Mixed Emotions on: Basic Emotions, Relations Among Emotions

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Mixed Emotions onBasic Emotions, Relations
Among Emotions, and Emotion-Cognition Relations
by Carroll E. Izard

• A Lead Discussion by
• Lauren Lloyd
• Cristal Elwood

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Emotions a la Evolutionary Biopsychological
Perspectives

• Emotions are called basic because of
• Their hypothesized role in evolution
• Their biological and social functions
• Their primacy in human development
• Emotions are the basis for coping strategies and
  adaptation.

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Differential Emotions Theory (DET)

• An Evolutionary Biosocial Theory
• Emotion is a motivational condition, a direct and
  immediate product of specific neural
  associations.
• Emotions exist separate from cognition.
• I do not think, therefore I feel.

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DET Criteria for Basic Emotions

• Assumed to have neural substrates.
• Unique and universally recognized facial
  expressions for each emotion.
• A unique feeling state for each emotion.

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Emotion Experience

• DET defines emotional experience as feeling.
• DET holds that feeling states must be studied by
  multiple methods, not just self-report.
• Psychophysiological indexes
• Data from microanalytic coding of facial behavior
• Behavioral ratings of coping actions.

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Ortony Turner (1990)Emotion from Another
Perspective

• Cognitive Theory emotions are cognition
  dependent.
• Activating appraisals
• Subsequent desires
• Intentions
• I think, therefore I can feel.
• Subject to cultural influences.
• Researchers cannot find basic emotions because
  we do not have, and probably cannot have, a
  satisfactory criterion of basicness. (?)

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Izard vs. Ortony Turner

• Emotions as a separate system vs. cognition
  induced.
• Few basic emotions vs. Overinclusiveness of
  emotions.
• Experiencing multiple emotions at one time vs.
  just naming a new emotion. (color mixing)
• Facial Expressions
• Both agree that primates also have facial
  expressions.
• They disagree on how many specific different
  facial expressions there are, based on their
  differing views on defining of emotions.

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Things that made us go Hmmmmmmmm..

• I feel sad, but do I know why?
• Conscious vs. unconscious cognition.
• Children only dislike food when they think its
  been contaminated?
• Can we experience emotions without the underlying
  concept of why the emotion would be adaptive?
• Which came first the chicken or the egg?
• Anger or distress?
• Happy or excited?
• Lonely or sad?

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Other things that made us goHmmmmmm

• Cognitive independent or not?
• Affective-cognitive structuring transform a
  joy-image bond to Love ?
• How does one feel uncanny when one has never
  been canned in the first place?
• Pairing of emotions vs. new emotion altogether.

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The EndWe hope you feel happy, and
understand why.