bridge. This is thought to be due to their misattribution of
their arousal. They believed that they were feeling sexual arousal when seeing the female
interviewer, when in fact they were feeling physical arousal from the fear of walking that
bridge. So men found the woman more attractive when they had more anxiety about
crossing the bridge. Because of the height and fear that was involved, they perceived the
female interviewer as more attractive.
Experiment 3 > lab shock observations:
- Male participant in room with female confederate
- Both received shocks (severity of shocks were determined by flipping a coin)
- Control group was without female confederate
Results experiment 3: There was more attraction to the other participant for those who
expected a strong shock and reported high levels of anxiety over the shock, compared to
those anticipating a low intensity shock. This means that the anxiety caused physiological
reactions that were confused with the reactions during sexual attraction.
So: expecting high shock > higher anxiety > higher levels of sexual attraction.
This experiment supports Schachter and Singer’s theory of emotion, stating that we need
cognitive labeling to identify physical arousal as emotion.
But: the intensity of the shock the woman would receive didn’t influence sexual attraction, so
there is no proof for ‘protecting women’ theory.
General conclusion experiments: participants misattributed their body's fear response to the
physiological effects of experiencing romantic love.
Problem 1 Head in the Clouds
Learning goals
- What is the transfer of arousal?
- What influences this transfer of arousal?
- How do emotions and arousal correlate?
- How does arousal affect behaviour and physical responses?
- What was the experiment about?
Structure/content of this tutorial:
1. Emotion and Arousal
● Theories of emotion
● Comparisons between them
2. Arousal and Later behaviour
● Attribution or Misattribution
● Excitation transfer
3. Articles Original experiment
● Dutton & Aron
● Meston & Frohlich
Emotion and Arousal
Definitions:
- Arousal = a physiological response that involves a high state of alertness
- Emotion = personal interpretation of arousal caused by a stimulus
Theories of emotions
Definitions:
- Awareness = objectively observing (of physical reaction). E.g. “I’m trembling”.
- Cognitive evaluation = identifying cause of physical reaction whereby connecting.
E.g. “I’m trembling because I’m scared of that bear”.
Theories on emotion In chronological order
James-Lange theory of emotion:
- Emotions occur as a result of physiological reactions to events.
- Seeing an external stimulus leads to a physiological reaction. Your emotional reaction
then depends on how you interpret those physical reactions.
- "I am trembling. Therefore, I am scared" instead of “I am scared. Therefore, I am
trembling.”
- Stimulus → physiological response ↔ awareness → emotional response
- Criticism: similar physiological response can be interpreted in multiple ways
,Cannon-Bard theory of emotion:
- Stimulus → brain activity (thalamus) → arousal and emotion
Singer-Schachter 2 factor theory of emotion:
- Two factors:
1. physical arousal
2. cognitive interpretation of that arousal
- Emotional experience are a result of cognitive evaluation of physical response
- Stimulus → physical response → cognitive evaluation/appraisal → emotional
response
- We need cognitive evaluation to identify the arousal in order to feel the emotion.
- In the process of cognitive labeling, the immediate environment is important in how
physical responses are labeled.
- Example: strange man (stimulus) → heart racing (physical response) → associating
physical reaction to fear (cognitive evaluation) → feeling emotion fear (emotional
response).
,Arousal and Later behaviour
Definitions:
- Attribution = labelling physiological change to a cause/reason. This happens in the
moment of arousal.
- Misattribution = wrongly attributing causes (such as in the bridge experiment). This
can happen because many stimuli have similar physiological symptoms.
Transfer of arousal = excitation transfer theory by Zillman. It is the residual effect of arousal
that kicks in at a later moment. It involves an arousing activity.
1. Learnt (emotional) behaviour, e.g. middle finger when angry.
2. Arousal of a second source (prior arousal), e.g. when been to the gym before.
3. Interpretation of an aroused state followed by a response (like happy or angry).
This theory applies to any type of strong emotion. So besides aggression, also for happiness
or affection. This is expressed by learnt behaviour such as hugs or kisses.
Two-factor theory of emotion = theory by Schachter suggesting that when you are unsure
of the cause/meaning of physical reaction, you turn to others for explanation as to how to
label/identify the arousal as an emotion.
- Stimulus → physical reaction → cognitive labelling → emotion.
- We also must identify the arousal in order to feel the emotion.
- Criticism ephedrine experiment: inconsistent results (not everyone responded the
same, there were exceptions)
So the main difference between attribution and transfer of arousal is the moment it kicks in
(attribution in the moment, transfer of arousal later on).
Misattribution of arousal happens in the moment > bridge experiment.
Excitation transfer of arousal happens after the moment > rollercoaster experiment.
, Articles/experiment
Bridge experiment - Aron-Dutton
Their experiment showed the misattribution of arousal by describing how people make a
mistake in assuming what is causing them to feel aroused. In this case, the physical reaction
related to fear, was mislabeled as sexual arousal. This misattribution can happen because
many stimuli have similar physiological symptoms. As a result, people might perceive
someone as more attractive because of higher physical stress.
Experiment 1 > Bridge 1 (high and low) observations:
- More sexual results TAT on high bridge
- More participants called interviewer back on high bridge
- The control group was on the lower bridge
Experiment 2 > Bridge 2 (only low) observations:
- Everyone on low bridge
- Control group was asked 15 minutes later
- Control group was less aroused after 15 minutes, which shows that time is important
factor
Results experiment 1 and 2: More males contacted the female experimenter when they had
just walked down the dangerous bridge. This is thought to be due to their misattribution of
their arousal. They believed that they were feeling sexual arousal when seeing the female
interviewer, when in fact they were feeling physical arousal from the fear of walking that
bridge. So men found the woman more attractive when they had more anxiety about
crossing the bridge. Because of the height and fear that was involved, they perceived the
female interviewer as more attractive.
Experiment 3 > lab shock observations:
- Male participant in room with female confederate
- Both received shocks (severity of shocks were determined by flipping a coin)
- Control group was without female confederate
Results experiment 3: There was more attraction to the other participant for those who
expected a strong shock and reported high levels of anxiety over the shock, compared to
those anticipating a low intensity shock. This means that the anxiety caused physiological
reactions that were confused with the reactions during sexual attraction.
So: expecting high shock > higher anxiety > higher levels of sexual attraction.
This experiment supports Schachter and Singer’s theory of emotion, stating that we need
cognitive labeling to identify physical arousal as emotion.
But: the intensity of the shock the woman would receive didn’t influence sexual attraction, so
there is no proof for ‘protecting women’ theory.
General conclusion experiments: participants misattributed their body's fear response to the
physiological effects of experiencing romantic love.
