Emotions and Stress (Psych 2113 Exam 3)

Affect

The underlying, often automatic, experience of feeling or emotion

Emotion

Intense, short-lived, and specific reactions to stimuli (like fear from danger), comprising cognitive, physiological, and behavioral components

Feeling

The conscious, subjective experience of an emotional state, influenced by thoughts, memories, and personal interpretations

Mood

Lower-intensity, longer-lasting emotional states (hours/days) often lacking a specific trigger, creating a "backdrop" that influences behavior

James-Lange Theory

Event → Physiological Response → Interpretation → Emotion

Cannon-Bard Theory

Event → Thalamus Processes → Emotion & Physiological Response happen simultaneously

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory

Event → Physiological Response & Cognitive Label of Arousal → Emotion

Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC)

A critical brain region in the lower-middle part of the frontal lobes, essential for value-based decision-making, social-emotional processing, and self-regulation

Amygdala Involvement In Emotion

Primarily responsible for detecting, processing, and responding to emotional stimuli, especially fear, anger, and anxiety, while facilitating the fight-or-flight response

Lateral Nucleus

The primary sensory input interface of the amygdala, critical for detecting danger and forming emotional memories

Central Nucleus

The primary output nucleus of the amygdala, critical for initiating physiological and behavioral expressions of emotion

Basal Nucleus

It evaluates the significance of sensory stimuli, mediates emotional arousal, and directs behavioral responses

Ventral Periaqueductal Gray Matter (vPAG)

A region of the amygdala that is involved in active aggressive behaviors

Dorsal Periaqueductal Gray Matter (dPAG)

A region of the amygdala that is involved in active defensive behaviors such as flight or fight responses

Distress

Negative stress that can hinger performance

Eustress

Positive stress that can act as a motivator to improve performance

Sympathetic Adrenal-Medullary System (SAM System)

Fast stress response (shorter) / Hypothalamus → Sympathetic NS / Reticular Formation + Locus Coeruleus / Adrenal Medulla (Epinephrine & Norepinephrine)

Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis (HPA Axis)

Slow stress response (longer) / Hypothalamus: Paraventricular Nucleus (PVN) / Corticotropin - Releasing Hormone/Factor (CRH/CRF) / Pituitary Gland: Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) / Adrenal Cortex: Glucocorticoid Hormones (Cortisol)

HPA Axis Pathway

Hypothalamus → Pituitary Gland → Adrenal Cortex

Glucocorticoids

Steroid hormones (e.g., cortisol) released by the adrenal cortex under hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis control, peaking in the morning and increasing in response to stress

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Potentially traumatic events occurring before age 18, including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction (e.g., parental incarceration, substance abuse) which can cause chronic stress that can impact long term health in adulthood