towards a science of emotions
TRANSCRIPT
Towards a science of emotions
Sandeep Gautam
The Importance of being Cognitive
Cogsci.SE
ART SCIENCELiterature PsychologyAesthetics Behavioral
economics
The study of emotions
Expressions used by Ekman
Infants facial expressions
Facial expressions in infants- Izard– Enjoyment-joy, Distress- anguish, Rage- anger;– Fear-terror, Disgust- revulsion, Startle- surprise– Shame-shyness-humiliation, Interest-excitement– Contempt-scorn, Guilt-remorse
Developmental time course by Katherine Bridges– 1 month to 12 months
Bridge’s Schema
Navarasa in Natyashastra
Eight Rasas/bhavas in Natyashastra (Bharat Muni)
Eight rasas arranged in four pairs– hasya derives from shringar for example.
Hasya- Shringar: or that of joy—affection (love)
Karuna- Raudra: or that of sadness—anger Bhayanak- bibhitsa: or that of fear—disgust Veera- Adbhuta: or that of interest (self-
assurance) —surprise
Emotion dimensions
Factors of PANAS-X scale– Positive affect
Joviality , Attentiveness; Self-assurance, Surprise.
– Negative affectSadness, Hostility; Fear, Guilt.
Emotion dimensions
Factor structure by Fontaine/Scherer– Valence: from Joy (pleasant) to Sadness
(unpleasant)– Arousal: from Attentiveness/ Love (passively
energised) to Anger/ Hostility (active energy)– Dominance : from Interest/ Self-Assurance (in
control) to Fear-Anxiety (lack of control)– Predictability :from Surprise (preference for
unpredictable) to Disgust (aversion to unpredictable)
Two emotional families (Carver and Scheier)
Joy, Sadness, Anger and Attentiveness/ love/ affection
Fear, Interest /self-assurance, Surprise and Disgust/guilt
Approach motivation related affects – elation, eagerness and excitement at one end to
frustration, anger and sadness on the other end Avoidance motivation related affects
– relief, serenity and contentment to fear, guilt and anxiety
Motivation leads to emotion
Approach motivation– Desired end state– Opportunity focus– On success and failure or frustration in reaching a reward
Avoidance motivation– Dreaded end state– Threat focus– On success or failure or facilitation in escaping from danger
Why all this toil and trouble?
Once the Million $ Q of basic emotions is settled, we can focus on – Emotions and Motivations– Emotions and Personality/ Psychopathology– Emotions and Underlying biological systems– Emotions and Music– Emotions and Colors or visual arts– Emotions and Movies
Emotions and positive psychology
Valence (joy-sadness): The pleasant life – HAPPINESS
Arousal (attentiveness-anger): The engaged life – FLOW
Potency (Interest- fear): The responsible life – WILLPOWER
Predictability (surprise-disgust): The meaningful life -PURPOSE
Emotions and self-regulation
Emotions as signals as to how well we are avoiding threat/ approaching rewards
Avoidance focus associated with psychopathology and less favorable outcomes
Have an opportunity focus rather than a threat focus
Being mindful of emotions, leads to control over them
Thank You!
Q&A– Sandeep Gautam– [email protected]– http://the-mouse-trap.com– http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-fundam
ental-four
Emotion dimensions and Personality traits (FFM)
Mapping to Personality (pathology)– Fear-Interest: Negative emotionality : Neuroticism: HA– Joy-Sadness: Positive emotionality: Extraversion: NS– Anger- Affection: Antagonism: Agreeableness: RD– Surprise-Disgust : Disinhibition vs. constraint:
Conscientiousness: P– Detached/’outsider’/dissociated/apathy? -
Shame/guilt/pride/righteous ? Schizotypy? Openness to experience/Intellect/ non-conformity?
Underlying neurobiology (Gray etc.)
Joy-Sadness = BAS: E (reward sensitivity/ approach) – serotonin -raphae(like)
Attentiveness- Anger = BIS sub component related to arousal? : A (impulsivity/ arousal)- dopamine –VTA, vmSNPC (want/need)
Fear- Self-assurance = FFFS: N (fear/ panic)- Norepenephrine – LC (learn)
Surprise- Disgust = BIS sub component related to attention: C (anxiety/inhibition) – dopamine- dmSNPC (prediction)
Nonconform- socially conform = Dream-wake-sleep system- acetylcholine (create/memory)