1. The document discusses three central aspects of emotion: biological, cognitive, and social-cultural. 2. Biologically, emotions are influenced by the autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, neural circuits, facial feedback, and rate of neural firing. Cognitively, emotions involve appraisals, knowledge, attributions, and socialization history. 3. Socially and culturally, emotions are shaped by how other people and cultures instruct us about the causes of emotions, how emotions should be expressed, and when emotions should be controlled.

1. Aspects of Emotion
Chapter 12

2. Three Central Aspects of Emotion
Social-
Biological Cognitive
Cultural

3. Biological and
Cognitive Aspects of Emotion
Biological Aspects Cognitive, Social, and Cultural Aspects
1. Autonomic nervous system 1. Appraisals
2. Endorcrin system 2. Knowledge
3. Neural brain circuits 3. Attributions
4. Rate of neural firing 4. Socialization history
5. Facial feedback 5. Cultural identities

4. James-Lange Theory
 William James
 Bodily changes do not follow the emotional experience,
rather emotional experience follows and depends on
bodily response
 Stimulus bodily reaction emotion
 If bodily changes did not occur, then the emotion would
not occur
 2 assumptions
 The body reacts uniquely to different emotion-eliciting events
 The body does not react to nonemotion-eliciting events

5. Neural Activation
• Neural firing: the pattern of electrocortical activity (in the brain) at any time
• Different emotions are activated by different rates of cortical neural firing.
Endocrine System
activity increases
activity remains constant
activity decreases
Figure 12.1 Emotion Activation as a Function of Changes in the rate of Neural Firing

6. Neural Circuits
 Behavioral Approach System
 Readies the animal to seek out and interact with
attractive environmental opportunities
 Fight or Flight System
 Readies the animal to flee from aversive events,
but to defend aggressively against others
 Behavioral Inhibition System
 Readies animal to freeze in the face of aversive
events

7. Differential Emotions Theory
(izard)
1. Ten emotions constitute the principal motivation system for human
beings.
2. Unique feeling:
Each emotions has its own unique subjective, phenomenological quality.
3. Unique expression:
Each emotion has its own unique facial-expressive pattern.
4. Unique neural activity:
Each emotion has its own specific rate of neural firing that activates it.
5. Unique purpose/motivation:
Each emotion generates distinctive motivational properties and serves adaptive functions.

8. Izard’s 10 Fundamental Emotions
Included in His Differential Emotions Theory
Positive Emotions Neutral Emotions Negative Emotions
Interest Surprise Fear
Joy Anger
Disgust
Distress
Contempt
Shame
Guilt

9. Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Figure 12.2 Sequence of the Emotion –Activating Events According to the Facial Feedback Hypothesis

10. Can we voluntarily control
our emotions?
 Emotions are largely reactions
 If emotions are largely biological- much
of it will escape our voluntary control
 If emotions are largely cognitive- much
of our thoughts, beliefs, and ways of
thinking are within our voluntary control

11. Cognitive Aspects of Emotion
The central construct in a cognitive understanding of emotion
 An appraisal is an estimate of the personal significance of
an event.
1. Without an antecedent cognitive appraisal of the event,
emotions do not occur.
2. The appraisal, not the event itself, causes the emotion.

12. Appraisal Theory of Emotion
3 Questions
(1) How does the perception of an object or event produce a good or bad appraisal?
(2) How does the appraisal generate emotion?
(3) How does felt emotion express itself in action?
SITUATION APPRAISAL EMOTIONS ACTION
Life Event Good or Bad Liking vs. Approach vs.
(beneficial vs. harmful) Disliking Withdrawal
Figure 12.7 Arnold’s Appraisal Theory of Emotion

13. Figure 12. 8 APPRAISAL EMOTION
Lazarus’s
Complex Appraisals Type of Benefit
• Making progress toward a goal • Happiness
• Taking credit for an achievement • Pride
The cognitive
processes • Improving on a distressing condition • Pride
that intervene • Believing a desired outcome is • Hope
between important possible
life events and • Love
physiological and • Desiring or participating in affection • Compassion
behavioral reactivity. • Being moved by another’s suffering • Gratitude
• Appreciating an altruistic gift
Type of Harm • Anger
SITUATION • Being demeaned by a personal • Guilt
offense • Shame
Life Event • Transgressing a moral imperative • Sadness
• Failing to live up to an ego ideal • Disgust
• Experiencing an irrevocable loss
• Taking in an indigestible object or idea • Anxiety
Type of Threat • Fright
• Facing an uncertain, unspecific threat • Envy
• Facing immediate, overwhelming danger • Jealousy
• Wanting what someone else has

14. Primary appraisal involves an estimate of
whether one has anything at stake in the Appraisal Model of Emotion
encounter.
Secondary appraisal involves the
person’s assessment for coping with
the possible benefit, harm, or threat

15. Emotion Differentiation
Goal/need at stake and pleasantness
responsibility
Coping ability
Figure 12.10 Decision Tree of Six Dimensions of Appraisal to Differentiate Among 17 Emotions

16. An attribution is the
reason the persons Attribution Theory of Emotion
uses to explain an
important life
outcome. The attribution roots to the seven emotions

17. Attributional Roots to 7 Emotions
 Pride = attributing a (+) outcome to
internal cause (“I succeeded because of
my outstanding ability”)
 Gratitude= attributing a (+) outcome to
an external cause (“I succeeded because
of help from my teammates”)
 Hope= attributing a (+) outcome to a
stable cause (“I do well in sports
because I am athletic by nature”)

18. Attributional Roots to 7 Emotions
 Anger = attributing a (-) outcome to external-
controllable cause (“I lost because my opponent
cheated”)
 Pity= attributing a (-) outcome to an external –
uncontrollable cause (“I lost my job because of the
poor economy”)
 Guilt= attributing a (-) outcome to internal-
controllable cause (“I lost because I didn’t put forth
effort”)
 Shame= attributing (-) outcome to internal-
uncontrollable source (“I was rejected because I am
ugly”)

19. Social and Cultural Aspects of Emotion

20. Graphic Illustration Of Similar And Dissimilar Basic Emotions
For People From Both Cultures
Figure 12. 13 Cluster Analysis of Basic Emotion Families in Chinese and English

21. Social & Cultural Aspects of Emotion
Emotion Knowledge Expression management Emotion management
Other people and
cultures in general How we should
When to control
instruct us about express out
our emotions
the causes of our emotions
emotions