PSY 336 emotions final

i'm happy this class is over soon

summarize the theorized adaptive function of fear

fear is a response to a specific perceived danger to either oneself or to a loved one; happens in the present

describe fear in biological terms

blood vessels restrict, amygdala looking for danger, conditioned fears depends on synaptic changes in the amygdala

describe fear from a cognitive/appraisal viewpoint

sensing danger, loud noises, threats

describe fear behavior

freezing and failure to explore

State-trait anxiety inventory

measures the state (temporary condition of recent events) and trait (long term personality) of anxiety

Startle response

you hear something surprising (loud noise) and you cover your ears (protecting your body)

why is the amygdala important for startle response?

it scans information for danger and amplifies reflexes

who came up with prepared learning and define the meaning

ohman- things are more easily learned than other; we are predisposed to be scared at certain things

Explain the idea that fear is an algorithm and apply that algorithm to a hypothetical situation

We act based on the situation that makes us scared

if a predator is in an open area and does not notice the prey

prey might freeze and slow down their heart rate do that they go unnoticed

Define “fear appeal,”

Fear appeal is when a public service message emphasizes negative outcomes if a behavior goes unnoticed (smoking when pregnant or smoking around babies)

when is fear appeal most likely to promote actual behavior change and who proposed it?

tannenbaum- when fear to change one’s behavior is paired with a specific action they can take

what are the elicitors and theorized adaptive functions of anger

• Anger (approach/ moving toward stimulus feeling)  is elicited when something of mine gets violate

• blood vessels expand, body gets warmer, and there is greater frontal cortical activity in the left hemisphere

• US and Japan both chose the facial expression that showed violation of autonomy

when is anger likely to be beneficial to a person

In negotiating, people who tend to show moderate anger get what they want. Anger = power.

describe anger in interpersonal relationships

Anger can be a good thing because it helps people make boundaries in relationships. People who are more aware of this can detect when someone is irritated and will avoid acting that way in the future

when we are angry…

we prioritize our own perspective more strongly than that of an interaction partner

what is hostile aggression

• harmful behavior caused by anger with the intent to hurt someone.

• For example, pushing someone after they accidentally stepped on your phone and broke it.

what is instrumental aggression

• harmful/threatening behavior used to get something you want.

• For example, doing threatening things to a more qualified employee because you want to get a raise.

describe some gender biases in anger

Angry men lawyers were perceived as dominant and having conviction in their argument vs. Angry women were seen as obnoxious and shrill

gender bias in anger can be eliminated

if the situational reason for women’s anger is made clear

what is core disgust

something that threatens my physical health (poop or sick people)

what is moral disgust?

when someone does something morally wrong (the capitol hosting the hunger games for the districts)

• core disgust amplifies moral disgust

which trait is disgust intensity highly correlated with

neuroticism

if your disgust is low, your openness is

high

describe disgust through the biological mindset

• increase SNS activity and increased vagal PSN influence on the heart 

• Electrical rhythm of stomach is also disturbed

• muscle contraction slowing down

• Bradygastira- associated with nausea and vomiting 

how is the insula cortex related to disgust

it’s important for making visceral sensations conscious

how does our body respond to sadness?

• SNS activates, (anticipation for something sad coming)

  • anticipation

• our heartbeat slows down (the sad thing already happened)

  • something sad already happened

people who are sad are

less likely to show false memory effect

sadness related to loss

may increase with age and show more coherence across measures of emotion

describe embarrassment and its functions

• when we violate a social norm and someone saw us.

• Our body shrinks, but people tend to show more social support to embarrassed people

describe guilt and its functions

• something we did that causes us to want to repair the mistake

describe shame and its functions

we did something morally wrong (less likely to repair the mistake)

people saw that those who blushed vs. those who did not were viewed as

more sincere and were more likely to be forgiven

what is a major difference in the meaning of shame cross-culturally?

key appraisal= one is perceived as less valuable by in-group members

In non-western cultures shame

not related to guilt and only seen as social value

Hasham (from bedouin)

relates to shame but applied to people in higher status --> feeling humbleness and not unpleasant.

why do people not view happiness as an emotion?

because there can be multiple physiological responses that can lead to happiness

in terms of evolutionary perspective, why might someone not view happiness as an emotion?

because there is no primary function for being happy, as opposed to anger

basic emotions

a specific physiological signature

what were the results from the PANAS study on happiness?

higher scores on the PANAS questionnaire experience more positive affect in life

what is said to lead to happiness after reaching a safety threshold?

long-term friendships

what is hedonic wellbeing

wanting to indulge in pleasant life and avoiding negative emotions (deluding and reducing life)

what is eudaimonic wellbeing

living a meaningful life following one’s moral compass (morals + responsibility)

how is extraversion and happiness correlated to one another?

experiment showing that participants who acted outgoing, regardless of their previous disposition and personality type, felt more enjoyment and positivity

what can be concluded from Soto’s study on subjective wellbeing and personality traits?

relationship between personality and happiness is dynamic and complex rather than moving in one direction

dispositional positivity

high self-esteem, a tendency toward optimism, and positive appraisals of one’s life and future

Diener

said we should take happiness seriously

what is income satiation?

people reach a point where money no longer buys simple survival needs —> leads to money being used for greed

higher the wealth of a country —→

higher the subjective wellbeing

poorer countries report negative affect —→

higher in meaning and purpose in life

what factors tend to report higher levels of happiness?

equality, strong relationships, good physical health and people who have agency over their life

lyubomirsky

things you do have greater impact on happiness than things that happen to us

Broaden and build theory

people who feel positive emotions have global mindset and people who have negative emotions have a more detailed mindset

what is a criticism of the broaden and build theory

not all positive emotions may have the same effect on attention, what we need to focus on it motivational intensity (pre-goal vs post-goal)

what is enthusiasm

when we are anticipating a reward

this part of the brain activates during enthusiasm

nucleus accumbis

how is enthusiasm similar to fear?

there is an increase in SNS and a decrease in PNS; also has a narrow way of thinking

how is enthusiasm similar to happiness?

they both don’t think to critically

what is contentment?

what someone feels after consuming a reward

what neurotransmitters are important for contentment?

beta-endorphins and cholecystokinin

what is authentic pride?

correlates to when a person’s pride is correlated with their actual achievements

what is hubristic pride?

believing we are better than others

how is the emotion “loved” viewed?

• an attitude toward a certain stimulus

• a script depending on culture

• a prototype

how is amusement important for our functioning

it is used for us to promote learning

people who were primed with “awe”

were more accurate in recalling details and noticing when something was not present

how is awe similar to sadness and fear

reduces are SNS and our facial expressions

how is awe different from sadness and fear

we do not experience low self-esteem

key features of depression and anxiety

emotional features (sad mood or anticipatory events)

key features of OCD

excessive guilt

key features of conduct disorder

lack of guilt

key features of autism

deficits in recognizing others’ emotional expressions

key features of schizophrenia

inappropriate emotional expressions + impaired understanding of others’ expression

key features of Bipolar disorder

extreme emotions

what are some criticisms of the DSM5?

lack of specificity and symptoms present differently in everybody

comorbidity

having two of more mental health disorders

what happens in the brain during MDD?

loss of neurons in the hippocampus and loss of neurogenesis

loss of neurogenesis—→

harder for depressed people to adapt (signs that the person is depressed rather than a normal response to stress)

how can someone have less MDE?

being aware of your stress; MDE does not last forever

why do subtypes of depression exists?

meant to decrease variability, but increase variability instead, by introducing new symptoms to the various subtype

what is the biological cause of depression

increase in norepinephrine and serotonin

dysthymia

emphasis on sad mood rather than lack of pleasure + lasts years

results measuring depression after an earthquake saw that

everyone felt sad and depressed after the earthquake but those who were already mildly depressed were more severely depressed after

what was significant about the alleles that showed 15% relatedness to depression in Chinese women

they could not be generalized to other populations —→ better to loos at severe cases and limited homogeneous populations

problem: breakup with romantic partner

stable attribution:

I’ll never get over this

problem: breakup with romantic partner

global attribution:

without my partner, I can’t seem to do anything right

problem: breakup with romantic partner

internal attribution:

our breakup was all my fault

problem: breakup with romantic partner

temporary attribution:

this is hard to take, but I will get through this

problem: breakup with romantic partner

specific attribution:

I miss my partner, but thankfully I have family and other friends

problem: breakup with romantic partner

external attribution:

it takes two to make a relationship work and it wasn’t meant to be

learned helplessness (seligman revised theory)

not the lack of success but rather our mindset and how we interpret the outcome

depressed people have

decreased levels of metabolic breakdown products of dopamine activity

how does drugs help with preventing depression

they attack the core symptoms

how does CBT help prevent depression

they attack behavior symptoms

what treatment is best for people with Bipolar disorder?

mood stabilizers (lithium salts and anti-seizure medications)

epigenetics

how our behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way our genes work

study on soldiers mindset before war

those with more anxiety before war had more of a chance at developing PTSD

the study with identical twins when one member went to war and the other did not

both twins had smaller hippocampus

people who showed high activation of hippocampus after a traumatic event

were less likely to have PTSD symptoms

people who showed less activation in the hippocampus during the task after a traumatic event were

more likely to develop PTSD symptoms

higher activation in hippocampus —→

lower PTSD symptoms