Chapter 1: Introduction to Emotion Science
(1) Frameworks to Study Emotion
● Emotional episodes as multidimensional
● Emotional events often feel more significant and enduring than ordinary moments
● Emotions usually involve a combination of…
○ Feelings (subjective experience)
○ Actions (eg leaping in joy, crying)
○ Bodily responses (eg racing heart, lump in the throat)
○ Cognitive components (eg thoughts about what the event means)
Different scientific approaches to emotion
● Some traditions prioritise feelings
○ Feelings as essence of emotions
○ How something feels shapes how we remember it and react to it in the future
● Other traditions focus on physiological and behavioural response
○ Emotions studied through bodily reactions, neural activity, observable behaviours
○ These components often considered as more basic or primary than feelings
○ Feelings can occur after core emotional responses have been triggered
1.1 Challenges of Integrating Different Perspectives
1. Emotion science is fragmented
○ Different disciplines emphasise different aspects of emotion
○ No universal agreement on definition, central components and causal order of these
components (eg does feeling follow action or vice versa)
2. Research methods vary widely based on fields
Multidisciplinary approach to emotion science needed to form more comprehensive understanding of
emotion
● Psychology: especially cognitive, social, clinical
● Neuroscience: especially cognitive and affective
1.2 Evolutionary Theory of Emotion
● Emotions as evolutionary adaptations suggest that emotions are biologically ingrained
response systems, selected by nature to deal with vital challenges
● Emotions as multi-component systems
○ Emotions trigger complex response (physiological changes like adrenaline release,
behaviours like freezing, cognitive shifts like attention to threats)
○ Responses often occur automatically and can precede conscious feelings
● Selective learning and biological relevance
○ Certain emotional responses appear to be hardwired (eg rats fear the smell of cats
even without prior exposure; monkeys learn to fear snakes from one fearful
demonstration but not flowers)
, ○ Humans show common fears of ancestral threats (snakes, spiders) more often than
modern threats (guns, sockets)
■ Selective learning bias toward evolutionarily significant stimuli
● Universal emotions: anger, fear, sadness, disgust have recognisable facial expressions across
all cultures (Ekman, 1992) and shared behavioural display across species
1.3 Social Constructivist Theory of Emotion
Emotions are not biologically fixed but products of culture → cultures use emotions to communicate
value and navigate social life
● Emotions are not universal, they vary in type and intensity depending on cultural norms
Eg Wierzbicka (1994) found that different languages express emotions in unique ways
● Culture shapes how people define their "self", which affects emotional experiences
○ Independent self (Western) values autonomy, uniqueness; emotions focus on
self-esteem, success, personal control
○ Interdependent self (Eastern) values harmony, relationships; emotions focus on duty,
social fitting-in, connectedness
● Emotions serve different purposes in each context
Kitayama et al. (2000)
Japan USA
● Japanese reported more “interpersonally ● Americans reported more personal
engaged” emotions (eg guilt, shame, positive emotions (eg pride, joy)
respect) ● Emotional experiences were negatively
● Emotional experiences were positively correlated in Americans (more joy →
correlated in Japanese (balance of both less sadness)
positive and negative )
Culture emotional coping: people try to Culture emotional coping: people try to
adjust to their environment change their environment
→ Emotions reflect these strategies (eg anger vs patience)
,Culture-specific emotions
● Amae (Japan): feeling of comfort from complete dependence and acceptance by others
● “State of being a wild pig” (Gururumba, New Guinea):
○ Culturally recognised emotion where young men run wild, temporarily freeing them
from responsibilities. This helps manage life stressors in socially acceptable ways
1.4 James-Lange Theory of Emotion
Common Sense James-Lange Theory
● We feel emotion (fear), then our body ● We see a stimulus (bear), our body
reacts (heart race) changes (heart race), then we interpret
these changes as fear
Damasio’s Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH) extended the James-Lange theory by integrating
neuroscience…
● Emotions are generated through the perception of changes in bodily states, including:
○ Autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity
○ Hormonal changes
○ Biochemical signals
● These bodily states are registered in the brain and help us make decisions
The ‘as-if loop’ (Damasio)
● The brain can simulate bodily changes without them actually occurring
Eg imagining a balloon can produce a mental image, so imagining a bodily state can
produce a feeling
● The brain may detect and respond to bodily signals without conscious awareness
● Emotions can be unconscious, unlike James’ original view (which equated emotions with
conscious feeling)
Hence, this approach argues that emotions originate from the brain’s perception of bodily changes,
rather than being separate from or causing those changes
, 1.5 Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Emotions
Emotions stem from evaluations (appraisals) of how an event relates to us personally
● Emotions are not automatic reactions, but we evaluate or appraise the meaning of an event
before the emotion occurs
● Emotions involve a double reference to the external event or object and to the self’s
relationship to that event or object
→ This approach argues that our thoughts and appraisals, not the situation itself, are what
produce emotional responses
(2) Neuroscience and cognitive approaches
Cognitive psychology explores how thinking and appraisals influence emotions; neuroscience
explores where and how emotions are represented in the brain
Historical divide
● Psychology (social, cognitive, clinical) and neuroscience have often worked in parallel
without enough cross-communication
● Even within psychology, emotion researchers from different subfields rarely interacted
● Result: limited progress, despite studying similar phenomena
● Shift toward collaboration
○ Advances in brain imaging (eg fMRI, PET) have made it easier to study emotions in
humans
○ New behavioral tasks reveal how thinking shapes feeling, and feeling shapes thinking
○ Anatomy of brain supports the interdependence between cognitive and
emotional/affective processes
2.1 Is there an emotion centre in the brain?
Historical view Contemporary evidence
● Paul MacLean (1973) proposed ● LeDoux (1987): There is no single brain
that emotions were controlled by region dedicated solely to emotion
the limbic system (a midbrain ● Emotion processing is distributed across
region) multiple brain circuits
● This theory was widely accepted ● Davidson (2003) labeled traditional view as
and considered plausible for a time one of the "seven sins" of emotion science
(1) Frameworks to Study Emotion
● Emotional episodes as multidimensional
● Emotional events often feel more significant and enduring than ordinary moments
● Emotions usually involve a combination of…
○ Feelings (subjective experience)
○ Actions (eg leaping in joy, crying)
○ Bodily responses (eg racing heart, lump in the throat)
○ Cognitive components (eg thoughts about what the event means)
Different scientific approaches to emotion
● Some traditions prioritise feelings
○ Feelings as essence of emotions
○ How something feels shapes how we remember it and react to it in the future
● Other traditions focus on physiological and behavioural response
○ Emotions studied through bodily reactions, neural activity, observable behaviours
○ These components often considered as more basic or primary than feelings
○ Feelings can occur after core emotional responses have been triggered
1.1 Challenges of Integrating Different Perspectives
1. Emotion science is fragmented
○ Different disciplines emphasise different aspects of emotion
○ No universal agreement on definition, central components and causal order of these
components (eg does feeling follow action or vice versa)
2. Research methods vary widely based on fields
Multidisciplinary approach to emotion science needed to form more comprehensive understanding of
emotion
● Psychology: especially cognitive, social, clinical
● Neuroscience: especially cognitive and affective
1.2 Evolutionary Theory of Emotion
● Emotions as evolutionary adaptations suggest that emotions are biologically ingrained
response systems, selected by nature to deal with vital challenges
● Emotions as multi-component systems
○ Emotions trigger complex response (physiological changes like adrenaline release,
behaviours like freezing, cognitive shifts like attention to threats)
○ Responses often occur automatically and can precede conscious feelings
● Selective learning and biological relevance
○ Certain emotional responses appear to be hardwired (eg rats fear the smell of cats
even without prior exposure; monkeys learn to fear snakes from one fearful
demonstration but not flowers)
, ○ Humans show common fears of ancestral threats (snakes, spiders) more often than
modern threats (guns, sockets)
■ Selective learning bias toward evolutionarily significant stimuli
● Universal emotions: anger, fear, sadness, disgust have recognisable facial expressions across
all cultures (Ekman, 1992) and shared behavioural display across species
1.3 Social Constructivist Theory of Emotion
Emotions are not biologically fixed but products of culture → cultures use emotions to communicate
value and navigate social life
● Emotions are not universal, they vary in type and intensity depending on cultural norms
Eg Wierzbicka (1994) found that different languages express emotions in unique ways
● Culture shapes how people define their "self", which affects emotional experiences
○ Independent self (Western) values autonomy, uniqueness; emotions focus on
self-esteem, success, personal control
○ Interdependent self (Eastern) values harmony, relationships; emotions focus on duty,
social fitting-in, connectedness
● Emotions serve different purposes in each context
Kitayama et al. (2000)
Japan USA
● Japanese reported more “interpersonally ● Americans reported more personal
engaged” emotions (eg guilt, shame, positive emotions (eg pride, joy)
respect) ● Emotional experiences were negatively
● Emotional experiences were positively correlated in Americans (more joy →
correlated in Japanese (balance of both less sadness)
positive and negative )
Culture emotional coping: people try to Culture emotional coping: people try to
adjust to their environment change their environment
→ Emotions reflect these strategies (eg anger vs patience)
,Culture-specific emotions
● Amae (Japan): feeling of comfort from complete dependence and acceptance by others
● “State of being a wild pig” (Gururumba, New Guinea):
○ Culturally recognised emotion where young men run wild, temporarily freeing them
from responsibilities. This helps manage life stressors in socially acceptable ways
1.4 James-Lange Theory of Emotion
Common Sense James-Lange Theory
● We feel emotion (fear), then our body ● We see a stimulus (bear), our body
reacts (heart race) changes (heart race), then we interpret
these changes as fear
Damasio’s Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH) extended the James-Lange theory by integrating
neuroscience…
● Emotions are generated through the perception of changes in bodily states, including:
○ Autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity
○ Hormonal changes
○ Biochemical signals
● These bodily states are registered in the brain and help us make decisions
The ‘as-if loop’ (Damasio)
● The brain can simulate bodily changes without them actually occurring
Eg imagining a balloon can produce a mental image, so imagining a bodily state can
produce a feeling
● The brain may detect and respond to bodily signals without conscious awareness
● Emotions can be unconscious, unlike James’ original view (which equated emotions with
conscious feeling)
Hence, this approach argues that emotions originate from the brain’s perception of bodily changes,
rather than being separate from or causing those changes
, 1.5 Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Emotions
Emotions stem from evaluations (appraisals) of how an event relates to us personally
● Emotions are not automatic reactions, but we evaluate or appraise the meaning of an event
before the emotion occurs
● Emotions involve a double reference to the external event or object and to the self’s
relationship to that event or object
→ This approach argues that our thoughts and appraisals, not the situation itself, are what
produce emotional responses
(2) Neuroscience and cognitive approaches
Cognitive psychology explores how thinking and appraisals influence emotions; neuroscience
explores where and how emotions are represented in the brain
Historical divide
● Psychology (social, cognitive, clinical) and neuroscience have often worked in parallel
without enough cross-communication
● Even within psychology, emotion researchers from different subfields rarely interacted
● Result: limited progress, despite studying similar phenomena
● Shift toward collaboration
○ Advances in brain imaging (eg fMRI, PET) have made it easier to study emotions in
humans
○ New behavioral tasks reveal how thinking shapes feeling, and feeling shapes thinking
○ Anatomy of brain supports the interdependence between cognitive and
emotional/affective processes
2.1 Is there an emotion centre in the brain?
Historical view Contemporary evidence
● Paul MacLean (1973) proposed ● LeDoux (1987): There is no single brain
that emotions were controlled by region dedicated solely to emotion
the limbic system (a midbrain ● Emotion processing is distributed across
region) multiple brain circuits
● This theory was widely accepted ● Davidson (2003) labeled traditional view as
and considered plausible for a time one of the "seven sins" of emotion science
