PSYC18H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Sehar, Appraisal Theory, Emotion Classification
Document Summary
Emotions are expressed through the face, body, through posture, voice etc. Today we will focus on facial expressions, because that is the medium most used and most understood. Basic emotions - this is darwinism, the idea that emotions are biologically determined, and they have consistent patterns of expression. Emotions are ingrained, something we have evolved with. Appraisal emotions - cognitive appraisal is important in producing emotion. Every single stimuli is not always going to produce the same emotional state. For example, if someone sees a snake, according to the basic theory of emotions, you will always be afraid. But the appraisal theory says that if someone grew up where there are a lot of snakes, they may not have the same response. Appraisal theories however do say that each instance of sadness or fear will have a unique biological output. It is all a matter of interpretation, context, and environment.
