emotion and psychology

7/28/2019 Emotion and psychology

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Cognition and Emotion

November 13-20, 2008


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What is emotion?

Communication mechanisms that maintainsocial order/structure

Behavior learned through operant or classicalconditioning, not involving cognitivemediation

Appraisal of biopsychosocial situation

Complex physiological response

Integrated, three-response system construct


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Areas of Inquiry

Effect of emotion on performance (e.g.,memory, perception, attention)

Information processing characteristics ofemotional disorders (e.g., anxiety,depresion)

Emotion and social learning

Cognitive neuroscience of emotions cognitive structure of emotion

neuropsychological studies

cognitive aspects of emotion (e.g., appraisal)


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Introduction & History James-Lange theory

Cannon-Bard theory

Schacter & Singer studies (2-factor theory)

Facial feedback hypothesis

Neurobiological contributions (Davis, LeDoux)

Neuropsychological perspectives

Somatic markers Emotional signal processing

Information-processing theories


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James-Lange

"My theory ... is that the bodily changes follow directly theperception of the exciting fact, and that our feeling of thesame changes as they occur is the emotion. Common sensesays, we lose our fortune, are sorry and weep; we meet a

bear, are frightened and run; we are insulted by a rival, andangry and strike. The hypothesis here to be defended saysthat this order of sequence is incorrect ... and that the morerational statement is that we feel sorry because we cry, angrybecause we strike, afraid because we tremble ... Without thebodily states following on the perception, the latter would bepurely cognitive in form, pale, colorless, destitute of emotionalwarmth. We might then see the bear, and judge it best to run,receive the insult and deem it right to strike, but we shouldnot actually feel afraid or angry"


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Cannon-Bard

We feel emotions first, and then feelphysiological changes, such as muscular

tension, sweating, etc. In neurobiological terms, the thalamus

receives a signal and relays this both tothe amygdala (a limbic structure) and

the cortex. The body then gets signalsvia the autonomic nervous system totense muscles, etc.


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Two-Factor Theory

When trying to understand what kind ofperson we are, we first watch what we do andfeel and then deduce our nature from this.

This means that the first step is to experiencephysiological arousal. We then try to find alabel to explain our feelings, usually by lookingat what we are doing and what else is

happening at the time of the arousal. Thus wedont just feel angry, happy or whatever: weexperience feelings and then decide what theymean.


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Cognitive Appraisal Theory

In the absence of physiological arousal, wedecide what to feel after interpreting orexplaining what has just happened. Two

things are important in this: whether weinterpret the event as good or bad for us, andwhat we believe is the cause of the event.

Inprimary appraisal, we consider how the

situation affects our personal well-being. Insecondary appraisalwe consider how wemight cope with the situation.


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Somatic Marker Theory

Bodily states play a role in decision-making and reasoning

Somatic markers link memories ofexperience (cortex) with feelings(limbic)

Attempts to account for automatic orunconscious biases


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Personality Traits

Mood States

Emotional Processing

Personality Traits Mood States Emotional Processing

Mood States

Personality Traits

Emotional Processing

TRADITIONAL MODEL

MEDIATOR MODEL

MODERATOR MODEL


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Fear Conditioning


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Davis: Cortical influences on basic startle pathway


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Davis: Role of the amygdala in conditioned fear


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LeDoux: direct thalamo-amygdalaconnections, bypassing cortex


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Preattentive Perception ofThreat: hman

Distinction between automatic v.controlled information processing

Draws on animal work (LeDoux) - directthalamic-amygdala connection

Threat: biological and derived

Data:

responses to masked stimuli

slowed RT to threat words in shadowing


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Ohmans Information-Processing Model for Fear

and Anxiety


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Emotion and Memory


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Bambi (1942) named #20

in Times list of the Top 25

Horror Movies of All Time

Kids were so frightened by these films

that they wet themselves in terror.

Bambi has a primal shock that still

haunts oldsters who saw it 40, 50, 65

years ago.


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Flashbulb Memories

Distinct, vivid, recollections of shockingevents, and associated personal activities

Long-lasting? Accurate? Special? Brown & Kulick (1977): special encoding

mechanism (NOW PRINT!) Niesser & Harsh (1992) Challenger studyAlthough FM appear to be different subjectively

(they provide an intersection between personalhistory and History), they are not necessarilymore accurate

Confidence is not equivalent to accuracy


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Flashbulb Memories of September 11, 2001

http://www.nyu.edu/about/video.spotlight.html

http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=632
http://www.nyu.edu/about/video.spotlight.htmlhttp://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=632http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=632http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=632http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=632http://www.nyu.edu/about/video.spotlight.html


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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 70

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Subjects

Weighted Accuracy Score

2 2.332.67 3 3.333.37 4 4.33 4.67 50

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ubjects

Confidence Rating

Challenger Disaster Study (Neisser)


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Bowers Network Theory a

theory of emotional experience Emotions are nodes in a semantic network

Emotions stored as propositions

Emotion = activation of network

Activation spreads in selective fashion to

associated concepts

When nodes activated above threshold level,

conscious experience of emotion results


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Four Predictions from Bowers

Theory Mood-state-dependent recall

Mood congruity: learning best when

congruity between learners state and type ofmaterial (best supported)

Thought congruity: thoughts, associations

congruent with mood state

Mood intensity: increases in intensity

(arousal) lead to greater activation of network


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Mood Effects on Attention and

Memory Negative memory bias

found with depressed and anxious

normals not consistently found with anxious

patients (active avoidance?)

Mood vs. emotion Effects on processing capacity

(resources allocated to self-talk)


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Emotion and Attention


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Emotional Stroop

BOY BLOOD TABLE GASH NICE TREE PUS

DOG ELBOW LACERATE RIVER GUTS CHURCH


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GUILTY

CANDY


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Basis of Dot Probe Results

Selective attention to threat (McLeod)

Failure to disengage attention from

threat (Koster, et al 2004)


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Weapon Focus


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Weapon Focus

Eyewitness inability to identify aperpetrator when a weapon is used in a

crime Easterbrook hypothesis: narrowing of

attentional focus in emotional situations

Arousal and central/peripheral detail


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Basis of Weapon Focus

Simple selective attention

All items attended to equally, but

weapon remembered better Cue-utilization (threat-arousal-

narrowing)

Unusualness/distinctiveness


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Attention/Memory in Anxiety

and Depression


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Emotion and Performance Performance impaired by high levels of state

anxiety Yerkes-Dodson Law

performance is optimal with a medium level of arousal

optimum level lower for hard tasks Cognitive Interference theory (Sarason): worry and self-preoccupation interfere

Processing Efficiency Theory (Eysenck): processing efficiency= effectiveness/effort; worry reduces efficiency

Performance in depression impaired both by task-irrelevant information and pooreffort/motivation

most studies are of an anologue nature, though a few patientstudies are available


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Anxiety and Attention

Selective attention toward threat-relatedmaterial (selective attentional bias; e.g. dot-probe, emotional Stroop)

Distractibility ( attentional control)

Effects on breadth of attention (more localspotlight)

Interpretive bias: interpreting ambiguous

materials as threatening (e.g., The doctorexamined little Emilys growth)

Anxiety and preattentive processing


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Depression

Little evidence for attentional bias in

depression

Interpretive/recall biases in depression Interpreting ambiguous situations as

negative

Reduced predictions of success oncognitive tasks

Recall of past performance reduced


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Siegle, 1999


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Time Course of Attentional Bias in Depression

Siegle et al (2001)


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Discrete v. Dimensional Theories

of Emotion


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Discrete Emotions Theory

Emotions are distinct and unique states(e.g., fear, anger, etc.)

Basic or primary emotions - Tomkinslists 8 (hap, sad, anger, fear disgust,surprise, interest, shame)

Search for response patterning inemotions (Friesen, Ekman, etc.)

Cross-cultural comparisons


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Basic Elements of Discrete Emotions Theory


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Bioinformational Theory (Lang)

Emotions as action predispositions

Dimensional view of emotions

affective valence (appetitive-aversivedimension)

arousal (resource recruitement)

Link between emotional andmotivational behavior


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Activation v.

Approach/Withdrawal

Activation v. Valence

A

W

P

N

Discrete v. Dimensional Models (Christie, 2002)


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Neuropsychological Findings

Neuropsychological studies of affective

competence (RHD)

Modular organization of affectivesystems (?)

Modality-independent affective lexicon

Valence-related asymmetries


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Emotion and the Brain: Three

General Hypotheses Right Hemisphere dominance foremotion

Hemispheric laterality for mood Positive/approach: left hemisphere

Negative/withdrawal: right hemisphere

Automatic-controlled distinction (RH v.LH


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Negative - Neutral Positive - Neutral
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Localized Damage and Emotion

Awakening from WADA Right Hemisphere: crying, anxiety

Left Hemisphere: laughing, excitementAcute Structural Lesion (stroke)

Right Hemisphere: indifference,

?secondary mania Left Hemisphere: depression (frontal)


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NeuropsychologicalManifestations of Frontal Lobe


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Lesions II

Inferior Mesial Region

A) Orbital Region(10, 11)Lesions in this region producedisinhibition, altered socialconduct, acquired sociopathy,and other disturbances due toimpairment in fronto-limbic

relationships

B) Basal Forebrain(posteriorextension of inferior mesialregion, including diagonal bandof Broca, nucleus accumbens,

septal nuclei, substantiainnominata)

Lesions here produce prominentanterograde amnesia withconfabulation (material specificity

present, but relatively weak)Tranel, 1992

Neuropsychological Manifestations


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of Frontal Lobe Lesions III

Lateral Prefrontal Region (8,9,46)

Lesions in this region produceimpairment in a variety of executiveskills that cut across domains. Somedegree of material-specificity ispresent, but relatively weak.

A) Fluency: impaired verbal fluency

(left) or design fluency (right)B) Memory impairments: defectiverecency judgment, metamemorydefects, difficulties in memorymonitoring

C) Impaired abstract conceptformation and hypothesis testing

D) Defective planning, motorsequencing

E) Defective cognitive judgement andestimationTranel, 1992


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Neuropsychological Manifestationsof Frontal Lesions I

Frontal Operculum (44,45,47)

A) Left: Brocas aphasia

B) Right: expressive aprosodia

Superior Mesial (mesial 6, 24)A) Left: akinetic mutism

B) Right: akinetic mutism

Bilateral lesions of mesial SMA (6) and

anterior cingulate (24) produce moresevere form of akinetic mutism

Tranel, 1992


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Phineas Gage(1823-1861, accident in 1848)


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Phineas Gages lesion reconstructed(H. Damasio and R. Frank, 1992)


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Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex

and Somatic Markers Somatic marker biasing signals are

regulated by VM premotor cortex; these

signals help regulate decision-making inuncertainty

Support from Iowa Gambling Task;

anticipatory SCRs to selection ofunfavorable decks Impaired in VMPFC

Iowa Gambling Task


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Iowa Gambling Task


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Actual Body Actions Expected Body Actions

(Internal Model)


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Mirror Neuron System

Class of neurons in F5 (BA 44) and ventral premotor cortex thatdischarge both: when animal performs object-directed action when animal observes OD action in others

Subset appear to be communicative motor neurons Functions

Imitation Action understanding

Potentially important for understanding social learning andimitation effects

Being investigated in social-emotional impairments such asautism, Aspergers disorder, and schizophrenia May be important in empathy

C ti l S b ti l I t ti


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Cortical-Subcortical Interactions

in Emotion General concept of limbic system asemotional effector

Question is, what is the limbicsystem? Regulatory interaction between cortex

and subcortical structures Gating Selective engagement

General Organization of Frontal cortical-


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gstriatal-pallidal-thalamic-cortical loops


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Blumenfeld, 2002


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Orbitofrontal Loop

Involved in socialand emotionalfunctioning

Damage produces: Disinhibition Hyperactivity Emotional lability

Aggressiveness Reduced self-

awareness

emotion and psychology

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