Psychology of Emotions Overview

Emotional Behaviors

• Emotional behaviors are defined and explored through various theories.
• Brain areas associated with emotions are discussed.
• The functions of emotions are examined.
• Attack and escape behaviors are explored, focusing on their biological underpinnings.
• The relationship between stress and health is analyzed, encompassing behavioral medicine perspectives.

The Three Components of Emotions

• Emotions have three key components: cognitions, behaviors, and affect/feelings.
• Feelings are central to understanding emotions.
• The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a crucial role in emotional situations, with sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.

The James-Lange Theory

• The current understanding of emotions contrasts with the common-sense view.
• The James-Lange theory proposes that autonomic arousal and bodily actions precede emotional feelings.
• The theory suggests that we label our bodily responses to identify the emotion we are experiencing.

Is Physiological Arousal Necessary for Emotions?

• Emotions seemingly don't depend on muscle feedback, relying more heavily on autonomic processes.
• People with autonomic failure experience emotions less intensely.
• Bodily actions and overall perceptions contribute to emotional feelings, not solely based on muscle activity.

Brain Areas Associated with Emotions

• The limbic system, including the amygdala and hippocampus, is critical for emotions.
• The brain rapidly responds to facial expressions.
• Disgust is the only emotion with apparent brain localization.
• The insula cortex, part of the brain involved in tasting, has a strong connection with disgust.

Hemispheres and Emotions

• The behavioral activation system (BAS), located in the left hemisphere, is linked with approach behaviors and certain feelings like happiness and anger.
• The behavioral inhibition system (BIS), in the right hemisphere, is associated with withdrawal, arousal, and emotions like fear and disgust.
• People with more left hemisphere activity tend toward happiness and outgoingness, whereas those with higher right hemisphere activity might show more social withdrawal and unpleasant emotions.

The Functions of Emotions

• Emotions in human evolution likely served adaptive functions for ancestors by aiding in survival.
• Fear alerts humans to danger; anger promotes reaction, and disgust avoids harmful stimuli.
• Emotional experiences are often complex; the adaptive value of some emotions (e.g., happiness, sadness) is less immediately apparent but may have underlying benefits, highlighting this connection between behavior and emotional response.
• Some people experience a "gut feeling" that may anticipate impending danger.

Emotions and Moral Decisions

• People often utilize feelings as part of their decision-making process regarding moral dilemmas.
• This holds true in scenarios such as moral dilemmas, suggesting emotional responses could inform important decisions.

In Sum

• Feelings result from bodily reactions, and feedback from physical reactions influences emotional feelings.
• Activation in the left brain hemisphere correlates with approach processing and feelings, while reactions in the right hemisphere relate more to withdrawal and decreased activity.
• The right brain hemisphere is more apt at identifying emotional responses.
• Brain damage that affects emotions also affects decision-making ability.

Stress and Health

• Behavioral medicine assesses the impact of lifestyle factors on health, including diet, exercise, and stress levels.
• Emotions and life experiences influence illnesses and recovery patterns.

Stress and General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

• Stress responses are nonspecific bodily reactions to demands.
• The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) includes three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
• The alarm stage involves increased sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity; resistance, elevated adrenal hormone release to help maintain alertness, and exhaustion represents a decreased ability of the body to keep up with prolonged stress.

Stress and Health: Alternative Definition

• Stress can involve the threat perception interpreted as a stressor.
• Various triggers can elicit physiological and behavioral responses.
• While differing from Selye's model, McEwan's view highlights the universal nature of stressful stimulus responses.

Biological Explanation of Stress

• Two body systems are important in stress response: the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
• The sympathetic system rapidly prepares the body for immediate response.
• The HPA axis activates slowly, releasing cortisol, a hormone essential in energy metabolism and other physiological actions.

Stress and Health: Effects on the Immune System

• Brief stress temporarily boosts the immune system.
• Prolonged stress drains the body's resources and potentially suppresses the immune function in order to utilize energy elsewhere.
• Immune-system response cytokines can result in sickness symptoms.

Stress and Health: Effects on Brain

• High cortisol levels associated with stress can damage brain cells in the hippocampus, inhibiting memory formation and neuron generation.
• Stress management techniques, like social support, may contribute to positive brain outcomes.
• Individuals with smaller hippocampi might be more vulnerable to PTSD.

Attack/Aggressive Behaviors

• Provocative events or amygdala stimulation can increase readiness for attack.
• Aggressive behaviors stem from genetic and environmental factors.
• Environmental factors can influence aggressive behaviors more than genetic predispositions.

Biological Explanations for Aggression: Testosterone

• Testosterone is a key factor in male aggressive behaviors, especially during reproductive periods.
• Higher testosterone levels often correlate with increased aggressive behaviors and criminal activities in young adult men.
• There exists a complicated relationship between testosterone and aggression, as higher testosterone levels do not always mean larger amounts of aggressive behavior.

Biological Explanations for Aggression: Serotonin

• Low serotonin turnover is linked with increased impulsivity and aggression.
• Monkeys experiencing low serotonin often exhibit more aggressive tendencies.
• The role of serotonin during aggressive actions is complex and potentially amplified when baseline serotonin is low.

Escape Behaviors

• Inborn or learned fears are potential triggers.
• The startle reflex (MORO reflex) is the rapid, unconscious response to loud noises.
• Sensory information transmits rapidly to the relevant brain regions, coordinating the physical response.
• The amygdala contributes significantly to startle responses, also influencing learned fear reactions.

Escape Behaviors: Amygdala

• The amygdala aids in adjusting fright responses based on experiences and memory.
• The amygdala actively responds to fear-provoking stimuli.
• The amygdala plays a critical role in emotional processing, reacting to stimuli even when the subject consciously doesn't register them.
• Damage to the amygdala hampers the focus on important emotional cues and the detection of fearful expressions.

This quiz explores emotional behaviors, their biological foundations, and theories shaping our understanding of emotions. Delve into the relationship between emotions and health, the critical components of emotions, and the James-Lange theory's implications. Understand how our body responds to emotional situations and the roles of various brain areas and the autonomic nervous system.