PSY 1102 Chapter 12: Chapter 12 Review Class 6.docx

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 1102
• Professor: Christine Mountney

Document Summary

Polygraphs measure several physiological indicators of emotion, but they are not accurate enough to justify their widespread use in business and law enforcement. The use of guilty knowledge questions and new forms of technology may produce better indications of lying. Much of the physiological activity is controlled by the autonomic nervous system"s sympathetic (arousing) and parasympathetic (calming) divisions. Our performance on a task is usually best when arousal is moderate, though this varies with the difficulty of the task. Emotions may be similarly arousing, but there are some subtle physiological responses that distinguish them. Schachter and singer"s two-factor theory of emotion contends that the cognitive labels we put on our states of arousal are an essential ingredient of emotion. Lazarus agreed that cognition is essential: many important emotions arise from our interpretations or inferences. Zajonc and ledoux, however, believe that some simple emotional responses occur instantly, not only outside our conscious awareness but before any cognitive processing occurs.