Emotion and Motivation

What is the discrete model of emotion?

Emotions are distinct categories, such as happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise.

What is the continuous model of emotion?

Emotions vary along dimensions, especially valence (pleasantness) and arousal (level of activation).

What is valence?

How pleasant or unpleasant an emotional experience feels.

What is arousal?

The level of physiological and psychological activation associated with an emotion.

How do discrete and continuous models of emotion differ?

Discrete models classify emotions into separate categories; continuous models describe emotions along dimensions such as valence and arousal.

What is the James–Lange theory of emotion?

A stimulus produces bodily changes, and perceiving those bodily changes produces the emotional experience.

What is the sequence of the James–Lange theory?

Stimulus → physiological response → emotional experience.

What is an example of the James–Lange theory?

You see a threatening dog, your heart races, and you interpret your bodily changes as fear.

What is the Cannon–Bard theory of emotion?

An emotional stimulus produces physiological arousal and conscious emotional experience simultaneously.

What is the sequence of the Cannon–Bard theory?

Stimulus → physiological arousal and emotional experience at the same time.

What is an example of the Cannon–Bard theory?

You see a threatening dog and experience fear while your heart begins racing.

What is the Schachter–Singer two-factor theory?

Emotion results from physiological arousal combined with a cognitive interpretation of that arousal.

What are the two factors in Schachter–Singer's theory?

Physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation or labeling.

What is an example of the Schachter–Singer theory?

A racing heart may be interpreted as fear during danger or excitement before a fun event.

How does James–Lange differ from Cannon–Bard?

James–Lange proposes that bodily changes precede emotional experience; Cannon–Bard proposes that bodily arousal and emotion occur simultaneously.

How does Cannon–Bard differ from Schachter–Singer?

Cannon–Bard emphasizes simultaneous arousal and emotion; Schachter–Singer emphasizes interpreting arousal using context.

How does James–Lange differ from Schachter–Singer?

James–Lange emphasizes bodily feedback producing emotion; Schachter–Singer emphasizes arousal combined with cognitive labeling.

What do the three classic emotion theories have in common?

All explain the relationship between emotional stimuli, physiological responses, and emotional experiences.

How does the contemporary SAME model differ from the classic theories?

Use your lecture's exact definition of SAME. Contemporary models may emphasize interactions among context, appraisal, bodily signals, and interpretation rather than one simple sequence.

What are the six universal emotions commonly studied?

Happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise.

What is cross-cultural evidence for universal emotions?

Studies find that people from different cultures can often recognize certain basic emotional expressions.

How do people blind from birth provide evidence about universal emotions?

Some people blind from birth display recognizable emotional expressions without visually learning them from others.

How does developmental evidence support universal emotions?

Infants display behaviors such as social smiling and distress during separation before extensive cultural learning.

What does evidence for universal emotions suggest?

Some emotional expressions may have biological foundations and be recognizable across cultures, although culture still influences emotional expression.

What are cultural display rules?

Learned social expectations about when, where, how, and toward whom emotions should be expressed.

How do cultural display rules influence emotion?

They can lead people to hide, minimize, exaggerate, or change emotional expressions to meet social expectations.

What is emotional suppression?

Inhibiting the outward expression of an emotion without necessarily changing the underlying feeling.

What is cognitive reappraisal?

Changing how a situation is interpreted to change its emotional impact.

How do suppression and reappraisal differ?

Suppression changes outward expression; reappraisal changes the interpretation of a situation and may change the emotional experience itself.

What is an example of emotional suppression?

Feeling angry after criticism but keeping your face neutral so nobody notices.

What is an example of cognitive reappraisal?

Interpreting criticism as useful feedback rather than a personal attack.

What is a Duchenne smile?

A smile involving mouth movement and contraction around the eyes.

How does a Duchenne smile differ from a posed smile?

A Duchenne smile involves both eye and mouth muscles, while some posed smiles primarily involve the mouth.

Can a Duchenne smile prove that someone is genuinely happy?

No. Facial expressions provide clues but cannot reliably prove someone's true emotional state or sincerity.

What is the facial feedback hypothesis?

The hypothesis that feedback from facial muscle movements can influence emotional experience.

What did the Strack, Martin, and Stepper study investigate?

The 1988 pen-in-mouth study investigated whether facial muscle activity influenced how funny participants found cartoons.

What did the original pen-in-mouth study suggest?

It suggested that facial muscle activity might influence emotional judgments.

Why are replications important for facial feedback research?

Replications test whether findings occur again; mixed results mean the original effect should not be treated as definitive proof.

What has Botox research investigated about facial feedback?

Whether restricting facial muscle movement influences emotional processing or emotional experience.

What is the best conclusion about facial feedback?

Facial movements may influence feelings under some conditions, but the effects are not always strong or consistently replicated.

Can animals understand human expressions of disgust?

Animals may respond to human facial expressions or social cues, but responding does not prove they understand subjective human disgust.

Why is studying emotion in animals difficult?

Researchers can observe behavior but cannot directly ask animals to describe their subjective emotional experiences.

How do some autistic children compare with matched controls in emotion recognition?

Some studies find group-level differences on certain emotion-recognition tasks, but results vary by task and individual.

What are matched controls?

Participants selected to resemble the comparison group on relevant characteristics, such as age.

Does autism mean a person lacks empathy?

No. Autistic people vary widely in emotion recognition, cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and communication.

What is cognitive empathy?

The ability to understand or infer another person's emotional state or perspective.

What is emotional empathy?

Experiencing an emotional response that relates to another person's feelings.

How do cognitive and emotional empathy differ?

Cognitive empathy involves understanding another person's feelings; emotional empathy involves sharing or emotionally responding to those feelings.

What is emotional contagion?

When one person's emotional state spreads to another, sometimes through automatic mimicry or social cues.

How does emotional contagion differ from empathy?

Emotional contagion involves catching an emotion; empathy can also involve understanding whose emotion it is and why they feel it.

What is reconciliation in primates?

Affiliative behavior between former opponents after a conflict, such as grooming, touching, or embracing.

What does primate reconciliation suggest about empathy?

It suggests sensitivity to social relationships and conflict and may indicate empathy-related processes.

Does primate reconciliation prove human-like empathy?

No. Reconciliation may reflect relationship maintenance or stress reduction and cannot by itself prove an animal's subjective experience.

What did Frans de Waal study about empathy?

He studied primate social behavior, including reconciliation and responses to others, as evidence relevant to empathy-related capacities.

What has research suggested about empathy in rats?

Some studies find that rats help trapped peers or respond to distress, suggesting prosocial behavior and possible empathy-related processes.

What is prosocial behavior?

Behavior intended to benefit another individual, such as helping, sharing, or comforting.

Does helping behavior prove an animal experiences empathy?

No. Helping behavior supports possible empathy-related processes but may have alternative explanations.

What alternative explanations exist for rat helping behavior?

Helping may be influenced by social bonds, learned associations, stress reduction, reciprocal benefits, or responses to distress cues.

How should you interpret evidence about empathy in rats?

Describe the observed helping behavior, explain that it supports possible empathy-related processes, and acknowledge that subjective experience cannot be directly established.

What is achievement motivation?

The drive to accomplish tasks, meet standards, develop competence, or succeed at challenging goals.

What is intrinsic motivation?

Doing an activity because it is interesting, enjoyable, or satisfying in itself.

What is extrinsic motivation?

Doing an activity to obtain a separate outcome, such as money, grades, praise, or avoiding punishment.

How do intrinsic and extrinsic motivation differ?

Intrinsic motivation comes from the activity itself; extrinsic motivation comes from an outcome separate from the activity.

Can intrinsic and extrinsic motivation occur together?

Yes. A student may enjoy studying and also want a high grade.

What is the minimal justification effect?

When a small external reward provides insufficient justification for behavior, a person may change their attitude to make the behavior seem internally justified.

What did Festinger and Carlsmith's classic study investigate?

How the size of a reward for describing a boring task as enjoyable affected participants' later attitudes toward the task.

What did Festinger and Carlsmith find?

In their classic 1959 study, participants paid a smaller amount later reported more favorable attitudes toward the boring task than participants paid a larger amount.

Why did the smaller reward influence attitudes in Festinger and Carlsmith's study?

The small reward provided less external justification, making attitude change one way to resolve the inconsistency between behavior and belief.

What is cognitive dissonance?

Psychological discomfort caused by inconsistency between beliefs, attitudes, or behavior.

How is the minimal justification effect related to cognitive dissonance?

Changing an attitude can reduce the discomfort caused by behaving in a way that conflicts with one's original beliefs.

Do rewards always reduce intrinsic motivation?

No. The effect depends on the reward, activity, and whether the reward feels controlling or provides useful feedback.

What are performance goals?

Goals focused on demonstrating ability, obtaining favorable judgments, or outperforming others.

What are mastery goals?

Goals focused on learning, improving skills, understanding material, and developing competence.

How do performance and mastery goals differ?

Performance goals emphasize demonstrating ability relative to others or a standard; mastery goals emphasize learning and improvement.

What is an example of a performance goal?

Wanting the highest exam score in the class to demonstrate superior performance.

What is an example of a mastery goal?

Wanting to understand difficult concepts and improve after making mistakes.

What is an emotion?

A psychological response that is often relatively brief and linked to a particular event or object.

What is a mood?

A feeling that tends to last longer than an emotion and may not have a clear cause.

How do emotion and mood differ?

Emotions are often shorter and tied to a specific trigger; moods are longer-lasting and may lack an identifiable cause.

How can mood influence emotional reactions?

A person's mood can influence how they interpret situations and respond emotionally.

What is the Yerkes–Dodson law?

Performance often improves as arousal rises from low to moderate levels, but excessive arousal can impair performance.

Why can moderate arousal improve performance?

It can increase alertness, attention, and energy without overwhelming the person.

How does task difficulty affect the Yerkes–Dodson law?

Complex tasks often require lower or moderate arousal, while simple or well-practiced tasks may tolerate higher arousal.

What happens when arousal is too low?

A person may lack alertness, energy, or engagement, reducing performance.

What happens when arousal is too high?

Excessive activation or anxiety may interfere with attention, memory, decision-making, and skilled performance.

What is the amygdala's role in emotion?

It contributes to processing emotional significance, threat-related information, and emotional learning.

What is the prefrontal cortex's role in emotion?

It contributes to appraisal, planning, decision-making, and regulation of emotional responses.

What is the hypothalamus's role in emotion?

It helps coordinate bodily responses associated with emotion, including autonomic and hormonal responses.

What is the hippocampus's role in emotion?

It contributes to memory and context, helping relate emotional experiences to past events and situations.

What is the insula's role in emotion?

It contributes to awareness of internal bodily states and processing aspects of disgust and emotional experience.

What is the anterior cingulate cortex's role in emotion?

It contributes to conflict monitoring, attention, aspects of pain processing, and emotional regulation.

What is the autonomic nervous system's role in emotion?

It regulates bodily functions such as heart rate and sweating that can change during emotional situations.

What is the sympathetic nervous system's role in emotion?

It helps mobilize the body during demanding or threatening situations, increasing readiness for action.

What is the parasympathetic nervous system's role in emotion?

It supports restorative functions and helps regulate bodily activity following activation.

How do brain structures work together during emotion?

Emotion depends on interacting networks involving emotional learning, context, appraisal, bodily responses, and regulation.

What is the difference between emotion perception and emotion expression?

Perception involves recognizing and interpreting emotional information; expression involves communicating emotion through facial movements, voice, posture, or behavior.

What is the difference between emotion expression and emotion regulation?

Expression is how emotion is displayed; regulation is how a person influences the experience, intensity, duration, or display of emotion.

How would James–Lange explain a racing heart before a speech?

The bodily response occurs first, and perceiving that response contributes to the experience of anxiety.

How would Cannon–Bard explain fear during danger?

The person experiences fear and physiological arousal at approximately the same time.

How would Schachter–Singer explain a racing heart before a speech?

The person interprets physiological arousal using the situation, labeling it as anxiety, excitement, or another emotion.