Theory of Emotions
O T
M I
E O
N
Presented by Guided by
Vinod Sanjay Rao Sawant Prof. Varsha Ma’am
(M.A.Clinical Psychology 2nd year) Sub:- Psycho-Diagnosis
CONTENTS
EMOTION
PHYSIOLOGY OF EMOTIONS
THEORIES OF EMOTIONS
CONCLUSIONS
PART
01
What is Emotion?
Reaction intelligence
Response
EMOTION
It is derived from a Latin word “emovere” meaning ‘to
stir up’ or ‘to agitate’
It is an affective experience that accompanies
generalized inner adjustment and mental and
physiological stirred up states in the individual and that
shows itself in his overt behavior.
a conscious mental reaction (such as anger or fear)
subjectively experienced as strong feeling usually
directed toward a specific object and typically
accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in
the body
a state of feeling i.e. the affective aspect of
consciousness.
PART
02
PHYSIOLOGY OF EMOTION
Emotion has 2 components
1.Physical reaction
• Endocrine glands
• Autonomic nervous
system 2. Conscious experience or feeling
• Brain The aroused state that is part of
emotion is due to increased activation
of brain cells in
•Cerebral cortex
•Hypothalamus
•Limbic system
•ARAS
Endocrine glands
They affect the emotional behavior by increasing or decreasing the secretion of
the respective hormones
Oestrogen
Dopamine anxiety and mood swings
mood swings and
cognitive problems
Progesterone
insomnia, head ache and anxiety
Testosterone
decreased sex drive and erectile
dysfunction
GABA
(anti anxiety, anti pain, sleep)
Restlessness and anxiety Serotonin
(anti depressant ) aggressive and
impulsive behaviour
Autonomic nervous system
Consists of two divisions
1. Sympathetic division
Fear or
anger
2. Parasympathetic division
Sympathetic division
Calmness
Calmness and
Adrenal gland relaxed period
relaxed period
ADR, NA
Parasympathetic division
Increase in HR
Increase in BP Decrease in HR
Increased blood sugar Decrease in BP
Pupillary dilatation Pupillary constriction
Inhibits salivation Increases salivation
Relaxes bronchi Constricts bronchi
Inhibits peristalsis Stimulates peristalsis
Skin perspires Skin dries
Autonomic nervous system
BRAIN
It controls the somatic and autonomic
patterns of activity .
In others words, it controls the
physiological expression of emotion
The aroused state that is part of
emotion is due to increased
activation of brain cells in
•Cerebral cortex
•Hypothalamus
•Limbic system
•ARAS
BRAIN
The Sympathetic and Parasympathetic
division have centers in the hypothalamus.
•Stimulation of the posterior area of the
hypothalamus sympathetic activity anxiety or
tension
•Stimulation of the anterior area of the hypothalamus
parasympathetic activity depression or
relaxation
Specific emotions result in specific bodily
changes.
Happiness Heart Rate
Surprise
Angry
Fearfulness Heart Rate
Sad mood
Facial expressions and emotion
•Facial movements can influence emotional
experience. An individual who is forced to smile in an
event will find the event more enjoyable one.
•Suppressing facial expression
emotions
•Facial muscle movements are closely related
to the body’s physiological response in
emotion.
•Emotions are also displayed through
1. Tone of voice
2. Behaviour
3. Body language
PART
03
THEORIES OF EMOTION
In 1870, Charles Darwin said
•Emotions evolved because they were adaptive.
• allowed humans and animals to survive and reproduce.
•.Feelings of love and affection lead people to seek mates and reproduce.
•Feelings of fear compel people to either fight or flee the source of danger.
•Emotions motivate people to respond quickly to stimuli, which improve the chances of success and survival.
•Understanding the emotions of other people and animals also plays a crucial role in safety and survival. If you
encounter a hissing animal you quickly realize and run away.
James Lange Theory
Felt emotion is the perception of bodily
changes. Emotion spring from physiological
reaction.
The perception of stimulus
physiological changes
specific sensations
brain interprets these sensations as different emotions.
Proposed by William James and Carl Lange •Bodily changes, both the internal changes
in 1885 in the ANS and external movements of the
body precede the emotional experience.
•For this theory to work there should be
different sets of internal and external bodily
Criticism against James Lange Theory
JAMES LANGES THEORY
On most occasions emotion occurs immediately after the stimulus. E.g. hearing a loud bang and
being startled. But our visceral responses could not be that fast.
In case of less intense emotion, the bodily patterns can’t be perceived.
On many occasions we experience physiological changes but do not experience emotion e.g.
joggers have a pounding heart but there is no associated emotion.
With the same physiological arousal, people can experience different emotions. E.g. a person
may have racing heart both when he is angry and when he is afraid.
Cannon Bard Theory
Cannon Bard Theory
Proposed by Walter Cannon and Philip Bard in 1927.
Felt emotions and physiological responses are independent events.
They occur simultaneously.
James -Lange Theory Vs Bard Theory
Schachter-Singer Theory(Cognitive labeling theory / Two factor
theory of emotions)
Two factors jointly determine the emotional
experience.
•Physiological arousal
•Interpretation of the experience based on the
environmental cues.
Bodily state of emotional arousal is much same for
most of the emotions we feel. But people have different
emotions because of the differences in the way they
interpret.
Proposed by Stanley Schachter and Jerome
Singer In other words, our emotional arousal depends on both
physiological changes and cognitive or mental
interpretation of those changes. Since this interpretation
is purely by cognitive functioning, cognitive factors are
said to be the potent determiners of emotional states.
Schachter-Singer Theory(Cognitive labeling theory / Two factor
theory of emotions)
Subjects injected Inj. ADR
Informed that Inj. Not Informed that Inj.
Will cause arousal Will cause arousal
Attributed arousal Ignorant about
To injunction injunction Action
put in a put in a
happy situation angrier situation
Different emotions were experienced with the same state of
physiological arousal
more happier more
angrier
Cognitive Appraisal Theory
Emotions we feel result from appraisals or evaluation of
information’s coming from the
• environmental situations
• the body
• the memory
In addition, appraisal comes from
• Memories of past encounters with similar situations
• Dispositions to respond in certain ways
• Consideration of consequences of actions that might result
from the emotional state
Proposed by Richard Lazarus in 1970.
Outcome of complex appraisal of all these information is
the emotion.
How different emotions occur to the same stimulus ?
Subjects shown an emotion producing movie
Circumcision rites of Australian aborigeenes
4 different sound tracks
Trauma denial intellectualization no
track track track track
Stress reaction
HR, Skin conductance
Highest lowest lowest next highest
Sound tracks induced to make different appraisals of the same
stimulus – film
Different emotion occurs to same stimulus because of the
differences in the appraisal of the stimulus.
Coping Mechanism
Reappraisal
It is an important part of the cognitive theory.
It is a way of coping with the stressful situations.
Suppose
If called by appraisal FEAR
The Dean
You got the reappraisal FEAR PLEASURE
First mark
People reappraise with the emotion producing stimuli with
•Denial – it is not stressful at all think positively
•Intellectualization – this is all very interesting
•Reaction formation – this isn’t stressful, in fact it’s a great learning
experience
These kinds of people are able to reduce the intensity of disturbed
emotional feelings which accompany stressful situations.
Activation theory
•Emotion represents a state of heightened arousal rather
than a psychological, physiological or biological process.
•Arousal lies on a wide continuum ranging from a very
low level of deep sleep to extremely agitated states of rage
or anger.
Emotion provoking stimuli
Coined by Donald B Lindsley in 1951
ARAS
cortex
musculature
Cognitive theory : Magda Arnold
Given in 1966, one of the first ones to use the concept of cognition. This
concept is known as ‘sequential model’. The steps involved in emotions are
1. Perception of the stimulus
2. Appraisal : stimulus is beneficial or harmful
3. Determining emotions with regards to the situation
4. Expressing emotions also accompanying physiological responses
5. Finally they all give an idea to approach a situation or not.
Opponent Process Theory
Given by Richard Solomon and John Corbit.
• Every emotional arousal has an opposite, i.e.
when one type of emotion is elicited there must
be an opposite to suppress or cancel it. In this way
the emotional arousal remains at some baseline.
• If you are frightened by a mean dog,
Fear
Relief
• If the fear-causing stimulus continues to be present,
after a while
Fear
Relief
Theory of Relationships among Emotions
Emotions are
• Indistinct
• Intermingled
• Constantly changing
Robert Plutchik has proposed a theory in 1970.
Concerned with what are called primary or basic emotions.
• According to him, the emotions differ in three ways:
1. Intensity,
2. Similarity,
3. Polarity or oppositeness. He uses these three dimensions to draw a spatial
model.
There are eight segments in his model, representing eight primary emotions.
Within each segment,
• The strongest variety of the emotion is at the top of the segment with
progressively weaker emotions towards the bottom.
• The similar emotions are adjacent to each other and the opposite emotions
are at the opposite poles.
Applied aspect
• Lie detectors
• They are also called as polygraphs.
• They make simultaneous records of several bodily reactions thought to be indicative of
emotional arousal. They measure the changes in BP, HR, breathing rate, depth of breathing.
Classification of disorders of emotion
Abnormalities of basic emotions
■ Intensity of emotions
•diminution - anhedonia
•Exacerbation – mania, ecstasy
■ Duration, time and quality of experience, including lability of mood, pathological crying and
laughing, parathymia and paramimia
■ Expression of emotion, including blunting and flattening of affect
■ Appropriateness to object, including phobia
Abnormality of physiological arousal
■ Alexithymia
Abnormalities of evaluation of social context
■ Negative cognitive schemas
■ Prosopoaffective agnosia
■ Receptive vocal dysprosody
CONCLUSION
• None of the theories is a comprehensive theory of emotion
• The biological structure of an individual modulated by the
environmental experiences, in one way or the other, must activate the
internal organs and the cerebral cortex for the various physiological
responses and affective experiences that are experienced by the
individual while going through an emotional behavior.
H A N K
T Y O U
