Let’s Talk About the Little Brain and

Emotions
The Little Brain and Emotions

• Everyday emotional well-being may

• Rely on messages from the ‘little
brain’.

• Role of serotonin in the little brain,

 The Elements of
Emotional Experience
• Cognitive component
– Subjective conscious experience
– Positive psychology
– Physiological component
– Bodily (autonomic) arousal
– Behavioural component
– Nonverbal Expressiveness
• Culture and the elements of emotion

Copyright © 2019 by Nelson Education Ltd. 3

 Cross-Cultural Differences
• Cultural differences in how people think,
experience, regulate and express emotions.
• Japanese—social engaging emotions
• North Americans—socially disengaging
emotions
• Role of language
• Display Rules
• Children’s Development of Emotions
The Behavioural Component: Non-Verbal
Expressiveness
• Universality hypothesis: Emotional
expressions have the same meaning for
everyone; originally proposed by Darwin
– There are six universal emotions expressed: anger,
disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise.
– People (even those who have never seen a human
face) are generally good at judging and creating the
same facial expressions.
Basic Debate in Emotion Theory
• Discrete Emotion Theory: Humans have a innate set of
basic emotions that are universally (cross-culturally
recognized). Each emotion is a separate (discrete)
category—six basic ones—anger, disgust, fear,
happiness, sadness and surprise). Recognizable by
facial expression and produced by different biological
processes. Different emotions arise from separate neural
systems. Paul Ekman, Evolutionary Theory, and also
James-Lange Theory for variations on this idea.

Dimensional Models: A common neurophysiological

system is responsible for all emotions, not separate neural
processes for each basic emotion. See Cannon-Bard and
aspects of Schacter’s Two-Factor Theory.
 Six Basic Emotions
• Humans all over the
globe generally
agree that these six
faces are displaying
anger, disgust, fear,
happiness, sadness,
and surprise.

• What might
account for this
widespread
agreement?
Adapted from
Arellano, Varona, &
Perales, 2008.
Cross-Cultural Similarities in Emotional
Experience

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Emotional Experience: The Feeling Machine

• James-Lange theory: Stimuli trigger activity in the

Autonomic Nervous System, which in turn produces
an emotional experience in the brain. Feel afraid
because pulse is racing.
• Cannon-Bard theory: Stimulus simultaneously
triggers activity in the ANS and emotional
experience in the brain.
• Two-factor theory: Emotions are inferences about
the causes of physiological arousal
• Evolutionary Theory: Innate reactions with little
cognitive interpretation
James-Lange Somatic Theory of Emotion:
Body Before Thoughts
William James (1842-1910): “We feel afraid
because we tremble, sorry because we cry.”
The James-Lange theory
states that emotion is our
conscious awareness of
our physiological
responses to stimuli.
▪ Our body arousal
happens first, and then
the cognitive awareness
and label for the feeling:
“I’m angry.”
▪ According to this theory,
if something makes us
smile, we may then feel
happy.
Cannon-Bard Theory: Simultaneous Body
Response and Cognitive Experience
The Cannon-Bard theory Adjusting the Cannon-Bard
asserts that we have a Theory
conscious/cognitive ▪ Emotions are not just a
experience of an separate mental
emotion at the same experience. When our
time as our body is body responses are
responding, not blocked, emotions do not
afterward. feel as intense.
▪ Our cognitions influence
▪ Human body responses our emotions in many
run parallel to the ways, including our
cognitive responses interpretations of stimuli:
rather than causing “Is that a threat? Then I’m
them. afraid.”
Cognitive-Affective Theories. Schachter-Singer “Two-
Factor” Theory: Emotion = Body Plus a Cognitive Label

The Schachter-Singer In a study by Stanley

“two-factor” theory Schachter and Jerome
suggests that emotions Singer in 1962, subjects
do not exist until we add experienced a spillover
a label to whatever body effect when arousal was
sensations we are caused by injections of
feeling. what turned out to be
adrenaline.
▪ I face a stranger, and my The subjects interpreted
heart is pounding. Is it their agitation to
fear? Excitement? whatever emotion the
Anger? Lust? Or did I others in the room
have too much caffeine? appeared to be feeling;
The label completes the the emotional label
emotion. “spilled over” from
others.
Copyright © 2019 by Nelson Education Ltd.
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The Regulation of Emotion

• Cognition can evoke emotions (thinking of sad

event evokes sad feelings). Influences how we
express emotions and if and if and how we act on
emotions felt = emotional regulation.
• Emotion regulation: Use of cognitive and
behavioral strategies to influence one’s emotional
experience
• Appraisal: We appraise situations and this appraisal
is a cognitive-emotional process.
• Reappraisal: Changing one’s emotional experience
by changing the meaning of the emotion-eliciting
stimulus
Cognitive Component: Appraisal:
Choosing How to View a Situation
Questions to ask yourself when facing a
possible stressor:
Is this a challenge and will I tackle it?
Is it overwhelming and will I give up?
There are few
conditions that are
inherently and
universally stressful;
we can often choose
our appraisal and our
responses.
The exceptions are
extreme, chronic
physical threats or
challenges (such as
noise or starvation)
 Evolutionary View: How are
emotions adaptive?
• Signal important events and direct our
attention to them.
• Fight or flight—keep us alive. Baby’s cry brings
parent to his or her side.
• Social communication—provides observable
information about internal states and
intentions so emotions influence how others
behave towards us.
Affective Neuroscience: The Brain and
Emotion

• Hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus play a

role in emotion. Cognitive appraisal processes are
linked to cortex where language and complex
thought reside.
• Regulation of emotion involves the pre-frontal cortex
(planning, reasoning, and control and impulsivity).
• Our responses are regulated. If you can’t feel
emotion—have a hard time making a decision.
• Unregulated emotion—can’t make ‘rational
decisions’ because emotion isn’t regulated—turn
away from threat.
Physiological Component

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Affective Neuroscience: The Fast and Slow
Pathways of Fear
• According to Joseph
LeDoux (2000),
information about a
stimulus takes two
routes simultaneously:
the “fast pathway” (shown
in pink), which goes from
the thalamus directly to
the amygdala, and the
“slow pathway” (shown in
green), which goes from
the thalamus to the
amygdala.
 ©2013 Daniel Gilbert
Behavioural Component: The Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Research shows that people who hold a pen with their teeth feel
happier than those who hold a pen with their lips.
These two postures cause contraction of the muscles
associated with smiling and frowning, respectively.
Behavioural Component (Also cultural
component): Deceptive Expression
• We can control (at least to some degree) our
expression of emotion.
– Display rules: Norms for the control of emotional
expression
• Intensification:
• Deintensification
• Masking
• Neutralizing
– Different cultures have different display rules.
 Detecting Emotion in Others
▪ Expressive Behaviours: ▪ We are primed to quickly
People read a great deal of detect negative emotions,
emotional content in the and even negative emotion
eyes and the faces. words.
▪ Introverts are better at ▪ Those who have been
detecting emotions; abused are biased toward
extroverts have emotions seeing fearful faces as
that are easier to read. angry, as in the test below.

These faces morph from fear to anger.

Raise your hand when you first see anger under the red box.
Behavioural Component: Deceptive
Expression
• Sincere and insincere expressions may ‘leak
out.
• Four features that are more readily observable
seem to distinguish between sincere and
insincere facial expressions
– Morphology (reliable muscles)
– Symmetry
– Duration
– Temporal patterning
Neutralizing

• Can you tell

what this man
is feeling?
• He sure hopes
not! AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta
Behavioural/Cultural Component: Display
Rules
• Can you tell which of
the two finalists in the
1986 Miss America
pageant just won?

• Check out their eyes.

• Only one woman is

showing the telltale

AP Photo//Raul Demolina
“corner crinkle” that
signifies genuine
happiness.
Physiologcal Component: Detecting
Lies and Fakes—no, emotions
Brain signs of lying:
▪ Polygraphs (detecting
physiological arousal) are not
that useful at correctly
identifying when people are
lying.

In which image is
Paul Ekman “lying”
with a fake smile?
→ A real smile
uses involuntary
muscles around
the eyes.
Lie Detection Machines