Emotions

The word
‘emotion’ is
derived from
the
Latin word
“Emovere”,
which
means to be
‘stirred up,’
or ‘to
stimulate’.
Emotions
literally jerk
a person.
The word
‘emotion’ is
derived from
the
Latin word
“Emovere”,
which
means to be
‘stirred up,’
or ‘to
stimulate’.
Emotions
literally jerk
a person.
Definition

A subjective feeling state, which can influence perception, thinking, behaviour, usually accompanied by
facial and bodily expressions; often has arousing and motivational properties.

The word ‘emotion’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Emovere’, which means to be ‘stirred up’ or ‘to
stimulate’.

In their book "Discovering Psychology," authors Don Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury suggest that
an emotion is a complex psychological state that involves 3 distinct components:

 A subjective experience
 A physiological response
 A behavioral or expressive response.”

Emotions can be defined as psychological states that comprise thoughts and feelings, physiological changes,
expressive behaviors, and inclinations to act. The precise combination of these elements varies from emotion
to emotion, and emotions may or may not be accompanied by overt behaviors. This complex of states and
behaviors is triggered by an event that is either experienced or recalled.

Differentiate from Feelings

Emotion: Immediate physiological response to perceived stimulus. Chemicals released throughout our body
that last about six seconds.

Feeling: The physical & mental sensations that arise as we internalize emotions. Feelings are cognitively
saturated emotion chemicals.

Feelings

Feelings refer to the perceptions of sensations that are felt in the body. There are many processes that take
occur in our bodies that can create sensations. Our perceptions of those sensations constitute what we know
of as feelings.

Because there are processes that are going on in our bodies all the time, we can perceive those sensations all
the time.

It is important to note that there are large individual differences among people on how perceptive they are to
those sensations. Some people are very perceptive whereas some people are not.

Feelings can be related to emotions. For example, we can have angry feelings and sad feelings. However, we
can also feel cold, feel hot, feel tired, and feel hungry.

Emotions

Emotions are a special class of mental phenomenon where they are reactions to events that have special
meaning to us.

Emotions are reactions to meaningful events and emotional reactions include cognitive and physiological
changes. These changes occur in our thinking and perceptions as well as in our physiology. All of which
help prime our bodies to act in a certain way.

Because these changes involve cognition and physiology, they also creation sensations in us that we can
perceive. Since we’re perceiving these sensations all the time, we also have feelings when we’re emotional.
In fact, we can have unique and strong feelings when we’re having an emotion. Thus, many people equate
feelings with emotions.

In reality, feelings are one component of emotion (along with others) and feelings go on all the time. You
can have non-emotional feelings and they generally are continuous readouts of our internal states. Emotions
are specific reactions to certain events that include feelings.

Theories of Emotions

The major theories of emotion can be grouped into three main categories:

 Physiological theories suggest that responses within the body are responsible for emotions.
 Cognitive theories argue that thoughts and other mental activity play an essential role in forming
emotions.
 Neurological theories propose that activity within the brain leads to emotional responses.

The James-Lange Theory of Emotion

The James-Lange theory is one of the best-known examples of a physiological theory of emotion.
Independently proposed by psychologist William James and physiologist Carl Lange, the James-Lange
theory of emotion suggests that emotions occur as a result of physiological reactions to events.
It suggests that subjective emotional experiences are actually the result of physiological changes within our
bodies. In other words, you feel frightened when making your speech because you notice that your heart is
racing, your mouth is dry, and so on. As William James himself put it (1890, p. 1066): “We feel sorry
because we cry, angry because we strike, and afraid because we tremble.”

The Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

Another well-known physiological theory is the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion. Walter Cannon disagreed
with the James-Lange theory of emotion on several different grounds. First, he suggested, people can
experience physiological reactions linked to emotions without actually feeling those emotions. For example,
your heart might race because you have been exercising, not because you are afraid

This theory suggests that various emotion-provoking events induce simultaneously the subjective
experiences we label as emotions and the physiological reactions that accompany them. Thus, in the
situation just described, the sight of the audience and of your professor, pen poised to evaluate your
performance, causes you to experience racing heart, a dry mouth, and other signs of physiological arousal
and, at the same time, to experience subjective feelings you label as fear. In other words, this situation
stimulates various portions of your nervous system so that both arousal, mediated by your autonomic
nervous system (discussed in Chapter 2), and subjective feelings, mediated by your cerebral cortex and other
portions of the brain, are produced.

Until recently, most evidence seemed to favor the Cannon–Bard approach: Emotion-provoking events
produce both physiological arousal and the subjective experiences we label as emotions.

Support for the James–Lange theory is also provided by research on the facial feedback hypothesis (Laird,
1984; McCanne & Anderson, 1987). This hypothesis suggests that changes in our facial expressions
sometimes produce shifts in our emotional experiences rather than merely reflecting them. In other words, as
James would suggest, we feel happier when we smile, sadder when we frown, and so on. While there are
many complexities in examining this hypothesis, the results of several studies offer support for its accuracy
(e.g., Ekman et al., 1990). So there may be a substantial grain of truth in the James–Lange theory (Zajonc,
Murphy, & Inglehart, 1989). Subjective emotional experiences do often arise directly in response to specific
external stimuli, as the Cannon–Bard view suggests. However, consistent with the James–Lange theory, they
can also be generated by changes in and awareness of our own bodily states—even, it appears, by changes in
our current facial expressions (Ekman, 1992)

Schachter-Singer Theory

Also known as the two-factor theory of emotion, the Schachter-Singer theory is an example of a cognitive
theory of emotion.

This theory suggests that the physiological arousal occurs first, and then the individual must identify the
reason for this arousal to experience and label it as an emotion. A stimulus leads to a physiological response
that is then cognitively interpreted and labeled, resulting in an emotion.

Schachter and Singer’s theory draws on both the James-Lange theory and the Cannon-Bard theory. Like the
James-Lange theory, the Schachter-Singer theory proposes that people infer emotions based on
physiological responses. The critical factor is the situation and the cognitive interpretation that people use to
label that emotion.

Opponent-Process Theory: Action and Reaction to Emotion

The theory suggests that

  an emotional reaction to a stimulus is often followed automatically by an opposite reaction, and
 repeated exposure to a stimulus causes the initial reaction to weaken and the opponent process, or
opposite reaction, to strengthen.

For example, consider a surgeon who initially experiences very positive emotions each time she successfully
completes a lifesaving operation. Later, though, she experiences a subsequent emotional letdown. Gradually
her positive reactions decrease, while the letdown intensifies or occurs sooner after each medical procedure.
The result: She may gradually reduce the number of operations she performs or, at least, become
increasingly bored with and indifferent to her work.

Opponent-process theory provides important insights into drug addiction. For instance, heroin users initially
experience intense pleasure followed by unpleasant sensations of withdrawal. With repeated use of the drug,
the pleasure becomes less intense and the unpleasant withdrawal reactions strengthen (Marlatt et al., 1988).
In response, addicts begin to use the drug not for the pleasure it provides, but to avoid the negative feelings
that occur when they don’t use it.

In sum, opponent-process theory suggests that a law of physics—every action produces a reaction—may
apply to emotions as well. Many emotional responses produce reactions, and such cycles can have important
effects on many aspects of our behavior.

Physiological changes of Emotion

Changes during emotions are divided into external and internal changes

External changes during Emotion

There are many external or observable changes during Emotion.

 The voice changes according to the type of Emotion. Experiments have proved that emotions can be
identified based on voice.
 Facial expressions change. We can locate the Emotion experienced by a person by looking at his
face.
 There will be changes in the body language like the stiffness of muscles, twisting of fingers,
movements of hands and legs.
 Sweating.
 Wrinkles on the forehead.
 Redness of eyes.
 Erection of hairs on the skin, etc.

Internal changes during Emotion

Many internal changes take place during emotions. These internal changes are the result of the stimulation
by the Autonomic Nervous System. The ANS has 2 subdivisions. The sympathetic division prepares the
body for facing an emergency either by fight or by flight, i.e. fights if possible, otherwise, escapes from the
situation. It stimulates the adrenal glands and causes the excess release of adrenaline and nor-adrenaline.
Adrenaline gets circulated all over the body and stimulates vital organs leading to following internal
changes.

 Increase in heart rate thereby increase in BP

 Increase in rate of respiration
 Increase in blood sugar level
  Decrease in the functioning of GI tract-that is why we do not experience the feeling of hunger during
emotional states
 Changes in frequency of brain waves
 Dilatation of pupils
 Decreased secretion of saliva and dryness of the mouth.

After the emergency or emotional situation is over, the next step is to restore the energy spent during
Emotion. This work is carried on by parasympathetic division.

Role of RAS, hypothalamus, Cerebral Cortex, Sympathetic Nervous System, Adrenal Gland on
emotions.

 Humans have three sleep and arousal states: waking, asleep (resting or slow-wave sleep), and asleep
and dreaming (paradoxical, active, or rapid eye movement sleep). These states are controlled by
the reticular activating system located in the mesopons.

 The RAS  (The Reticular Activating System) is involved with arousal and attention, sleep and
wakefulness, and the control of reflexes. The RAS is believed to first arouse the cortex and then
maintain its wakefulness so that sensory information and emotion can be interpreted more
effectively.

 It controls emotional expression through the hypothalamus, which has control over the body’s
emotional responses systems: the autonomic nervous system, which controls internal organs (e.g.,
gut, heart) and the release of adrenalin (epinephrine) by the adrenal medulla.

 The cerebrum is the most highly developed part of the human brain and is responsible for thinking,
perceiving, producing and understanding language. Most information processing occurs in
the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes that each have a
specific function.

Happiness activates several areas of the brain, including the right frontal cortex, the precuneus, the
left amygdala, and the left insula. This activity involves connections between awareness (frontal
cortex and insula) and the “feeling center” (amygdala) of the brain.

Fear activates the bilateral amygdala, the hypothalamus and areas of the left frontal cortex. This
involves some thinking (frontal cortex), a “gut” feeling (amygdala), and a sense of urgency typically
associated with survival (the hypothalamus.)

Anger is an important emotion that many people, adults and children alike, try to control. Anger is
associated with activation of the right hippocampus, the amygdala, both sides of the prefrontal cortex
and the insular cortex.

 Surprise is an emotion that can either make you feel good or it can make you feel bad. Surprise
activates the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and the bilateral hippocampus. The hippocampus is
strongly associated with memory, and the element of surprise is, by nature, associated with
experiencing something that you do not remember or do not expect.

 Damage to Limbic System produces great changes in emotional behavior

 Activity of cells in these brain areas (hypothalamus and Limbic system) directly or indirectly
influenced by nerve fibers which form a core region of the brain-Reticular formation