Functions of Emotions

• Study notes on the functions of negative and positive emotions, emotion's impact on memory and decision-making, and other related concepts

Fear

• Elicitors include perceived danger, threats, or potential harm
• Survival function is to prepare the body for fight or flight
• Physiological changes involve amygdala and hippocampus activation, increased cortisol and adrenaline, and vasoconstriction
• Expressions include widened eyes, tense muscles, and a focused gaze
• Changes in behavior/cognition result in increased vigilance, rapid decision-making, and avoidance behaviors

Anger

• Elicitors include perceived injustice, frustration, or violation of expectations
• Function is to communicate displeasure and motivate change
• Physiological changes are similar to fear, including adrenaline and cortisol release, increased heart rate, vasodilation, and left hemisphere frontal cortex activation
• Expressions include furrowed brows, tightened lips, and a tense posture
• Changes in behavior/cognition involve increased aggression, desire for retaliation, and a focus on the source of anger

Awe

• Elicitors include experiencing something vast, novel, or extraordinary
• Function enhances cognitive accommodation
• Physiological changes involve withdrawal of the sympathetic nervous system
• Expressions include raised inner eyebrows, wide eyes, forward lean, and a relaxed, open mouth
• Cognitive changes include updating beliefs, better memory of stories, fewer false memories, a stronger preference for strong arguments, and a sense of time slowing down
• Shared qualities with nurturant love include focused attention and reduced self-focus
• Awe reduces self-focus and increases helping behavior toward others

Enthusiasm

• Definition: Anticipation of a pleasurable/rewarding event
• Function drives action and motivation toward desired goals
• Physiological changes involve activation of the sympathetic nervous system and dopamine release
• Prepares body for action (similar to fear)
• Cognitive changes include increased enjoyment and reaction speed, reduced careful analysis, focus on details, and an "go-get-it" mindset

Nurturant Love

• Definition: feelings of warmth and desire to care (e.g., babies, animals)
• Physiological changes involve oxytocin release and sympathetic nervous system activation
• Narrowed attention on the object of care/protection
• Appears more like a negative emotion under the Broaden & Build theory (focused, not expansive)

Pride

• Response to one's own achievement or being admired
• Expressions include expanding posture, puffing out chest, lifting chin, and putting hands on hips
• Recognition of expression as young as 4 years old
• Types (hubristic and authentic) are expressed similarly
• Physiological changes involve activation of the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in slight arousal

Embarrassment, Guilt, Shame

• Self-conscious emotions
• Differ in elicitors, functions, and expressive responses

Fear vs. Anxiety

• Fear is a response to danger, prompting actions to avoid it
• Anxiety is an expectation of something bad happening, causing hypervigilance and hyperarousal

Prepared Learning

• Predisposition to learn some things more easily than others

Startle Response

• Muscles tense, eyes close, shoulders pull close to the neck, and arms pull toward the head
• Protects head, torso, neck

Fear-Based Advertising

• Uses fear to elicit a desired response
• Effective when paired with a solution to eliminate the fear

Aggression

• Hostile aggression involves harmful behaviors motivated by anger
• Instrumental aggression involves behaviors used to gain something

Happiness

• Hedonic well-being involves overall happiness and enjoyment of life
• Eudaimonic well-being involves a meaningful life consistent with personal values

Broaden and Build Theory

• Positive emotions broaden attention
• Opportunities are noticed and responded to with flexibility
• Positive emotions shift focus to global features over details

Authentic vs. Hubristic Pride

• Authentic pride involves an accurate assessment of one’s accomplishment
• Earned through actions, not innate superiority
• Hubristic pride involves the belief that one is naturally superior to others
• Achievements reflect ability not effort

Cognitive Accommodation

• Function is to help us learn
• Awe enhances cognitive accommodation
• Cognitive accommodation: adjusting your existing beliefs to incorporate new information or experiences

Emotions' Impact on Attention

• Attentional bias causes certain stimuli to attract attention more than others
• Emotional stimuli draw in the mind, influenced by our current emotional state
• Studied by dot-probe task or eye tracking devices

Motivational Intensity

• Low MI: emotions low in MI broaden range of attention
• High MI: emotions high in MInarrow the range of attention

Impact of Emotion on Memory

• Attention to a stimulus increases mental elaboration and recall
• Greater focus on emotionally charged aspects of events

Stages of Memory

• Encoding - Emotions enhance initial formation of memory
• Storage - Emotions increase likelihood of consolidation
• Retrieval - Current emotions modify what events we pull out of storage

Flashbulb Memories

• Vivid and detailed memories, often of negative events
• Not always as accurate as they seem

Consolidation of Memory

• Experiences turned into long term memories
• Emotional arousal: activation of the amygdala
• Emotional excitement: increases the release of the epinephrine and cortisol
• Both hormones proven to strengthen the memory of an event> stimulation of the vagus nerve which stimulates the amygdala

Systematic vs. Heuristic Processing

• Systematic processing involves careful decision-making using available information
• Heuristic processing involves decision-making based on simple shortcuts

Affect Infusion Model

• Emotions and moods influence thinking, judgments, and memory
• Emotions affect priming effect
• Positive/negative moods may trigger more pessimistic or critical thinking
• Cognitive processing is impacted by mood
• Cognitive resources limit influence of mood

Somatic Marker Hypothesis

• Decisions are made by imagining emotional repercussions of choices
• Somatic markers are created by the brain's assumed idea of how someone would react to a choice, which help make better decisions

Emotions and Decision Making

• Good decisions involve emotions that are acknowledged, managed, and combined with rational thinking
• Bad decisions are influenced by irrational, intense emotions

Motivated Reasoning

• Information is evaluated based on whether it supports existing beliefs
• New information not purely on its merits but in a “slanted way”

Trolley and Footbridge Dilemmas

• People feel more morally wrong being the one to do something by commission rather than omission

Social Intuitionist Model vs. Rationalist Model

• Social intuitionist model: moral intuition> moral judgement> moral reasoning
• Haidt’s view
• Rationalist model: moral reasoning and reflection> moral judgement

Emotional Intelligence

• Involves perceiving, understanding, and regulating emotions
• Includes self-soothing and comforting others