Block 1.1 - PEOPLE IN GROUPS
Problem 1 - Emotion and Arousal
Important Definitions
AROUSAL (based on apa dictionary)
1. A state of physiological activation or cortical responsiveness, associated w/
sensory stimulation & activation of fibres from the reticular activating system
2. A state of excitement or energy expenditure linked to an emotion
a state of being activated
EMOTION (based on apa dictionary)
A complex reaction pattern, involving experiental, behavioural and physiological
elements by which an individual attempts to deal w/ a personally significant
matter or event
+ long-lasting
MOOD
1. any short-lived spontaneous emotional state, usually of low intensity (e.g., a
cheerful mood, an irritable mood).
2. a disposition to respond emotionally in a particular way that may last for
hours, days, or even weeks, perhaps at a low level and without the person
knowing what prompted the state. Moods differ from emotions in lacking an
object; for example, the emotion of anger can be aroused by an insult, but an
angry mood may arise when one does not know what one is angry about or what
elicited the anger. Disturbances in mood are characteristic of mood disorders.
, Block 1.1 - PEOPLE IN GROUPS
Theories of emotion - Physiological aspects of emotion
(WILLIAM) JAMES – (CARL) LANGE THEORY
FOCUS ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL
different emotions provoke different physiological responses
Claim
the specific character of the
biological changes is crucial
Explanation:
awareness of bodily changes turns
into perception into emotion
emotion & physiological response are connected
criticism
- arousal does not guarantee emotion
- identical responses are associated w several different emotions
- arousal is not necessary for emotion
CANNON- BARD THEORY/ Thalamic theory
disagrees w/ James-Lange-Theory
“its not easy to distinguish the bodily changes associated w/ different emotions”
Study/ research
People injected w/ epinephrine felt
bodily changes / felt no emotion or only as
if (anti-James-Lange)
SCHACHTER- SINGER-THEORY
Emotion depends on a person`s judgement on why their
body has changed FOCUS ON THE COGNITIVE APPRAISAL
Criticism:
Study that criticizes Schachter-Singer-Theory
bodily arousal only partially determines emotion
Perceptions of emotions due to bodily arousal can be illusions
Various emotions are similar in terms of the body’s responses [1 type of body-response many
emotions]
TWO-FACTOR-THEORY OF EMOTION
Two-factor-theory of emotion by Schachter and Singer 1959
Two factors necessary to deal a specific emotion
1. Person has to experience physiological arousal
2. They have to make a cognitive interpretation that explains the source of arousal [other people
influence interpretation of our arousal but only if physical arousal is low ]
↓
☆ What happens when we are unclear about our emotion? (interpretation of arousal)
we tend to interpret our emotions based on watching others and match their emotional reactions
, Block 1.1 - PEOPLE IN GROUPS
people must be present before arousal in order to copy them
Misattribution Paradigm- Emotional lability by Schachter and Singer
Assumption: Emotions depend on cognitive label we assign them(casual attribution to
undifferentiated arousal) change label of arousalchange emotion
= depression into cheerfulness
effect is limited
emotions are less labile than expected
Excitation transfer model by Zillmann, 1979,1988
FACTORS CREATING AN EMOTION
1) learnt (aggressive) behaviour
2) arousal or excitation from another source
3) person’s interpretation of arousal state (emotional response seems appropriate)
MISATTRIBUTION
arousal by one thing can be moved or added to a
different thing
seems like the 2nd thing cause the arousal
arousal intensifies emotional reactions (- or +) even
w/o distress
ELEKTRIC SHOCK EXPERIMENT
- men get hard and mild electric shocks
- hard shocks = more schared = more attracted to female confederate
- w/o confederate = more ansxious
- if confederate got shocks didn’t matter “damsel in distress” does not work
Two- Factor – Theory of Emotion
Missattribution
Passionate Love = an intense emotional, heart-thumping state of absorption in another person
excitation transfer model works as well
AROUSAL -ATTRACTION EFFECT
Works for misattribution but also w/o misattribution (knowing the source of arousal)
Theory of Misattribution in Love Bescheid and Walster (later Hatfield)
, Block 1.1 - PEOPLE IN GROUPS
[Similar to Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory of Emotion]
1) Heightened state of physical arousal
2) Belief that arousal wad triggered by beloved person (cognitive appraisal)
Autobiographical memories
recollections of sequences of events in one`s life basis for self-concept
! in general remembering recent past events better than distant past events[recent > distant ]
↕ BUT
1) Reminiscence Bump – older people remember early adulthood pretty well [busy years]
2) Transitional firsts (e.g. 1st day of school/ last day of senior yrs)
↑
☆We remember moments w/ a strong emotional connection!
↓
Flashbulb memories
“print” dramatic events in memory
Biological: survival purpose
Not exactly accurate but feel special
Have a prominent place in our biographies
Experiments
Dutton & Aron:
Some Evidence for Heightened Sexual
Attractions and Conditions of High Anxiety
Goal
Proving that anxiety leads to sexual attraction (due to misattribution)
Design
1. Experiment: Capilano Bridge (male subjects, scary bridge, the more fear, the more sexual their
reports, arousal stimulates/enhances emotion/ stories with sexual )
2. Experiment: same set up, but different bridge, approached subjects 10min after passing bridge,
less Rückrufe and less sexual stories
3. Experiments: anticipation of electroshock (more anxiety when confronted with strong shock,
strong shock + female=less anxiety, sexual imagery higher when both strong shock)
Love at First Fright: Rollercoaster experiment by Meston & Frohlich
(2002)
Goal
examine the effect of residual nervous system arousal (after rollercoaster) on perception of sexual
attraction, under consideration of romantic and non-romantic partners; male and female
Design
- took a picture of seatmate (opposite gender) and showed it to them pre ride
- pre rating and post rating of image of person sitting next to them
Results
People (non-romantic partner): AFTER the ride, showed increased ratings/ dating desirability
towards the photograph, than people entering the ride
People w/ a romantic partner showed no difference in attractiveness ratings before and after the
ride // sometimes even less attractive due to physical reasons
Arousal from riding the rollercoaster led to increased rating attractiveness but only for person w/o
a romantic partner
Problem 1 - Emotion and Arousal
Important Definitions
AROUSAL (based on apa dictionary)
1. A state of physiological activation or cortical responsiveness, associated w/
sensory stimulation & activation of fibres from the reticular activating system
2. A state of excitement or energy expenditure linked to an emotion
a state of being activated
EMOTION (based on apa dictionary)
A complex reaction pattern, involving experiental, behavioural and physiological
elements by which an individual attempts to deal w/ a personally significant
matter or event
+ long-lasting
MOOD
1. any short-lived spontaneous emotional state, usually of low intensity (e.g., a
cheerful mood, an irritable mood).
2. a disposition to respond emotionally in a particular way that may last for
hours, days, or even weeks, perhaps at a low level and without the person
knowing what prompted the state. Moods differ from emotions in lacking an
object; for example, the emotion of anger can be aroused by an insult, but an
angry mood may arise when one does not know what one is angry about or what
elicited the anger. Disturbances in mood are characteristic of mood disorders.
, Block 1.1 - PEOPLE IN GROUPS
Theories of emotion - Physiological aspects of emotion
(WILLIAM) JAMES – (CARL) LANGE THEORY
FOCUS ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL
different emotions provoke different physiological responses
Claim
the specific character of the
biological changes is crucial
Explanation:
awareness of bodily changes turns
into perception into emotion
emotion & physiological response are connected
criticism
- arousal does not guarantee emotion
- identical responses are associated w several different emotions
- arousal is not necessary for emotion
CANNON- BARD THEORY/ Thalamic theory
disagrees w/ James-Lange-Theory
“its not easy to distinguish the bodily changes associated w/ different emotions”
Study/ research
People injected w/ epinephrine felt
bodily changes / felt no emotion or only as
if (anti-James-Lange)
SCHACHTER- SINGER-THEORY
Emotion depends on a person`s judgement on why their
body has changed FOCUS ON THE COGNITIVE APPRAISAL
Criticism:
Study that criticizes Schachter-Singer-Theory
bodily arousal only partially determines emotion
Perceptions of emotions due to bodily arousal can be illusions
Various emotions are similar in terms of the body’s responses [1 type of body-response many
emotions]
TWO-FACTOR-THEORY OF EMOTION
Two-factor-theory of emotion by Schachter and Singer 1959
Two factors necessary to deal a specific emotion
1. Person has to experience physiological arousal
2. They have to make a cognitive interpretation that explains the source of arousal [other people
influence interpretation of our arousal but only if physical arousal is low ]
↓
☆ What happens when we are unclear about our emotion? (interpretation of arousal)
we tend to interpret our emotions based on watching others and match their emotional reactions
, Block 1.1 - PEOPLE IN GROUPS
people must be present before arousal in order to copy them
Misattribution Paradigm- Emotional lability by Schachter and Singer
Assumption: Emotions depend on cognitive label we assign them(casual attribution to
undifferentiated arousal) change label of arousalchange emotion
= depression into cheerfulness
effect is limited
emotions are less labile than expected
Excitation transfer model by Zillmann, 1979,1988
FACTORS CREATING AN EMOTION
1) learnt (aggressive) behaviour
2) arousal or excitation from another source
3) person’s interpretation of arousal state (emotional response seems appropriate)
MISATTRIBUTION
arousal by one thing can be moved or added to a
different thing
seems like the 2nd thing cause the arousal
arousal intensifies emotional reactions (- or +) even
w/o distress
ELEKTRIC SHOCK EXPERIMENT
- men get hard and mild electric shocks
- hard shocks = more schared = more attracted to female confederate
- w/o confederate = more ansxious
- if confederate got shocks didn’t matter “damsel in distress” does not work
Two- Factor – Theory of Emotion
Missattribution
Passionate Love = an intense emotional, heart-thumping state of absorption in another person
excitation transfer model works as well
AROUSAL -ATTRACTION EFFECT
Works for misattribution but also w/o misattribution (knowing the source of arousal)
Theory of Misattribution in Love Bescheid and Walster (later Hatfield)
, Block 1.1 - PEOPLE IN GROUPS
[Similar to Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory of Emotion]
1) Heightened state of physical arousal
2) Belief that arousal wad triggered by beloved person (cognitive appraisal)
Autobiographical memories
recollections of sequences of events in one`s life basis for self-concept
! in general remembering recent past events better than distant past events[recent > distant ]
↕ BUT
1) Reminiscence Bump – older people remember early adulthood pretty well [busy years]
2) Transitional firsts (e.g. 1st day of school/ last day of senior yrs)
↑
☆We remember moments w/ a strong emotional connection!
↓
Flashbulb memories
“print” dramatic events in memory
Biological: survival purpose
Not exactly accurate but feel special
Have a prominent place in our biographies
Experiments
Dutton & Aron:
Some Evidence for Heightened Sexual
Attractions and Conditions of High Anxiety
Goal
Proving that anxiety leads to sexual attraction (due to misattribution)
Design
1. Experiment: Capilano Bridge (male subjects, scary bridge, the more fear, the more sexual their
reports, arousal stimulates/enhances emotion/ stories with sexual )
2. Experiment: same set up, but different bridge, approached subjects 10min after passing bridge,
less Rückrufe and less sexual stories
3. Experiments: anticipation of electroshock (more anxiety when confronted with strong shock,
strong shock + female=less anxiety, sexual imagery higher when both strong shock)
Love at First Fright: Rollercoaster experiment by Meston & Frohlich
(2002)
Goal
examine the effect of residual nervous system arousal (after rollercoaster) on perception of sexual
attraction, under consideration of romantic and non-romantic partners; male and female
Design
- took a picture of seatmate (opposite gender) and showed it to them pre ride
- pre rating and post rating of image of person sitting next to them
Results
People (non-romantic partner): AFTER the ride, showed increased ratings/ dating desirability
towards the photograph, than people entering the ride
People w/ a romantic partner showed no difference in attractiveness ratings before and after the
ride // sometimes even less attractive due to physical reasons
Arousal from riding the rollercoaster led to increased rating attractiveness but only for person w/o
a romantic partner
