PSYC 102 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Robert Zajonc, Autonomic Nervous System, Social Emotions

• School: UBC
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 102
• Professor: Delroy Paulhus

Document Summary

Emotions: response of whole organism, involving (1) bodily arousal, (2) expressive behaviours, (3) conscious experience including thoughts & feelings: does bodily arousal come before or after emotional feelings, how do thinking and feeling interact historical theories: James-lange theory: emotion = awareness of physiological responses to stimuli. Cannon-bard theory: stimulus triggers physio response & subjective experience. Proof: responses too similar, change too slowly, to cause emotions. Brain processes vast amounts of info w/out conscious awareness effortless, unconscious appraisal of event as harmless/dangerous theory emotions arise from awareness of bodily responses to arousing stimuli. Cannon-bard arousing stimuli trigger bodily responses & simultaneous subjective experience. Schachter-singer experience of emotion depends on general arousal + conscious cognitive label. Lazarus some responses are instant, w/out conscious appraisal cognitive appraisal, sometimes w/out awareness, defines emotion explanation. People (esp. introverts) are good at spotting emotion & signs of status: experience sensitizes us to particular emotions, hard-to-control facial muscles reveal emotion we try to conceal.