Evolution and Emotions

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"Witch" Emotion Do You Prefer? How Others View
you
NEGATIVE
POSITIVE
People View You with ___Anger ___Fear ___Pity ___
Disgust ___Boredom ___Ridicule
People View You with ___Admiration ___Warmth ___A
ttraction ___Unconcern ___Happiness
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Participant Characteristics Total participants
37 Gender Female 76 Male 24 Age
22 (1.94) Birth Order Oldest 32
Middle 19 Youngest 35 Only
11 Politics 2.74 (1.13) where 1 Most
Liberal and 7 Most Conservative
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How Others View You Least Wanted Emotion
OVERALL RATINGS Disgust (2.38) Ridicule
(2.62) Anger (2.95) Pity (3.73) Fear
(3.95) Boredom (5.46)
Note Lower score means least desired.
WOMEN'S RATINGS Disgust (2.25) Ridicule
(2.69 Anger (2.79) Fear (3.78) Pity
(4.04) Boredom (5.57)
MEN'S RATINGS Ridicule (2.44) Disgust
(2.78) Pity (2.78) Anger (3.44) Fear
(4.44) Boredom (5.11)
p lt .05
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How Others View You Most Wanted Emotion
OVERALL RATINGS Happy (2.03) Admire (2.62) Warmt
h (2.70) Attracted (2.92) Unconcern (4.81)
Note Lower score means most desired.
WOMEN'S RATINGS Happy (2.04) Admire (2.50) Warmt
h (2.61) Attracted (2.89) Unconcern (4.86)
MEN'S RATINGS Happy (2.00) Admire (2.33) Warmth
(3.00) Attracted (3.00) Unconcern (4.67)
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What Predicts Emotions You Don't Want/Do Want
Directed Toward You
Fear Older dislike more than
younger Disgust Liberals dislike more than
conservatives Ridicule Conservatives dislike
more than liberals Admiration Liberals like more
than conservatives Happiness Conservatives like
more than liberals
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Non-Attachment Ways Parents Shape Emotionality
Warmth and affection as separate from
Attachment    Teaching kids to speak about
emotions Modeling emotions and emotional
responses to situations. Responding to some
emotions but not to others
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Change in Responsiveness to Vocalizing vs. Crying
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Responsivity and Social Competence Which Model
is Right?
Model A
X
Model B
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Teaching Kids How to Think About Emotions
Meta-cognition How to think about thinking, or
how to think about feeling. Kids taught to
think about feeling, and in managing
feelings   a. Less stressed   b. Less negative
emotions in play with others   c. Better school
achievement   d. Fewer behavior problems.
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Anything Strange about Strange Situation?
Mom leaves kid. Kid acts
unconcerned Mom returns to kid. Kid
still unconcerned
Insecure/avoidant mom messed up
Attachment explanation?
Alternative explanation?
Kid was born that way, Temperament
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Temperament
Aspects of behavior and emotion that are 1.
Constitutional (in-born, genetic) 2. Stable
across time and situations 3.
Neurophysiologically based
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Temperament and Emotions
Temperament Aspect Emotionality Sociabi
lity Impulsivity Smiling/laughing Fear Bothe
red by restriction Soothability
Leads to This
Emotion
Fear, anger, distress
Pos. emotions to others
Time to express emotion
Happiness, pleasure
Fear
Anger
Recovery from neg. emot.
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How Stable is Temperament?
In early infancy Correl. 6 mos.
To 9 mos. Smiling, Laughter r
.48 Fear r .37 Distress re. Limits
(Anger) r .51
Easy/Diff.
At 3 yrs 4 yrs 5 Yrs

Easy/difficult as an adult r .31 r .37
r .15
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Is Temperament Genetic?
How would this be tested? With what kind of
population?
Twins
Monozygotic (MZ)
Share all genes identical
Dizygotic (DZ)
Share half genes Not identical
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Pictures of DZ Twins
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Results of Twin Studies and Temperament (Metheny,
et al., 1981)
6 mos 2 yrs
MZ DZ MZ DZ Hurt Feelings
NA NA .37
.13 Tantrums .39
.26 .41 .15 Irritability
.45 .29 .46
.28 Crying .62
.51 .59 .39
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Temperament and Strange Situation
Temperament may explain Strange Sit. better than
attachment. Irritable newborns ?insecurely
attached Neurophysio-reactive ?
ambivalent Interest in objects vs. people ?
avoidant Interactive explanation Parents respond
to newborns temperament Parent either flexible
or inflexible to baby temp. Babys emotional
profile reflects goodness of fit
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Physiology of Emotions I

• Class 8

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Approaches to Emotions So Far
Philosophical (Spinoza, Jefferson, Des
Cartes) Evolutionary (Ekman) Cultural
(Culture of Honor) Developmental (Attunement,
Attachment) Conceptual (defining emotions)
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Unanswered Questions, Thus Far
How do emotions tie to thinking? Do emotions
drive behavior, or are they an after-effect? Are
emotions the engine or the caboose? Can
emotions help us understand who we are as a
species? Are emotions problematic things we need
to inhibit, or do they help us live better
lives? What are emotions? Where do they come
from?
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How do we know how the brain works?
a. Anatomy  b. Lesions  c. Stimulation  d.
Recording (including EEG, fMRI, TMS)
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Early Explorations of Brain and Emotions
Descartes Reflex Theory (1650s) Events
? sensory receptors ? message to brain via
nerves. Strings in motor
nerves open valves, send fluid through nerves
that inflate muscles. Degree of response
proportional to magnitude of event. (But,
who/what determines magnitude?) Implications of
Descartes   Behavior dictated by
environmental prompts   No role for planning,
values, in guiding behavior Emotions not even
mentioned 
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Cannon/Bard Theory of Emotions
Cannon and Bard (1930s)   Believe in central
controller of emotions Remove neocortex from
cats Cats display sham rage   Suggests
that neocortex guides, controls emotional
behavior.
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Cannons Organizational Chart Model of Brain
Functions
CORTEX governs EMOTIONAL STRUCTURES govern SIMPLE
REFLEXES
Evidence Phineas Gage, drunkenness, sham rage
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Modern Views of Emotional Brain(Papez, 1930s and
MacLean, 1990s)
Thalamus is routing station of events Info not
necessarily processed top-down  Limbic system is
seat of emotions  Brain organized in terms of
function, not structure
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MacLeans Routing System Model of Brain
Functions
Neocortex (thought)
Limbic System (feeling)
Hypothalamus
Stimuli
Striatum (movement)
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Major Divisions of the Forebrain
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Main Divisions of the Brain
Striatal system Reptilian brain    Limbic
system Emotional center   Neocortex Reasoning
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Striatal System
Reptilian in origin MacLean extensively studies
lizards to learn about the functions of
striatum.  Basic survival functions hunting,
territorial, mating, four basic communications
Self Identification Hey, its me.
Territory Dont lean on my wheels
Courting Hey bayybee, hey bayybee
Surrender Oh gee, Officer, was I really going
95?
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Limbic System
Tied to uniquely mammalian behavior social
behavior, mating, care-giving, infant
attachment Connected to autonomic NS and hormonal
system Removal of limbic system in monkeys--
Kl?ver-Bucy syndrome Electrode studies (Hess,
1940s)Self stimulation in ratsbar presses
past exhaustion for limbic jolt.  Psychomotor
Epilepsy Indescribable happiness, shadow
boxing, kissing fits.
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Amygdala

• 1. Emotion central pleasure and pain
•  
• Sensitive to unfamiliar stimuli
• 3. Makes first assessment of events emotional
  significance
• 4. Neural pathway to amygdala bypasses cortex

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LeDouxs Neural Pathways
STANDARD ROUTE SENSORY ? THALAMUS ? CORTEX
? AMYGDALA   EMERGENCY ROUTE SENSORY ?
THALAMUS ? AMYGDALA  
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Hemis. Lateralization and Emotions
Lateralization L hemisphere guides right
side of body R hemisphere guides left side
of body Lateral functions L hemisphere
speech, reasoning R hemisphere emotional
recognition and interpretation. All
reversed if Left-handed (i.e., L hemi. guides
emotion, etc.) Research on hemisphere
lateralization   1. Split-brain studies of
epileptics   2. Emotional ID of faces and hemi.
dominance  3. Lie detection and hemisphere
dominance
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Chimeric Faces
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Hemispheric Damage and Lie Detection
Who would be better able to detect liars?
Study of patients with L vs. R hemisphere damage
(e.g., due to strokes, accidents) L-Hemi damage
(use only emotional R Hemi) do better than R-Hemi
damage AND do better than normals (no damage).
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Neurological Development and the Limbic System
R-Hemi closer connections to limbic system than
L-Hemi. R-Hemi develops earlier in infancy than
L-Hemi Emotions appear in babies before
language Emotionally expressive babies start
talking later When babies start to talk, dont
show emotion 13 mostalk, no emotion 19
mostalk emotion What does this say about
separate systems?
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