Core theme – Emotion
LECTURE 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................3
EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE.................................................................................................................3
BODILY PERSPECTIVE............................................................................................................................4
COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE.......................................................................................................................4
SOCIAL-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE..............................................................................................................5
INTEGRATION.....................................................................................................................................5
LECTURE 2 APPRAISAL......................................................................................................................6
APPRAISAL........................................................................................................................................6
KNOWLEDGE OF EMOTIONS...................................................................................................................8
MEASURING SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE.......................................................................................................8
LECTURE 3 BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES..................................................................................................9
EARLY THEORIES ON EMOTIONS AND THE BODY..........................................................................................9
EMBODIMENT..................................................................................................................................10
MODERN THEORIES ON EMOTIONS AND THE BRAIN...................................................................................11
FROM SURVIVING THREAT TO WORRYING................................................................................................13
LECTURE 4 EMOTIONS IN CHILDHOOD............................................................................................14
DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONS IN CHILDHOOD..........................................................................................14
THEORIES ON PSYCHOPATHOLOGY.........................................................................................................15
EXTERNALISING AND INTERNALISING PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN CHILDHOOD........................................................16
RISK FACTORS AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY..................................................................................................16
LECTURE 5 EMOTIONS IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY...........................................................................18
EMOTIONS AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY: TRAUMA – PTSD............................................................................18
EMOTIONS IN PTSD..........................................................................................................................19
TO FIGHT, TO FLY, TO FREEZE...............................................................................................................20
ROLE OF HORMONES..........................................................................................................................21
PREDICTORS OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY......................................................................................................21
EXPOSURE THERAPY...........................................................................................................................21
LECTURE 6 EMOTION/COGNITION INTERPLAY I: JUDGMENT & DECISION MAKING........................22
THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN EMOTION AND COGNITION.................................................................................22
FROM PRIMARY AND SECONDARY APPRAISALS TO NEURAL MULTIPLE-PROCESS MODELS: DUAL-PROCESS MODELS OF
THOUGHT AND BEHAVIOUR..................................................................................................................22
EMOTION AND COGNITION IN DECISION MAKING I: INTERTEMPORAL CHOICE...................................................23
CONCRETE RESEARCH EXAMPLES: TEMPTATION AND SELF-CONTROL...............................................................24
,LECTURE 7 EMOTION/COGNITION INTERPLAY II: DEVELOPMENT...................................................26
A NEURODEVELOPMENTAL MODEL OF ADOLESCENCE..................................................................................26
EMOTION AND COGNITION IN DECISION MAKING II: RISKY CHOICE................................................................27
CONCRETE RESEARCH EXAMPLE: ADOLESCENT RISK TAKING - COLOMBIA CARD TASK (CCT)................................29
2
,Lecture 1 general introduction
Emotion was many definitions and consists of different focuses: feeling, cognition,
physiology, motivation, and expression theoretical perspectives
Evolutionary perspective
Darwin
- 19th century, general belief: expression of emotions is uniquely human, intended for
communication
- Darwin: humans and animals same origin
- Central question:
1. How are emotions expressed by animals and humans? > universal character
2. Where do emotions come from? > past function of expressions
Modern research
Ekman & Izard (1970 – now): support for universal recognition of facial expressions for a
small number of emotions (‘basic’/’big 6’):
1. Happiness
2. Sadness
3. Fear
4. Anger
5. Disgust
6. Surprise
Research methods:
- Observations in humans and animals
- Cross-cultural research: questionnaires, observations
- Judgments of photographs: posed and spontaneous
Conclusions
- Recognition depends on response format and options
- Often limited number of choices and stimuli (big 6)
- Expression in ‘real life’ are often more subtle than stimuli from standard sets:
o Often a reaction to something that happens in a context: interpretation also
context-dependent
o Not all facial expressions are expressions of emotions
o Dynamics influence interpretation
- Expressions are multimodal: face, voice, body
- Expression ≠ emotion
o Display rules: posing or masking expression
o Recognition ≠ experience
3
, Bodily perspective
William James (1842 – 1910)
- General opinion: perception feeling/emotion bodily effect
- James: perception bodily effect feeling/emotion
- Focus on:
o Experience instead of expression
o Bodily responses
o Adaptive function
- Important influence:
o Central role of autonomic nervous system
o Bodily response influences subjective experience (“feeling”) as well as cognitions
Criticism from Cannon two arguments:
1. Disconnection between guts and brain does not lead to reduction in emotions
a. Disconnection cortex and subcortical regions does induce changes cortex
inhibits lower brain regions that host emotions
2. Bodily response (arousal) not specific enough for differentiation between emotions
Schachter & Singer
- Two-factor theory: arousal + cognition = emotion
o Perception bodily response appraisal feeling/emotion
- Experiment: adrenaline injections
o Different contexts elicited different emotions
o Results not replicated: no further support for role of nonspecific arousal
Cognitive perspective
Early ideas: philosophers
- Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) emotions are evaluations, depend on our beliefs
- Descartes (1596 – 1650) origin of emotions is in the soul (our thinking part)
o Emotions are about goals, concerns, identity
o Emotions can be regulated by thoughts
o Emotions closely connected to the body
o Emotions are usually functional
New theories: appraisals
Arnold (1954) “feeling is thinking”:
- Appraisal: emotions based on evaluation of events
- Direct relation evaluation emotion
o Predict deduct (infer), regulate
- Emotions are relational > object-focused
o Link internal concerns with external events/objects
o Action-impulse: toward (attraction) or away (repulsion) form an object
(positive/negative)
4
LECTURE 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................3
EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE.................................................................................................................3
BODILY PERSPECTIVE............................................................................................................................4
COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE.......................................................................................................................4
SOCIAL-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE..............................................................................................................5
INTEGRATION.....................................................................................................................................5
LECTURE 2 APPRAISAL......................................................................................................................6
APPRAISAL........................................................................................................................................6
KNOWLEDGE OF EMOTIONS...................................................................................................................8
MEASURING SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE.......................................................................................................8
LECTURE 3 BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES..................................................................................................9
EARLY THEORIES ON EMOTIONS AND THE BODY..........................................................................................9
EMBODIMENT..................................................................................................................................10
MODERN THEORIES ON EMOTIONS AND THE BRAIN...................................................................................11
FROM SURVIVING THREAT TO WORRYING................................................................................................13
LECTURE 4 EMOTIONS IN CHILDHOOD............................................................................................14
DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONS IN CHILDHOOD..........................................................................................14
THEORIES ON PSYCHOPATHOLOGY.........................................................................................................15
EXTERNALISING AND INTERNALISING PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN CHILDHOOD........................................................16
RISK FACTORS AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY..................................................................................................16
LECTURE 5 EMOTIONS IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY...........................................................................18
EMOTIONS AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY: TRAUMA – PTSD............................................................................18
EMOTIONS IN PTSD..........................................................................................................................19
TO FIGHT, TO FLY, TO FREEZE...............................................................................................................20
ROLE OF HORMONES..........................................................................................................................21
PREDICTORS OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY......................................................................................................21
EXPOSURE THERAPY...........................................................................................................................21
LECTURE 6 EMOTION/COGNITION INTERPLAY I: JUDGMENT & DECISION MAKING........................22
THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN EMOTION AND COGNITION.................................................................................22
FROM PRIMARY AND SECONDARY APPRAISALS TO NEURAL MULTIPLE-PROCESS MODELS: DUAL-PROCESS MODELS OF
THOUGHT AND BEHAVIOUR..................................................................................................................22
EMOTION AND COGNITION IN DECISION MAKING I: INTERTEMPORAL CHOICE...................................................23
CONCRETE RESEARCH EXAMPLES: TEMPTATION AND SELF-CONTROL...............................................................24
,LECTURE 7 EMOTION/COGNITION INTERPLAY II: DEVELOPMENT...................................................26
A NEURODEVELOPMENTAL MODEL OF ADOLESCENCE..................................................................................26
EMOTION AND COGNITION IN DECISION MAKING II: RISKY CHOICE................................................................27
CONCRETE RESEARCH EXAMPLE: ADOLESCENT RISK TAKING - COLOMBIA CARD TASK (CCT)................................29
2
,Lecture 1 general introduction
Emotion was many definitions and consists of different focuses: feeling, cognition,
physiology, motivation, and expression theoretical perspectives
Evolutionary perspective
Darwin
- 19th century, general belief: expression of emotions is uniquely human, intended for
communication
- Darwin: humans and animals same origin
- Central question:
1. How are emotions expressed by animals and humans? > universal character
2. Where do emotions come from? > past function of expressions
Modern research
Ekman & Izard (1970 – now): support for universal recognition of facial expressions for a
small number of emotions (‘basic’/’big 6’):
1. Happiness
2. Sadness
3. Fear
4. Anger
5. Disgust
6. Surprise
Research methods:
- Observations in humans and animals
- Cross-cultural research: questionnaires, observations
- Judgments of photographs: posed and spontaneous
Conclusions
- Recognition depends on response format and options
- Often limited number of choices and stimuli (big 6)
- Expression in ‘real life’ are often more subtle than stimuli from standard sets:
o Often a reaction to something that happens in a context: interpretation also
context-dependent
o Not all facial expressions are expressions of emotions
o Dynamics influence interpretation
- Expressions are multimodal: face, voice, body
- Expression ≠ emotion
o Display rules: posing or masking expression
o Recognition ≠ experience
3
, Bodily perspective
William James (1842 – 1910)
- General opinion: perception feeling/emotion bodily effect
- James: perception bodily effect feeling/emotion
- Focus on:
o Experience instead of expression
o Bodily responses
o Adaptive function
- Important influence:
o Central role of autonomic nervous system
o Bodily response influences subjective experience (“feeling”) as well as cognitions
Criticism from Cannon two arguments:
1. Disconnection between guts and brain does not lead to reduction in emotions
a. Disconnection cortex and subcortical regions does induce changes cortex
inhibits lower brain regions that host emotions
2. Bodily response (arousal) not specific enough for differentiation between emotions
Schachter & Singer
- Two-factor theory: arousal + cognition = emotion
o Perception bodily response appraisal feeling/emotion
- Experiment: adrenaline injections
o Different contexts elicited different emotions
o Results not replicated: no further support for role of nonspecific arousal
Cognitive perspective
Early ideas: philosophers
- Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) emotions are evaluations, depend on our beliefs
- Descartes (1596 – 1650) origin of emotions is in the soul (our thinking part)
o Emotions are about goals, concerns, identity
o Emotions can be regulated by thoughts
o Emotions closely connected to the body
o Emotions are usually functional
New theories: appraisals
Arnold (1954) “feeling is thinking”:
- Appraisal: emotions based on evaluation of events
- Direct relation evaluation emotion
o Predict deduct (infer), regulate
- Emotions are relational > object-focused
o Link internal concerns with external events/objects
o Action-impulse: toward (attraction) or away (repulsion) form an object
(positive/negative)
4
