Theories of emotion

The Emotional Approach

What is emotion?

There are 3 distinctions to make when talking about emotions:

Emotions

Feelings

Moods

Characteristics of emotion

Emotions are embodied: in addition to interactions with cognition, we experience emotions through full-body responses (ex. racing heart, tense muscles). Emotions are hard to control: Unlike thoughts, emotions arise quickly and are harder to regulate. Emotions have a global impact on our behavior: Our emotions shape our perception, memory, and interactions. For example, a happy person may interpret neutral events more positively.

1. James-Lange Theory of Emotion

Bodily responses come first, and emotions follow as an interpretation of these physiological responses. For example: You see a bear -> your heart races -> you interpret this response as fear. According to this theory, without physical responses, we might not experience emotions in the same way.

2. Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

Emotions and bodily responses happen simultaneously but independently. For example, you see a bear -> you feel fear and your heart races at the same time. According to this theory, emotions do not depend solely on physiological feedback.

3. Cognitive theory of emotion: Singer-Schachter

Emotions result from both physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation. In a classic study, participants received adrenaline injections, but were told it was a vitamin shot. They were then placed in a room with either a happy or an angry person.

3. Cognitive theory of emotion: Singer-Schachter

How do you think the participants felt?

Condition 2: Angry Confederate

Condition 1: Happy Confederate

Results of this study show that the environment influences how we interpret our bodily states.

4. Emergence synthesis (LeDoux)

This theory incorporates components from the previous three theories, and states that some emotions arise automatically (without thought), while others require interpretation. Each of these is associated with a distinct neural circuit involving the amygdala, an almond shaped structure of the limbic system involved in the fear response.

4. Emergence synthesis (LeDoux):The amygdala

Two Neural Circuits of Fear:

• Low Road (fast, automatic reaction): sensory input -> thalamus -> amygdala -> immediate fear response

• High Road (slower, thoughtful processing): sensory input -> thalamus -> cortex -> amygdala -> fear response (if confirmed as a threat).

4. Emergence synthesis (LeDoux):The amygdala

For example: you instinctively jump at a shadow (low road), but after processing, realize it's just a tree branch (high road).

5. Constructive/dimensional theory of emotion

In this view, there is a core affect system. It has two components: valence and arousal.

Valence

Arousal

All emotions tap in this core affect system in different ways.

Russell & Feldman-Barrett (1999)

5. Constructive/dimensional theory of emotion

"In every waking moment, your brain uses past experience, organized as concepts, to guide your actions and give your sensations meaning. When the concepts involved are emotion concepts, your brain constructs instances of emotion.“ - Barrett, Lisa Feldman (2017). How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain.

Each emotion is constructed in context, on the spot.

Russell & Feldman-Barrett (1999)

Basic emotions

A basic emotion is one that is believed to be mostly innate and thus in humans ought be universal or found in all cultures (Plutchik & Kellerman, 1980). In contrast to the constructed view of emotions, which states that emotions emerge from contextual interpretation, are flexible and shaped by experience, this view states that emotions are hardwired in all of us, unable to be significantly shaped by experience.

Basic emotions

Ekman argued that there are 6 basic emotions present in all humans:

Can you identify each emotion? Hover your mouse to see.

Basic emotions in non-human animals?

Charles Darwin first suggested that there might be some shared between humans and non-human animals. For example, anger involves a direct gaze, open mouth, and visible teeth. What could be the mechanism for this?

What are the functions of emotions?

There are three main functions of emotions:

Cognitive Needs

Survival

Communicative/Social

Emotions and Psychological Disorders

Emotions evolved to keep us alive, facilitate communication and to help us think and problem solve. However, when these mechanisms malfunction, the result can be a psychological disorder.

Fear

Anger

Disgust

Sadness

Happiness

Click on each to see the associated disorder.

The presence of a threat will trigger a flight or fight response to deal with potential danger.

Arousal ranges from high activation to low activation.

Those placed with the happy confederate reported their physical symptoms as happiness and excitement.

Moods are a diffuse affective state that last longer than emotions and influence our general outlook. They are often of lower intensity than emotions. For example: feeling cheerful all day after receiving good news.

Emotions can assist in thinking and problem solving. They can guide our attention to what is important, helping us ignore distractions and prioritize our concerns.

Those placed with the angry confederate reported their physical symptoms as irritation.

Feelings are the subjective experience of emotions, unique to each individual. This is the "what it is like", or qualia of emotions: they are internal and subjective. For example: feeling anxious before a big presentation.

Valence ranges from pleasant to unpleasant.

Emotions are a relatively brief episode of coordinated brain, autonomic and behavioral changes that facilitate a response to an external or internal event of significance for the organism. For example: fear when encountering a snake.

Emotions can communicate our own feelings to others via our facial expressions. For example, if your friend looks sad or angry, that will affect the way you interact with him or her, and the topic of conversation.

In the first, the fearful stimulus is relayed through the thalamus, directly to the amygdala. This is the "low road", being fast and not requiring any thought by the observer. It is a quick, emergency response system evolved to deal with threatening stimuli. This leads you to instinctively jump at the shadow.

The fearful stimulus information is also sent to the cortex. Here it can be analyzed and evaluated by cognitive processes. This is the "high road", since the information takes more time to process. The cortex can initiate further behaviors if needed. This leads you to realize that it's just a tree branch.

Fear expression increases the visual field and nasal volume, and leads to faster eye movement for detecting danger.

Helps us avoid substances that can make us sick. It is related to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Animals can sometimes engage in ritualistic behavior to avoid infection. For example, a cat licking its fur.

Happiness can reinforce adaptive responses such as feeding and mating. Happiness broadens our scope of attention and enhances our physical and creative skills. There is the feel-good, do-good phenomenon, where happiness increases altruism. It is linked to bipolar disorder, where manic states are characterized by exuberance, grandiose sense of self, decreased need for sleep, and excessive talkativeness.

Sadness may help us think carefully about and focus on a problem. It can lead to depression, with excessive rumination. According to the analytic rumination hypothesis, the depressive state induces a focus on the problem while at the same time minimizing distractions that might detour attention, working memory, and other processing resources.

Anger helps us to confront and deal with threats. Excessive aggression can lead to criminal behavior.

Fear helps us to avoid dangerous situations. It is linked to anxiety disorders like phobias, panic attack and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).