Lecture 5

What is valence?

• the fundamental characteristic, basic aspect of every emotion that indicates its positive or negative quality

What distinction is valence based on?

• pleasant — unpleasant

• appetitive — aversive

• reward — punishment

What is valuation in emotions?

the process of determining the worth of something, based on its perceived valence in terms of positive or negative value.

categorization of emotion valence

• acceptance — non-acceptance

• liking — disliking

Explain the distinction by Lazarus

• goal-congruent = situation matches goals → leads to positive emotions

• goal-incongruent = situation conflicts with your goals → leads to negative emotions

Explain the distinction by Lazarus — Oatley’s view

emotions depend on whether an important event helps or harms smth you care about

Explain the distinction by Lazarus — Frijda’s view

the meaning you assign to people, the environment, or your goals determines if the emotion feels positive or negative

Brain systems involved in positive and negative emotions

positive emotions → parasympathetic system

negative emotions → sympathetic system

How do the systems work involving positive and negative emotions?

a situation can trigger both types of emotions, but not at the exact same time — instead we switch quickly between them, because sympathetic and parasympathetic systems can’t be active simultaneously

What emotions are “problematic” in the aspect of valence?

• hope, compassion, and aesthetic emotions

• hope and compassion are combinations of two emotions of different valence

  • worry and hope (positive state)

  • negative feeling caused by harm to someone and positive feeling of sympathy to that person (compassion)

• in general, hard to classify as clearly positive or negative

Positive vs. Negative

• differences in motivational aspect

• positive emotions — tendency “to” toward an object, approaching

• negative emotions — tendency “from” an object, avoiding

Does cognition come before emotion?

• yes — we feel emotions after we understand what’s happening

• appraisal theories — yes — emotions result from evaluating a situation’s relevance to your goals or values

• Problem — some emotions are triggered very quickly and automatically ex. fear at sudden noise

First 5 Theses of psychoevolutionary theory of emotions

1. emotions are always preceded by cognitive evaluation, but not every evaluation leads to emotion

2. cognitive information can come from both the external environment and internal states

3. emotional responses are shaped by whether something is beneficial or harmful

4. a single situation can be seen as both helpful and threatening, leading to emotional conflict

5. animals lower on the evolutionary scale act instinctively — don’t need prior experience

Second 5 Theses of psychoevolutionary theory of emotions

6. animals higher on the evolutionary scale rely more on learning and experience to shape emotional responses

7. we are not always conscious of the cognitive processes that trigger our emotions

8. evaluations can be inaccurate (ex. phobia)

9. cognitive processes need to reflect reality accurately to support survival

10. in extreme life situations, cognitive responses tend to be simpler rather than complex

What is the experiment by Lazarus and Alfert

• tested emotional responses to a disturbing film

• there were 3 groups:

  • G1 heard a softening commentary before the film → lower emotional reaction

  • G2 heard the commentary during the film → moderate reaction

  • G3 had no commentary → highest emotional reaction

• Conclusion: commentary influenced how the scene was interpreted which affected emotional responses

• Criticism: differences seen were in intensity of emotion, not type (Parkinson)

Priority of Cognition — Clore

• emotions are mental states, so cognition is always part of them

• the way we see or judge a situation (as good or bad) determines the emotion

• this evaluation can be simple or complex, and even unconscious

Priority of Cognition — Frijda’s view

• basic emotions can happen without even thinking deeply

• more complex emotions do not need deeper cognitive processing

• all emotions involve evaluation

Priority of Cognition — Ellsworth and Schere

• cognitive first view

• emotions unfold over time

• cognitive processes don’t need to be complex

• for our emotion to arise, it’s enough that the situation is seen as meaningful

Independence of Emotion — Zajonc

• emotions and cognition are separate systems

• emotions come first

• ex. rabbit flees from snake before evaluating if it’s truly dangerous

• emotional responses occur with little or no cognitive effort

Tinbergen’s Chicken

• newborn chicks panic at the shape of predators — shows reflex, not evaluation

• Zajonc’s view — these are instinctive affective reactions, not based on thinking

• Lazarus — it is not real appraisal of danger but simply an innate reflex reaction

Focus Emotion or Core Affect — Zajonc

• focus on simple affective states (ex. like/dislike) not complex emotions like guilt or anger

• these basic feelings are tied to approach or avoidance and are shaped by emotional valence

• what he calls emotions are more core affects — fast, automatic preferences like “I like it” or “I prefer this”

Preferences and Affect — Zajonc

• preferences stem from primal affective reactions, faster than cognition

• They feel certain, are hard to verbalize, and resist persuasion

• '“preferences need no inferences" — we instinctively know what we like or dislike

• rational explanations, for preferences are often constructed after the fact

Independence of cognitive processes and emotions

• Not all cognition is needed for emotions — only basic sensory processing

• Panksepp emphasizes defining cognition properly emotions don't need reasoning-based processing

Emotion and cognition controversy that does not exist

• Lazarus and Zajonc were discussing different types of processes

• Lazarus — emotions involve complex, cognitive and motivational processing that leads to conscious emotional experience

• Zajonc — emotions are simple effective states not necessarily conscious; distinguishes emotion occurrence from emotion experience

Leventhal and Scherer — three levels of emotional processing

• Sensorimotor — innate reactions

• Schematic — learned preferences/aversions

• Conceptual — based on evaluation and reasoning

Two parallel roads of effective information processing

• LeDoux discovered two brain pathways for processing fear:

  • Low road: fast, but crude signal processing enabling quick instinctive fear reactions

  • High road: slower, but allows, detailed, and accurate signal evaluation

Two parallel roads of effective information processing — experiments

• Cutting the high road doesn't stop basic fear reactions

• Cutting the low road stops conditioned fear responses

Do basic emotions exist

• Yes — (effective program theories: Ekman, Izard, Panksepp)

  • Emotions are fixed, universal, and adaptive

• No — (constructivist theories: Russell, Barrett)

  • Only core affect (pleasant—unpleasant + arousal—deactivation) is basic

Taxonomy of emotions — unresolved problem

• Many emotion terms in language varying across cultures

• No single agreed-upon classification

• Emotions classified by:

  • Cognitive processes

  • Adaptive behaviours

  • Facial expressions

Basic emotions — examples of taxonomies

• Ekman — anger, disgust, fear, sadness, joy, surprise

• Izard — same as Ekman, but replace surprise with interest

• Panksepp — add distress, enthusiasm, sexual/romantic love compassion

  • He sees disgust as a reflex, not a basic emotion

Continued taxonomies

• Lazarus — includes complex emotions (ex. Guilt pride envy Hope)

• Keltner — wider list (ex. awe, confusion, relief, triumph)