PSYC18 - Psychology of Emotion

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PSYC18 - Psychology of Emotion Lecture 5
Professor Gerald Cupchik cupchik_at_utsc.utoronto.ca
S-634 Office Hours Thurs. 10-11, 2-3
T.A. Michelle Hilscher hilscher_at_utsc.utoronto.ca
S-150 Office Hours Thurs. 10-11, 2-3
Course Website www.utsc.utoronto.ca/cupchik
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Lets not forget John B. Watsons contribution
(the father of American Behaviourism) Watson,
the founder of Behaviourism developed a pattern
reaction theory of emotion (1919). An emotion
is a hereditary pattern - reaction involving
profound changes of the bodily mechanism as a
whole, but particularly of the visceral and
glandular systems.
Fear, rage and love are pattern reactions
complex behavioural responses to induction
situations such as loss of support, a loud noise,
restraint of free movement, stroking of sensitive
zones. Like reflexes, emotion patterns can be
conditioned and extinguished.
Watson tests babys grasp reflex (ca.1916)
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Cognition, Arousal and Emotion From William
McDougall to W.B. Cannon (1871-1945) McDougall
argued in An introduction to social psychology
that emotional excitements stimulated appropriate
behavioural reactions (e.g., fear and the
instinct to flee or anger and the instinct to
fight). Cannon extended McDougalls instinctually
based theory into the idea of an emergency
response that was more appropriate for an
emerging behavioural movement.
His primary concern was with the significance of
bodily changes which occur in great emotional
excitement, such as fear and rage which he
conceived as bodily preparations for supreme
effort in flight or in fighting.
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From Gregorio Maranon to W.B. Cannon Emotion
cold and hot! Gregorio Maranon, a Spanish
physician, examined the effects of inducing
changes in somatic states through injections of
adrenaline which stimulates the sympathetic
nervous system. He published the results of his
research in 1924 in a French journal, Revue
Française DEndocronologie, because he was an
endocrinologist interested in the effects of
hypothyroidism. Cannon was the first scholar in
North America to lecture on this new paradigm in
1922 at a meeting of the American Psychiatric
Association in Québec.
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Maranon was generally interested in learning
about emotional reactions to injections of
adrenaline. His most important contrast is
between 1.The subjective perception, en
froid, of somatic disturbance leading to an
unidentifiable emotional sensation. This first
type was observed most frequently (i.e., 79)
among his 210 subjects. Subjects were aware of
the various post-injection phenomena (e.g.,
tremor, shivering, coldness in the hands, dryness
of the mouth, heart palpitations) which coincide
with the autonomic symptomatology of emotion
(autonomic emotion) and experienced being moved
without experiencing a complete emotion (e.g.,
as if I were awaiting a great happiness, or as
if I were frightened, however, I am calm). 2. An
entire, involuntary emotion having the same
somatic elements as in the previous case, but
also a psychological, affective involvement.
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His second degree reaction not only perceives
the autonomic somatic manifestations of emotion,
but he also, gradually or suddenly, feels his
mind invaded by an emotional flux. The
psychological emotion is superimposed upon the
autonomic reaction and is apprehended as a
complete affective state, usually of the anxiety
type, with abundant tears, sobs, and sighs. This
complete emotional state is frequently
accompanied by a psychological motif to justify
the feelings. To produce it in other cases one
must suggest a memory with strong affective
force (e.g., speaking to the patient during the
adrenal commotion about sick children or dead
parents). So the adrenal injection fosters a
situation of affective imminence.
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Sequence 1) Initial psychological element
(sensation, idea, memory) 2) Production of
autonomic or peripheral emotion 3) Consciousness
of peripheral emotion by the brain 4) Authentic
emotion when the consciousness of the autonomic
emotion is superimposed on the primary
psychological element.
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Why does Cannon favour Maranons
work? Functioning of the sympathetic nervous
system and the natural release of adrenaline was
a major topic of research at the time. Cannons
friend, Colonel T.R. Elliot, whom he saw in
France in 1917 during WWI when he was serving
with the Harvard Hospital Unit, had studied at
Cambridge University, why adrenaline, when
injected into the body mimics the action of
sympathetic nerves. Maranon kept Cannon abreast
of his work by sending him copies of his work.
Shows international cooperation across the ocean
even back in the early 20th century.
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From Maranons viewpoint cold awareness of
emotional phenomena which takes place in the
first degree reaction definitely demolishes the
point of view of James and Lange because though
subjects accurately described the peripheral
symptoms in exact terms, they were not
moved. Maranons findings served as a basis for
Cannons fifth criticism of William James theory
of emotion Artificial induction of the visceral
changes typical of strong emotions does not
produce them. (1927). He focuses on the fact
that while subjects may have experienced the
sensations which are concomitants of adrenaline
injections, they were usually accompanied by as
if or an indefinite affective state coldly
appreciated.
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Maranon the Two Factor Theory of
Emotion Randolph Cornelius (1991) maintains that
Maranon proposed a two-factor theory of emotion
incorporating 1. A bodily component (lémotion
végétative) associated with sympathetic arousal
(e.g., dry mouth, cold hands, increased heart
rate 2. A psychological part (lémotion
psychique) which is superimposed on the bodily
component. This subjective element was described
as a motive (motif psychique) or reason
(raison intellectuelle). The co-presence of both
components enabled the person to experience un
état affectif complet, a complete affective
state. Maranon argued that a psychological
context must precede the experience of bodily
changes which place the person in a state of
affective imminence.
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American Psychology After Maranon Landis and
Hunt (1932) criticized the way that Cannon used
Maranons findings. They call attention to a
doctrine current in American psychology which
holds that the injection of adrenaline, while
producing the organic state typical of emotion,
is nevertheless not capable of producing a
genuine emotion. They examined the original
research in French and concluded that in some
cases there was a definite and undeniable emotion
produced upon the injection of adrenaline which
was experienced as genuine and complete.
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They gave injections of adrenaline to people
assessed as having a psychoneurotic personality
and concluded that the injection of sufficient
amounts of adrenaline will reproduce roughly the
organic picture usually characterized as
emotion. In addition, environmental factors
undoubtedly are reflected in and form an
important part of the emotional experience. They
agree with the conclusions of Cantril and Hunt
(1932) who found most of their observers
demanding a satisfactory reason for the emotion
before the emotional experience could be felt as
complete and so emotional awareness must be
considered as a process involving higher
perceptual or intellectual functions. Cantril
and Hunt (1932) described the purely physical
effects of the adrenaline injection. Generally
speaking, the physical syndrome always consisted
of a muscular tremor localized particularly in
the legs and hands, a tremor in the voice,
increased respiration, immediate slight decrease
and subsequent rise in the pulse rate, and an
increase in the strength of the heart beat.
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Example Bodily feeling of extreme nervousness.
The bodily feeling almost swamps the psychic
state, but the nervousness is wholly a matter of
physical symptoms. I feel nervous, but I am not
nervous. The reason seems lacking. I lack an
object and the intellectual state is not
fulfilled. To sum it up, I feel vaguely nervous,
excited, but any definite emotion is lacking, and
the excitement is a detached bodily affair.
(H) A more genuine emotion is noticed by EH
(note that subjects were identified by their
initials) I seem oppressed with a vague fear of
something - feeling much the same as when Ive
lain awake all night, frightened that Bill might
die. I am oppressed with a nameless fear. I want
to get away from it just as the night of Bills
illness I wanted to relax and sleep and tried to
rationalize my fears but that was impossible then
and it is impossible now. It is decidedly
unpleasant.
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A few theoretical implications would reveal its
dependence upon the following possible factors.
These include (1) a primary autonomic reaction
which may involve changes in the vasomotor
system, the respiratory system, the viscera,
along with peripheral changes such as sweating
and muscular tremor. (2) secondary behavioural
reaction patterns including flight, attack,
facial expression, and vocalization. (3) an
intellectual content or the presence in
consciousness of some object or situation to
which the emotion is directed and around which
the emotion is intellectually organized. This
involves the active participation of the higher
logical processes, probably centered in the
cerebral cortex. The usual emotional state seems
to involve a combination of (1) and (3) but that
the presence of an autonomic reaction is the
only sine qua non for an emotion while the
behavioural reaction is probably of secondary
importance.
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Unfolding Cognitive Behaviourism Elizabeth
Duffy (1941) For many years the writer has been
of the opinion that emotion as a scientific
concept, is worse than useless. As early as 1932
and 1934, she adopted the very behavioural/cogniti
ve view that it is impossible to distinguish an
emotional state from a mental state, with the
term mental state referring to intellective or
cognitive processes uncomplicated by affective
reactions.
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Unfolding Cognitive Behaviourism In 1934
Elizabeth Duffy distinguished four qualities
attributed to emotion which in her opinion were
typical of mental states in general, and not
unique to emotional states. They included (1)
physiological mechanisms (e.g., activity of the
thalamus as opposed to the cerebral cortex) (2)
degree of arousal or intensity of the
reaction (3) disorganization that interferes with
effective behaviour (4) interpretive data (e.g.,
descriptions of the contents of consciousness or
of the kind of stimulus-response situation).
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Unfolding Cognitive Behaviourism Duffy
contrasted excitation, activation, or arousal
measured by overt behaviour with inhibition,
restraint of the tendency to act. Accordingly,
increases in the degree of excitation tend to
produce increases in the speed and force (or
intensity) of the activity in progress be it
muscular performance, a train of thought, or the
expression of emotion. Very high levels of
arousal lead to uncoordinated reactions, and make
the person more sensitive to stimulation
(physical, mental, or emotional). Changes in the
novelty or intensity of the stimulus situation
will lead to changes in excitation.
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Unfolding Cognitive Behaviourism Duffys goal
was to effect a rapprochement between the
psychology of the emotions and the psychology of
thought, now too often separated by the
assumption that, while one may affect the other,
they do not in any sense represent harmonious
manifestations of the same underlying processes.
Thus, we should cease our attempt to study
emotion sui generis and should study instead the
variations in certain fundamental aspects or
dimensions of behaviour in general as these occur
under varying stimulation The experience which
is labeled emotion is the conscious aspect of a
response, or group of responses, which the
individual makes to a stimulating situation which
he interprets as having marked significance for
himself, favorable, or unfavorable.
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Unfolding Cognitive Behaviourism Hence,
according the Duffy, emotion is the individuals
response to situations which promise well or ill
for the attainment of his goals. The term refers
to how the individual feels and how he acts when
his expectations in regards to a situation are
that it will, or will not, permit him to reach
some rather strongly desired goal. The strength
or intensity of the emotion is roughly
proportional to the degree of importance of the
particular goal to the individual, and to the
degree of threat or of promise which the present
situation bears with reference to that
goal. High levels of activation will lead to
disorganization, be it in response to a new motor
skill and in the solution of a difficult mental
problem. The over-eager golfer, teeing off,
makes a poor shot
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Unfolding Cognitive Behaviourism Duffys
contribution goes well beyond the significant
formula EMOTION ENERGY DIRECTION She
specifies two sources for the subjective
qualities of emotion (a) awareness of the bodily
changes which occur in the process of adjusting
the energy level of the individual to the demands
of the situation AND (b) awareness of the
stimulus situation and of the set for response to
that situation.
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Unfolding Cognitive Behaviourism Emotional
experience is merely the conscious counterpart of
the adjustments which the individual makes to
stimulating conditions which are of sufficient
significance to produce a marked change in his
energy level and his set for response. In sum,
the conscious experience of emotion appears,
then, to be a complex which includes awareness of
the stimulus and its significance, awareness of
the set for response, and awareness of certain
physiological changes which are occurring in the
individual. Although Duffy is known for the
formula EMOTION ENERGY DIRECTION (toward or
away from a goal), in fact, there is a third
component, discrimination or response to
relationships in the situation which means
interpretation of the situation. A more
comprehensive formula might read EMOTION
DISCRIMINATION ENERGY DIRECTION
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Unfolding Cognitive Behaviourism Papezs (1937)
psychoneural theory Complex neural structure
mediates between emotional behaviour and
experience. Role of hippocampus and hypothalamus
(amygdala) influencing the cerebral cortex and
adding emotional coloring to conscious
experience. Relates to reticular formation and
limbic system. Receives impulses from reticular
formation and integrates information from the
limbic system.
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Unfolding Cognitive Behaviourism Lindsleys
(1951) Activation Theory of Emotion
Motivation His theory incorporated excited
emotions, such as rage, fear and terror as well
as sleep, coma and drowsiness. Really a theory
of activation - a central neural process in the
brainstems Reticular Activating
System. Excitation of the diffuse projection
system tones up the cortex as a whole.
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Unfolding Cognitive Behaviourism Lindsleys
(1951) Activation Theory of Emotion
Motivation Continuum from Deep sleep, coma,
death Light sleep Drowsiness Relaxed
wakefulness Alert attentiveness
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Lindsley emphasized the motivational aspect (1)
General alerting - arousal process which is
dynamic and energizing (2) Sharpening of focus on
stimulus cues which are associated with a goal or
with satisfaction of a need (relates to
attention) Attention - selective awareness of
certain sensory messages with simultaneous
suppression of others (activation and inhibition
model) The brain integrates for consciousness,
limited and relevant sensory information
concerned with objects of attention. Central
processes facilitate or block input from
receptors (sort of like John Locke meets the 20th
century). Relates to the excitatory level, level
of energy mobilization, intensity of drive, and
degree of arousal.