Chapter 2 Emotion Psych: evolution of emotion

What is evidence against universality of emotions

• people are better at recognizing emotional expressions from members of their own cultural group

• emotions cluster into different “families” in every culture

What are Darwin’s three principles of emotion?

1. Principle of serviceable habits —> useful expressions are inherited by offspring

2. Principle of Antithesis —> some expressions look one way to contrast what they convey of opposite emotions

3. Principle of Direct Action of excited nervous system —> the nervous system needs to discharge excess energy through expressions

What do emotional expression do according to Fridlund? What evidence?

• serve intent/ communication and has nothing to do with underlying physiology

• for game theory sense

• people smiled more at comedy clips when friend was rpesent

What is the Affect Infusion Model

Emotional feelings influence our judgements and decisions —> prompts us to decision make

How do affect valence impact how people process information?

• positive affect causes people to use more heuristics and schemas

  • negative affect makes people more cautious and critical

Approach and Avoidance Motivation Perspective

The mammalian brain has two systems

• Behaviour activation system that promotes approaching opportunities

  • Behaviour inhibition system that promotes threat detection and avoidance

What evidence of Approach and Avoidance Motivation Perspective is there?

-Questionnaire suggests traits are separate instead of opposite ends of one dimension —> approach and avoidance

• EEG shows more activation in the left frontal cortex for positive moods and the right for negative moods

Kriegler et al. experiment: what was conducted?

• word that is negative or positive on space

• mannikin that motivation moves towards or away from word: motivation

• Mannikin moves up or down based on good/bad symbolism: evaluation

• participants move faster in motivation consistency fastest RT

• stronger than compatible evaluation effects —> second influence

• if all wrong then slowest response

  • motivation > evaluation

Examples against approach/avoid motivation perspective

• some positive affect emotions are not approach like flattery

• some negative affect emotions are approach like anger

  • low-approach positive emotions had different effects than high-approach positive emotions

What model does the approach avoidance motivation perspective align with the most?

Evaluative space model —> because they treat positive and negative on separate dimensions

• also has engagement

What is the Nesse and Ellsworth argument?

Emotions have their own phylogenetic tree that adapts to selection pressure, where diff environments select for diff. emotional traits