Problem 1:
Emotion: A complex state of feeling - stimulus → physical and psychological changes → influences thought
and behaviour.
Arousal: Activation of nervous system → physiological reaction (e.g. faster heart rate, sweating).
Theories of Emotion
➔ James-Lange Theory of Emotion: No cognitive component. Biological reaction leads to physical
emotions. We sense the different physiological patterns produced by each emotion. Our awareness of
the bodily changes produced by the arousing stimuli, turns this perception into genuine emotion. We
feel fear because we are experiencing the pattern of bodily changes associated with fear.
Stimulus → Physiological reaction / arousal = Emotion.
◆ Criticism: It is impossible to differentiate between physiological changes in different
emotions. Epinephrine studies contradict this theory.
➔ Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion: Stimulus triggers subcortical brain activity which causes both the
physiological changes associated with the emotion and the emotional experience itself
simultaneously.
Stimulus → Triggers brain activity → Simultaneous experience of Arousal + Emotion.
, ◆ Criticism: It’s not easy to distinguish the bodily changes associated with different emotions
➔ Schachter-Singer’s Two-Factor Theory of Emotion: The experience of emotion is based on
physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal. Interpretation of bodily responses
in the context of situational cues. Emotion depends on a person’s judgments about why their body
and physiology have changed.
Stimulus → Arousal → Appraisal (Interpretation) = Emotion
➔ Experiments:
◆ Epinephrine Experiment (Schachter and Singer): They injected epinephrine to male
participants. Uninformed drugged groups felt sudden arousal without explanation and their
emotions shaped according to their confederate. Conclusion is when people are unclear
about their own emotional states, they sometimes seek explanations/interpret how they feel
by watching others.
◆ It was successfully and unsuccessfully replicated.
Excitation Transfer: Residual arousal is transferred to another stimulus, misattribution can sometimes
happen.
➔ Misattribution: Confusion of the source of the arousal.
➔ Residual Excitation: Arousal caused by the first stimulus that is transferred to a later moment.
Residual excitement intensifies later emotional states. Example: Going to the gym and then
experiencing road rage when driving a car even though the situation was mild.
➔ Excitation Transfer Model (Zillmann): The expression of any emotion is a function of;
1) A learned behavior from previous experience.
2) Arousal or excitation from another source.
3) The person’s interpretation of the arousal state.
, ➔ Experiments:
◆ Shock Experiment (Dutton & Aron): Manipulated anticipated shock to 80 males and an
attractive female confederate independently. Anticipation of own shock but not
anticipation of shock to the confederate increased sexual imagery scores on the TAT and
attraction to the confederate. Results of confederates getting a higher shock and being rated
more attractive is not significant to be conclusive. Supported by two-factor theory.
◆ Bridge Experiment (Dutton & Aron): Males after crossing two different bridges were
approached by an attractive female. One of the bridges is high and unsafe, the other one is a
suspension bridge. First stimulus is the arousal caused by the bridge and the second stimulus
is the attractive wom an. It showed that males who crossed the high bridge were more likely
to misattribute their arousal from first stimulus to the second stimulus. Supported by
two-factor theory.
◆ Roller Coaster Experiment (Meston & Frohlich): The results showed that for those riding
without romantic partners, they rated the picture as more attractive, supporting the
psychological phenomenon of misattribution.
Emotional Lability (Schachter): Emotions may be labile (easily altered). Liability is particularly high when
people are seeking an explanation of the arousal they experience.
➔ Misattribution Paradigm (Valins): Emotions depend on what cognitive label the arousal is assigned
to (interpretation), however it can be attributed to a wrong source. If emotions depend on what
cognitive label is assigned, then it might be possible to transform emotions by reattributing arousal.
People who experience anxiety etc. because attribute arousal internally are encouraged to reattribute
it to external factors.
➔ Self-Perception Theory (Bem): The idea that we gain knowledge of ourselves only by making
self-attributions. Example, we infer our own attitudes from our own behavior.
, Problem 2:
Bystander Effect: Individuals are less likely to offer help when in the presence of others than when they are
alone.
➔ Bystander Intervention: Breaking the bystander effect and helping the individual in the emergency
situation.
➔ Bystander Apathy: The individual remains in his role of the bystander and does not help another
person in an emergency situation.
➔ Types of Intervention:
◆ Direct Intervention: Breaking up a fight, extinguishing a fire etc. Often requires special skill
or physical strength. May also involve danger for whoever intervenes.
◆ Reportorial Intervention: Reporting to someone qualified to handle the situation.
➔ Explanations of The Bystander Effect:
◆ Pluralistic Ignorance: Ambiguous situations make people look at other people’s reactions to
the situation. Passiveness affects other people.
◆ Diffusion of Responsibility: A person is less likely to take responsibility for action or
inaction when other bystanders are present because you are not sure whether you should
help or others will.
◆ Audience Inhibition: Fear of appearing to be overreacting and getting negatively evaluated
by other bystanders because of that.
◆ Number of Bystanders: The likelihood of getting help decreases as the number of bystanders
increase and group members are strangers to each other.
◆ Cost of Helping: Costs of helping sometimes weighed against the benefits. Like stress, time
and danger against social approval, avoidance of shame, and sexual interest.
◆ Time Pressure: Less likely to help if stressed and do not have much time. Study by Darley &
Batson (1973) The Good Samaritan.
◆ Mood: Good mood can increase altruism.
◆ Competence and Experience: If you feel competent and think you have the right knowledge
to help you are more likely to.
◆ Similarity: Race, age, nationality, appearance, etc.
Emotion: A complex state of feeling - stimulus → physical and psychological changes → influences thought
and behaviour.
Arousal: Activation of nervous system → physiological reaction (e.g. faster heart rate, sweating).
Theories of Emotion
➔ James-Lange Theory of Emotion: No cognitive component. Biological reaction leads to physical
emotions. We sense the different physiological patterns produced by each emotion. Our awareness of
the bodily changes produced by the arousing stimuli, turns this perception into genuine emotion. We
feel fear because we are experiencing the pattern of bodily changes associated with fear.
Stimulus → Physiological reaction / arousal = Emotion.
◆ Criticism: It is impossible to differentiate between physiological changes in different
emotions. Epinephrine studies contradict this theory.
➔ Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion: Stimulus triggers subcortical brain activity which causes both the
physiological changes associated with the emotion and the emotional experience itself
simultaneously.
Stimulus → Triggers brain activity → Simultaneous experience of Arousal + Emotion.
, ◆ Criticism: It’s not easy to distinguish the bodily changes associated with different emotions
➔ Schachter-Singer’s Two-Factor Theory of Emotion: The experience of emotion is based on
physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal. Interpretation of bodily responses
in the context of situational cues. Emotion depends on a person’s judgments about why their body
and physiology have changed.
Stimulus → Arousal → Appraisal (Interpretation) = Emotion
➔ Experiments:
◆ Epinephrine Experiment (Schachter and Singer): They injected epinephrine to male
participants. Uninformed drugged groups felt sudden arousal without explanation and their
emotions shaped according to their confederate. Conclusion is when people are unclear
about their own emotional states, they sometimes seek explanations/interpret how they feel
by watching others.
◆ It was successfully and unsuccessfully replicated.
Excitation Transfer: Residual arousal is transferred to another stimulus, misattribution can sometimes
happen.
➔ Misattribution: Confusion of the source of the arousal.
➔ Residual Excitation: Arousal caused by the first stimulus that is transferred to a later moment.
Residual excitement intensifies later emotional states. Example: Going to the gym and then
experiencing road rage when driving a car even though the situation was mild.
➔ Excitation Transfer Model (Zillmann): The expression of any emotion is a function of;
1) A learned behavior from previous experience.
2) Arousal or excitation from another source.
3) The person’s interpretation of the arousal state.
, ➔ Experiments:
◆ Shock Experiment (Dutton & Aron): Manipulated anticipated shock to 80 males and an
attractive female confederate independently. Anticipation of own shock but not
anticipation of shock to the confederate increased sexual imagery scores on the TAT and
attraction to the confederate. Results of confederates getting a higher shock and being rated
more attractive is not significant to be conclusive. Supported by two-factor theory.
◆ Bridge Experiment (Dutton & Aron): Males after crossing two different bridges were
approached by an attractive female. One of the bridges is high and unsafe, the other one is a
suspension bridge. First stimulus is the arousal caused by the bridge and the second stimulus
is the attractive wom an. It showed that males who crossed the high bridge were more likely
to misattribute their arousal from first stimulus to the second stimulus. Supported by
two-factor theory.
◆ Roller Coaster Experiment (Meston & Frohlich): The results showed that for those riding
without romantic partners, they rated the picture as more attractive, supporting the
psychological phenomenon of misattribution.
Emotional Lability (Schachter): Emotions may be labile (easily altered). Liability is particularly high when
people are seeking an explanation of the arousal they experience.
➔ Misattribution Paradigm (Valins): Emotions depend on what cognitive label the arousal is assigned
to (interpretation), however it can be attributed to a wrong source. If emotions depend on what
cognitive label is assigned, then it might be possible to transform emotions by reattributing arousal.
People who experience anxiety etc. because attribute arousal internally are encouraged to reattribute
it to external factors.
➔ Self-Perception Theory (Bem): The idea that we gain knowledge of ourselves only by making
self-attributions. Example, we infer our own attitudes from our own behavior.
, Problem 2:
Bystander Effect: Individuals are less likely to offer help when in the presence of others than when they are
alone.
➔ Bystander Intervention: Breaking the bystander effect and helping the individual in the emergency
situation.
➔ Bystander Apathy: The individual remains in his role of the bystander and does not help another
person in an emergency situation.
➔ Types of Intervention:
◆ Direct Intervention: Breaking up a fight, extinguishing a fire etc. Often requires special skill
or physical strength. May also involve danger for whoever intervenes.
◆ Reportorial Intervention: Reporting to someone qualified to handle the situation.
➔ Explanations of The Bystander Effect:
◆ Pluralistic Ignorance: Ambiguous situations make people look at other people’s reactions to
the situation. Passiveness affects other people.
◆ Diffusion of Responsibility: A person is less likely to take responsibility for action or
inaction when other bystanders are present because you are not sure whether you should
help or others will.
◆ Audience Inhibition: Fear of appearing to be overreacting and getting negatively evaluated
by other bystanders because of that.
◆ Number of Bystanders: The likelihood of getting help decreases as the number of bystanders
increase and group members are strangers to each other.
◆ Cost of Helping: Costs of helping sometimes weighed against the benefits. Like stress, time
and danger against social approval, avoidance of shame, and sexual interest.
◆ Time Pressure: Less likely to help if stressed and do not have much time. Study by Darley &
Batson (1973) The Good Samaritan.
◆ Mood: Good mood can increase altruism.
◆ Competence and Experience: If you feel competent and think you have the right knowledge
to help you are more likely to.
◆ Similarity: Race, age, nationality, appearance, etc.
