JoHo

In this book, all kinds of important questions regarding emotions are addressed. For example, what are emotions and why do we have them? Do emotions influence our thoughts and memories, and do our memories influence our emotions? Are emotions the same as feelings? Are some people more susceptible to developing emotional disorders than others?

What are the different frameworks to study emotion?

When we think back about events in our lives, it is often the affective qualities of those moments that come up first. What are the fundamental characteristics of emotional experiences?

Emotional moments normally contain a number of different components, such as actions, thoughts, feelings, physical reactions and so on. Various investigations have attempted to focus on different components of emotion. Most people agree that feelings are the most important aspect of emotions. How something feels has the greatest influence on our thoughts and memories and it determines how much we enjoy something.

There are also scientists who argue that feelings are important, but they may not be central to the understanding of emotions. They state that a series of physiological, neural and behavioral reactions form the foundation of emotions. According to them, emotions have already been formed before feelings arise.

A recurring problem in the science of emotion is that different research movements focus on different aspects of emotions and therefore ask different questions and use different definitions of emotions. In addition, they use different research methods. This book sketches an image of research into emotions by highlighting the different trends and disciplines: cognitive, social and clinical psychology and cognitive and affective neuroscience.

How are emotions constructed in the biological approach?

Many researchers state that emotions stem from evolution. According to this theory, emotions were selected because they provided good solutions for recurring problems of our ancestors (finding water and food, finding sexual partners, avoiding danger, taking care of offspring).

The biological perspective states that emotions are best understood as solutions selected by nature to make us want to do what our ancestors had to do in order to pass their genes on to the next generation. This perspective shifts the emphasis from examining human feelings to examining traits and behavioral patterns that we share with a large group of other animal species. Emotions are then seen as a complex response to a meaningful event.

Because emotions consist of many different possible actions (for example a quick escape), a lot of physical support is often needed from mechanisms that deal with processes of excitement (for example the release of adrenaline). Emotions can therefore be seen as physical processes that have psychological, cognitive and behavioral implications for the organism.

Most researchers assume that we naturally receive a primary set of emotion systems. However, they also think that these emotion systems can be adapted by learning processes and cultural influences. A fundamental assumption is that emotions are genetically coded response systems that are activated by biologically or evolutionally relevant situations. This was found in animal studies in which animals raised under strict laboratory conditions showed classical fear responses. It is a selective learning process: fear responses are taught much easier for biologically relevant stimuli (for example, a snake) than for irrelevant stimuli (for example, a bunch of flowers).

In summary, evolution has provided us with a number of reasonably automatic responses to stimuli that were dangerous or beneficial to our ancestors. These stimuli are still seen as important causes of our emotional reactions.

It is striking that between cultures - and also between species - the facial expressions that belong to certain basic emotions (such as anger, fear, happiness, sadness and disgust) are almost the same.

Emotions cause a series of processes to be initiated to solve an immediate and urgent problem. For example, fear causes the currently active processes to be interrupted, so that attention can quickly be focused on the potential danger.

How are emotions constructed in the social approach?

According to this approach, emotions are not biological phenomena at all, but socially constructed stories that give form and meaning to our social environment. Here, emotions are a learned product of culture, which help to define values ​​and different roles. Different cultures value emotions in different ways and that plays an important role in how people experience certain emotions. Instead of a universal set of emotions, every culture has a different set of emotions. This theory is confirmed by the fact that different languages ​​cause emotions to be expressed differently.

Different cultures look at the individual differently. The independent self is a form of individualism (common in Western cultures), where independence from others is seen as valuable. Behavior is seen as a product of internal factors such as personal motivation. The interdependent self, on the other hand, is more common in collectivist cultures (such as in Asia). The self-concept is derived from contacts with other people. Identity and status are a product of connections with important groups such as family, rather than personal performance. Behavior is therefore explained by external factors.

Research by Kitayama shows that people from cultures based on an independent self felt fewer negative emotions and they felt more positive emotions. This is consistent with Western culture, where people are encouraged to emphasize positive emotions and minimize negative emotions. People from cultures with an interdependent self-appear to experience about as many positive and negative emotions. This is consistent with the culture, in which maintaining harmony and balance is more important than experiencing positive feelings.

Dealing (coping) with the environment also differs per culture. In Western cultures, people are expected to impose their own will on the situation and try to change the environment. On the other hand, people in Eastern cultures are expected to adapt to difficult situations. This means that different emotions are valued very differently in both cultures. In Eastern cultures, for example, anger is seen as negative because it is a sign that the person is not adapting to the situation and thus disturbs the balance.

Some emotions are unique to a certain culture, for example the emotion amae in Japan. This emotion is a pleasant feeling that comes from a sense of togetherness, especially when it comes from complete acceptance by another person. This emotion is not often experienced in Western cultures, because it is contrary to the achievement of independence and autonomy. These unique emotions help people to deal efficiently with the demands made by their social responsibilities within a culture.

How are emotions the result of perception of bodily changes?

There are two empirical approaches to this trend. The first is the James Lange theory of emotions, an assumption that emotions arise as a result of our perception of a physical condition. So, when we see a bear, we experience a series of physical changes (activation of the autonomic nervous system) and the perception of these physical changes is the emotion.

This theory has recently been revised by Damasio, with his somatic-marker hypothesis . This states that emotional experiences are caused by the perception of changes in a large series of physical processes. Here, Damasio identifies more changes than James and Lange, including biochemical and hormonal indicators. He also found that an emotional state sometimes occurs when no changes in the body have been detected. So, we can experience an emotion without the actual physical reactions. In contrast to James and Lange, and according to Damasio, emotions do not necessarily have to be experienced consciously.

How are emotions the result of cognitive appraisals?

This trend states that a cognitive appraisal of the importance of an object is a good indicator of an emotional response. The central idea of ​​this theory is that the way we appraise and value the importance of events around us determines what emotion we feel. So, cognitive appraisals are evaluations of the relationships between the self and the environment. When a change in the environment is relevant to us, these appraisals result in specific actions and outcomes that are felt as emotions.

This theory can explain why different people can feel such different emotions at different times in response to the same event. So, it is not the situation itself that causes an emotion, but rather how the situation is appraised in relation to the person's current goals.

How are emotions seen in neuroscience and cognitive approaches?

The notions that cognition is important for emotions and that emotions are implemented in the brain are both ideas that have been around for a long time. Relatively recent improvements in brain imaging instruments have caused an explosion of research with human participants. Social and clinical psychologists have developed a series of behavioral tasks to investigate which cognitive processes influence affective responses and vice versa. So, it's time to bring cognitive and neuroscientific approaches to emotions closer together.

Is there an emotion center in the brain?

It used to be thought that the limbic system was responsible for all emotions. Later, this idea turned out to be incorrect. It appears that there is no part of the brain that can be fully responsible for emotions. Rather, different combinations of brain parts are responsible for processing different emotions.

Although there is no emotion center, there are brain structures that play an exceptionally important role in emotions. These structures are amazingly similar between humans and animals. An important difference, however, is encephalization, which means that people have a larger neocortex and frontal cortex than animals. This has caused an increase in cognition in evolution, which has had a major impact on emotional processing in the human brain. Furthermore, human emotion is largely influenced by the development of language. So, the core processes of emotion largely take place in subcortical structures, but with evolution the feelings have shifted to the cortical regions.

What is the triune brain theory?

The triune brain theory of James Papez is one of the first attempts to find out how emotion is implemented in the brain. Sensory information from both the external world and internal processes enter the brain through a number of sensory systems and then reach the thalamus. Here the information is split into three paths: the striatal region (movement), the neocortex (thoughts) and the limbic system (feelings).

How is the brain structured?

The human brain can be divided into three global regions: the cerebrum, the mesencefalon and the brainstem.

The cerebrum consists of the neocortex, recognizable by the wrinkled folds on the outside of the brain. Furthermore, the cerebrum is subdivided into four lobes: the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes.

The brain is divided into a left hemisphere and a right hemisphere. All important brain structures actually occur twice; once in every half of the brain. Neuroanatomy, the study of the structure of the brain and spinal cord, had developed a number of terms which will help us to understand what part of the brain we are dealing with. The direction that points forward is called anterior, rostral or frontal, the direction that points to the back of the head is called posterior or caudal . Up is called dorsal, and down (towards the ground) is called ventral . A medial point of view on the brain is when we look directly at the center of the brain, when it would be cut in half. A lateral viewpoint looks straight at the outside of the hemisphere; the side furthest away from the center.

What is the subject matter of emotion science?

Affective processes are important in regulating our relationships and social interactions and help us communicate effectively with each other. They are also important for staying healthy or for the development of disease. During the period of behaviorism, however, little research was done into emotion because there were no objective ways to measure emotion. Nowadays, much research is being done into emotion. A new field of research has even been developed: affective neuroscience. Most research is about the interaction between emotion and cognition. Emotions have an influence on cognitive processes such as selective attention, memory and decision making. Conversely, cognitions can also affect emotions.

What is the definition of emotions, moods and feelings?

• Emotions are relatively short episodes of coordinated brain, autonomic and behavioral changes that cause a reaction to an external or internal event that is important to the organism.
• Feelings are the subjective representation of emotions.
• Mood is a diffuse affective state with a lower intensity than emotion, but which lasts much longer.
• Attitudes are relatively long-lasting, affective beliefs, preferences and predisposition towards objects and people
• Affective style is a relatively stable aptitude that ensures that a person perceives and responds to people and objects in a certain way
• Temperament is a combination of affective styles that become visible early in life, and are therefore probably determined by genetic factors

What is the interaction between affect and cognition?

Cognition refers to the mental processes and assumes that there are internal, mental states (for example, beliefs, desires, and intentions) that can be interpreted in terms of information processing. A classic definition of cognition is: "all processes through which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered and used." Cognitive psychology has divided cognition into smaller parts, such as perception, attention, memory, decision making and problem solving.

Oatley and Jonson-Laird developed the cognitive theory of emotions, which suggests that a primary function of certain basic emotions is to coordinate a complex cognitive system. This system must be very flexible to adapt to a dynamic environment. Emotions have the function of reorganizing this system when necessary. This brings goals that are relevant to that specific emotion to the surface.

The way we process information can determine our general sense of happiness and well-being. A positive view of life often leads to being happy, a negative view of certain situations can lead to a downward spiral. Individual differences in information processing can therefore be indicative of serious affective disorders such as anxiety or depression.

What are the controversies in emotion science?

Emotions are investigated in many different ways. As a result, many different types of research questions are asked. Even more important are the different results that are found through different research techniques. A challenge from research into emotion is to integrate all outcomes in one way or another.

Many outcomes that seem inconsistent are the result of different researchers using the same terminology to study very different phenomena. By being careful with defining different terms and acknowledging that affect can be explored on many different levels, we will hopefully get closer to a general understanding of emotions and the role they play in our lives.