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Objective 3.1
To what extent do cognitive and
biological factors interact in
emotion ?
A Review of Emotion
What do we already know about emotion?
Emotion
 The word emotion includes a wide range of
observable behaviors, expressed feelings, and
changes in the body state.
 This diversity in intended meanings of the word
emotion make it hard to study without the
understanding of the biological and cognitive
factors that influence emotion.
Emotion (a biopsychsocial explanation)
(Branches)
(Gardener)
Thoughts and
Culture &
explanations
experience &
expression of emotion
(Root &Trunk)
Biological
capacity for emotion
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Think about these Issues
• Are emotions and cognitions two separate processes that
often conflict with each other, or are they inextricably
connected?
• Can we cognitively control our emotion?
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Emotion
Elements of Emotion
 1-Physiological changes in the face, brain, and body
 2-Cognitive processes such as interpretations of events
 3-Cultural influences that shape the experience and
expression of emotion
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Emotion

A biologically oriented psychologist defines emotion as
physiological behavior; body arousal, hormones, brain
activity and facial expressions are considered to be
associated with pleasant or unpleasant mental states of the
mind.

Conversely, cognitive psychologists focus on the mental
aspects of emotions and how the unconscious and
conscious mental processes influence emotional
experiences and actions.
We will look at the interaction between the two in order to
further understand emotions.
Theories of Emotion
Most theories of emotion assume that Emotions
are a mix of 1) physiological activation, 2)
expressive behaviors, and 3) conscious
experience.
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Controversy
1) Does physiological arousal precede or
follow your emotional experience?
2) Does cognition (thinking) precede emotion
(feeling)?
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Commonsense View
When you become happy, your heart starts
beating faster. First comes conscious
awareness, then comes physiological activity.
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Psychological View
 The interaction of cognitive and biological factors in
emotion (or, more colloquially, thinking and feeling) is
a key topic in emotional research.
 Although each of these areas has its own literature,
there is overwhelming evidence that cognition and
biological factors in emotion are intimately linked.
 For instance, thoughts can generate feelings and vice
versa, suggesting that cognition and emotion should
be viewed as components of an interacting system
rather than as discrete entities.
What is an example of a thought that can generate
feelings?
Embodied Emotion
We know that emotions involve bodily
responses. Some of these responses are very
noticeable (“perceived” butterflies in our
stomach when fear arises), but others are
more difficult to discern (neurons activated
in the brain).
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Emotions and Autonomic Nervous
System
During an emotional experience, our
autonomic nervous system mobilizes energy
in the body that arouses us.
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Physiological Similarities
Physiological responses related to the emotions of
fear, anger, love, and boredom are very similar. It
is often cognitive labels that distinguish these
emotions.
M. Grecco/ Stock Boston
Excitement and fear involve a similar
physiological arousal.
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Two Routes to Emotion
Zajonc and LeDoux (1984) emphasize that some
emotions are immediate, without conscious
appraisal. However, many researchers emphasize
that cognitive appraisal determines emotions.
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Two-Factor Theory
 Stanley Schachter and
Jerome Singer proposed
yet another theory
which suggests our
physiology and
cognitions create
emotions.
 Emotions have two
factors–physical arousal
and cognitive label.
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Revisiting the two-factor theory

Schachter & Singer (1962) The two-factor theory of emotion states
that emotion is a function of both cognitive factors and
physiological arousal.

According to the theory, "people search the immediate
environment for emotionally relevant cues to label and interpret
unexplained physiological arousal."
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Revisiting the two-factor theory

Schachter and Singer felt that physical arousal plays a primary
role in emotions. However, they suggested that this arousal was
the same for a wide variety of emotions, so physical arousal
alone could not be responsible for emotional responses.
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Examining one interaction of
cognition and physiology

We appraise the emotion-causing event while also evaluating
what is happening with our bodies. The key process in emotional
arousal is how we interpret feedback from our bodies in light of
our present situation.
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Revisiting the two-factor theory
Schachter and Singer’s Experiment
The aim of the experiment was to test the two-factor theory of
emotion to see if participants exhibited both cognitive and biological
reactions to a stimulus.
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Revisiting the two-factor theory
The participants were 184 male college students, taking classes in
introductory psychology at Minnesota University.
As soon as the participant arrived, they were taken to a private room
by the experimenter and told that the aim of the experiment was ‘to
look at the effects of vitamin injections on visual skills’, and was asked
if he would mind having an injection of ‘Suproxin’ (made up name).
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Revisiting the two-factor theory
 They were given an injection (by a doctor) of either adrenalin
(epinephrine) or a placebo, which was actually a saline solution,
which has no side effects at all.
 The effects of the adrenalin are an increase in blood pressure,
heart rate, blood sugar level, respiration rate, and blood flow to
the muscles and brain, with an accompanying decrease in blood
flow to the skin. This is often experienced as tremors and faster
breathing. The effects begin after three minutes and last from ten
minutes to an hour.
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Revisiting the two-factor theory

Participants were placed in a room with another participant who
was actually a confederate in the experiment.

The confederate either acted in one of two ways: euphoric or
angry. Results indicated that participants who had not been
informed about the effects of the injection were more likely to
feel either happier or angrier than those who had been informed.
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Revisiting the two factor theory
Schachter and Singer concluded that although individuals usually
are aware of the reason for their aroused emotional state, if the
reason is not apparent, they search their environment for clues to
help them interpret the emotion.
This research has led to numerous studies on cognitions’ role in
emotion.
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Revisiting the two factor theory
Although there are some problems with Schacter’s theory
(ecologically) nonetheless been an important influence on
theoretical accounts of emotion.
Lazarus has built on the work of Schachter and also proposed a
theory that demonstrates the interaction of cognitions and biology in
understanding emotions. He has however, emphasized the role of
cognitions or cognitive appraisals.
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Lazarus and Stress Appraisal
 According to Lazarus, what matters is not what
event occurs, but how we perceive and interpret
that event.
 The process of perceiving and interpreting the event
is called appraisal.
Lazarus’ appraisal theory

He argued that an emotion-provoking stimulus triggers a cognitive
appraisal, which is followed by the emotion and the physiological
arousal.

He suggested we initially make a brief analysis of a situation in
terms of whether or not it represents a threat ( we appraise a
situation). You can provide a personal example of this in your
essay

He assumed that cognitive appraisal of the situation determines
the level of physiological arousal and the specific type of emotion
to be experienced

Put simply you must first think about your situation before you can
experience an emotion.
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Lazarus’ appraisal theory
His theory focuses on the appraisal of the situation and he identified
three stages of appraisal
1. Primary appraisal (relevance) – in which we consider how the
situation affects our personal well-being or how threatening the
situation is.
2. Secondary appraisal (options) - we consider how we might cope
with the situation
3. Reappraisal ( ability to handle emotion) – Reappraisal refers to
whether the emotion/situation is changeable or manageable.
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Lazarus’ appraisal theory
The primacy of biology and cognition in emotion remains open to
debate. However what research does show is that there is a high level
of interaction between the two and that emotion is a combination of
both physiological arousal and cognition.
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Further research on emotion:
Theories of emotion:
http://www.parkerphd.com/PDFs/Chapt_09.pdf
Schacter and Singer’s experiment:
http://faculty.babson.edu/krollag/org_site/soc_psych/schachter_epin
eph.html
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Recall one of your most distinct and
vivid memories from your past. What
emotion is attached to this memory?
Objective 3.2
Evaluate one theory of how emotion
may affect one cognitive process?
How emotion affects our cognitive
processes
 Emotions play a vital role in all of our cognitive processes.
 More specifically, the effects of emotion directly influence
much of the way we perceive our everyday lives, affecting
how we categorize information, make decisions, evaluate risks
and solve problems. (Isen, 1999)
 Within emotional research literature, the term used for the way
that emotions affect cognition is “emotional affect“.
How emotion affects our
cognitive processes
 Emotional affect is the term for emotional reactions that have
a high probability of producing changes in awareness, facial
expression, body language, physiological function, and
cogntion.
 These reactions change the way we mentally process
information and perform tasks, depending on whether the
conditions are perceived as positive (e.g., supportive, caring,)
or negative (e.g., threatening, punishing).
 Commercials, for example, count on eliciting a particular
emotion in order to influence your memories, decision making,
and or perception.
How emotion affects our cognitive
processes
 Some approaches focus on basic emotions (Ekman, 1992)
(e.g., fear, anger), others on an extended set of emotions,
including moral ones (Haidt, 2003; Moll et al., 2005) (e.g.,
pride, envy).
 Because of the large scope of theories that suggest the
influence of emotion on cognitive processes (i.e. emotionaldecision making theory, state-dependent memories, etc.), we
will focus specifically focus on flashbulb memories.
Flashbulb Memories Explained
 Flashbulb memories are extremely vivid, long-lasting
memories for unexpected, emotionally laden, and
consequential events.
 The flashbulb memories are believed to be stored based on
an emotionally arousing significant event and retained for a
long period of time.�
 These memories are associated with important historical or
autobiographical events.� Such events could include, for
example, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin
Luther King Jr. or the attack on The Twin Towers.
 In essence, Flashbulb Memories are memories that are
affected by our emotional state.
Empirical Support
Brown and Kulik
 The term flashbulb memory was coined by Brown and Kulik in
1977 (although F.W. Colegrove studied the idea in 1899).
 Flashbulb memories are vivid recollections of the source of
news about an emotionally arousing event.
 Flashbulb memories were so named because it seems as if the
mind has "taken a picture" of the circumstances in which the
news was learned.
How emotion affects memory
 According to this early theory, two critical components for the
formation of Flash Bulb Memories are required: Surprise (not
anticipating the event) and Consequentiality (the level of
importance of the event).
 Brown and Kulik believed that significant events would create
accurate and consistent mental narratives of the event.
How emotion affects memory
 Furthermore, Brown and Kulik believed that high levels of these
variables would also result in frequent rehearsal, being either
covert (“always on the mind”) or overt (ex. talked about in
conversations with others).
 Rehearsal, which acts as a mediating process in the
development of a flashbulb account, creates stronger
associations and more elaborate accounts.
 Therefore, the flashbulb memory becomes more accessible
and vividly remembered for a long period of time
Flashbulb Memories
 Brown and Kulik suggested that each individual has a
physiological mechanism referred to as the “now print” that is
elicited for events that are highly consequential and
emotional to an individual.
 In short, they tested their hypothesis by comparing nonconsequential events against consequential events (which
were culturally dependent).
Flashbulb memory
 On the basis of their results, Brown and Kulik concluded
that the surprising and consequential nature of these
public events triggers a unique mechanism that
conserves what occurred at that instant, producing a
picture-like representation commonly called a
“flashbulb memory.”
 With their original theory, they argued that flashbulb
memories impact us both biologically and cognitively.
The interaction is what appears to make the memory
for vivid and perceivably more accurate.
Strengths of FBM
 Kulik and Brown’s research has laid a significant
foundation for a large body of research supporting
the existence of flashbulb theories.
 The Emotional-Integrative Model, for example is
highly supported and adds to the idea that
emotions play a significant role in memories.
(Although proponents of this theory point to
significant limitations in the original photographic
theory).
Strengths of FBM
 Finkenauer and colleagues’ developed the
Emotional-Integrative model of Flashbulb memories
as a method of distinguishing between different
components of emotions, something missing from
Photographic Model.
 Finkenauer argued that the manner in which
emotions affect FBM is more complex than that
proposed by previous models
Read more:
http://psicobiologia.campusnet.unito.it/didattica/att/4ab8.9646.file.
pdf
Strengths of FBM
The emotional-integrative model assumes
that original event is appraised in terms of
novelty and personal importance
(consequentiality).
The appraisal of novelty leads to a reaction
of surprise. The appraisal of personal
importance, together with the level of
surprise, determines the intensity of the
emotional feeling state.
Limitations of Photographic Theory
 In recent time, there has been much debate over
Brown and Kulik’s theory of Photographic Flashbulb
Memories.
 Criticisms (limitations)arise from their claim that
“these memories do not decay like memories for
other events: they are always there, and
unchanging (Wright, Gaskell, & O’Muircheartaigh
1998).”
 Can we say that our emotional memories lack the
unreliability of non-emotional memories?
Limitations of Photographic Theory
 Although there is little doubt that these
groundbreaking studies captured the subjective
qualities of memories for these historic events, the
claim that there is a unique mechanism underlying
memories for shocking public events has been
controversial.
 Brown and Kulik's initial suggestion relied on the
assumption that these vivid and detailed
recollections were unusually accurate. However,
these original studies were based on an analysis of
memories reported several years after the initiating
event
Limitations of Photographic Theory
 The memories were not compared with self-reports
collected shortly after the shocking events or with
memories for non-emotional events.
 When such comparisons were made by later
researchers, it was found that, like normal
memories, flashbulb memories are susceptible to
forgetting ,perhaps at the same rate as other
memories.
 Thus, flashbulb memories are assumingly more
vivid, but not any more reliable than “ordinary
memories”.
Empirical Evidence of FBM
Jennifer M. Talarico and David C. Rubin
 On September 12, 2001, 54 Duke students
recorded their memory of first hearing about
the terrorist attacks of September 11 and of a
recent everyday event.
 They were tested again either 1, 6, or 32 weeks
later. Consistency for the flashbulb and
everyday memories did not differ, in both cases
declining over time.
 Read more:
http://911memory.nyu.edu/abstracts/talarico_rubin.pdf
Empirical Evidence of FBM
 However, ratings of vividness, recollection, and
belief in the accuracy of memory declined only
for everyday memories.
 Initial visceral emotion ratings correlated with
later belief in accuracy, but not consistency, for
flashbulb memories.
Research Findings
 Flashbulb memories are not special in their
accuracy, as (Brown and Kulik initially previously
claimed), but only in their perceived accuracy.
Flashbulb memories
 Relatively little evidence for FMBs as a distinct
memory process
 They ‘feel’ accurate (we are confident in recall)
but are just as prone to forgetting & change as
other episodic memories
Flashbulb memory
 Platania & Hertkorn (1998) – recall for death of Princess
Diana
consistency
confidence
Diana
everyday
everyday
Diana
Imm.
10 weeks
Imm.
10 weeks
Accuracy was measured by comparing the consistency of an account
given immediately and those given later. Confidence was a self-rating
on a scale of 1 to 10.