1. Knowledge and EmotionWHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUTWHAT WE FEEL?R E F E R E N C E S :EMO T I O N . J AME S A . MC C U B B I N , P HDC L EMS O N U N I V E R S I T YHA N D B O O K O F EMO T I O N S , 2 N D E D I T I O NM. L EWI S & J . M. HA V I L A N D - J O N E S , E D I T O R SS P E I SMA N E T A L , 1 9 6 4

2. At first, a small exercise 3. So What Are Emotions? According to researchers, an emotion isa superordinate program whose function is to direct theactivities and interactions of the subprograms governingperception; attention; inference; learning; memory; goal choice;motivational priorities; categorization and conceptualframeworks; physiological reactions.(Toobey and Cosmides in Handbook of Emotions) 4. Emotion and Feeling Not The Same Emotion: a physiologicalresponse to change thatis hard-wired anduniversal. Feeling: mentalassociations andreactions to an emotionthat are personal,acquired throughexperience. Definition by James-Lange To experience emotion isto become aware ofphysiological responsesto emotion-arousingstimuli. This experience ofemotion is what we knowas a feeling. 5. Emotions Experienced = Feeling. Does your heart poundbecause you are afraid...or are you afraid becauseyou feel your heartpounding? The experience ofemotion IS the feelingafraid.Sight ofoncomingcar(perception ofstimulus)Poundingheart(arousal)Fear(emotion) 6. Six Basic Emotions 7. Evolutionary Explanations What Are TheyThere For? The brain is functionally specialized for solvingadaptive problems that arose during evolutionaryhistory: face recognition, foraging, mate choice, heart rate regulation,sleep management, or predator vigilance, and each is activatedby a different set of cues from the environment. It would be disastrous if environmental cues activated e.g.sleep programs at the sight of a lion rather than those thatcontrol fear. 8. Lets Use Fear as an Example Makes sure that we are always protected by thegroup, and not alone, abandoned and thus in danger. Makes sure that we respond appropriately to stimulithat are potentially dangerous to the organism. Makes us yell out/emote and thus warn the group atthe sight of potential threats. Keeps us from taking unneccesary risks. 9. Biological Explanation What We Know The Amygdala controlsemotions (we know thisfrom patients who do nothave this part of thelimbic system). It makes us rememberexperiences better: whenthe amydala is active, wetransfer informationfrom STM to LTM moreefficiently. Learn fast: dos and donts 10. Can We Control/Manipulate Emotions? Seems obvious that ofcourse we can! Duh! But can we also do so inan experiment, where thevariables are controlled? Yes this was done in awell-known experimentby Speisman et al in1964.Speismans Aim:To investigate the extent towhich manipulation ofcognitive appraisal couldinfluence emotionalexperience. 11. Cognitive Appraisal does what you think affecthow you feel? 12. An Example 13. Speisman et al (1964) - Procedure Participants saw anxiety-evoking film of anaboriginal initiation ceremony w/ boys subjected togenital mutilation. Shown with three different soundtracks intended tomanipulate emotional reactions. trauma condition - emphasis on the mutilation and pain intellectualization condition anthropological interpretation denial condition boys willing and happy in the ceremony During each viewing, various objective physiologicalmeasures were taken, such as blood pressure; heartrate and galvanic skin response. 14. Results/Findings Participants in the trauma condition showed muchhigher physiological measures of stress than participantsin the two other conditions. Results support the appraisal theory in that manipulationof the participants cognitive appraisal did have asignificant impact on the physiological stress reactions.Statistical significance is key when we discuss knowledgehere. Result were measurably not due to chance, and wecan infer a causality between variables. 15. Evaluation Critical Thinking The data (knowlegde) produced are from acontrolled lab-experiment, and thus from anartificial setting (low ecological validity). However, research on the role of appraisal in real-lifeemotional events tends to find the same relationshipas laboratory research: People who have a positiveappraisal of life are not as easily stressed as peoplewho dont. CBT can be helpful to treat stress! Conclusion: This suggests that cognitive andbiological factors contribute and interact in emotion