Cognition and Emotion
- To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion (for example, two factor theory, arousal theory, Lazarus’ theory of appraisal)?
Emotion and a cognitive process: The flashbulb theory
The theory of flashbulb memory was suggested by Brown and Kulik (1977). It is a special kind of emotional memory, which refers to vivid and detailed memories of highly emotional events that appear to be recorded in the brain as though with the help of a camera’s flash.
Brown and Kulik found that people said that they had very clear memories of where they were, what they did, and what they felt when they first learnt about an important public occurrence such as assassination of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King or Robert Kennedy. The participants recalled the assassination of John Kennedy most vividly. In the study people were also asked if they had flashbulb memories of personal events. Of 80 participants, 73 said that they had flashbulb memories associated with a personal shock such as the sudden death of a close relative.
Brown and Kulik suggested that there may be a special neural mechanism which triggers and emotional arousal because the event is unexpected or very important. As a hypothesis, this also supported a modern neuroscience: emotional events are better remembered than less emotional events- perhaps because of the critical role of the amygdale.
Neisser (1982) stated that people do not always know that the event is important until later. He suggested that the memories are so vivid, because the event itself is rehearsed and reconsidered after the event. According to him, flashbulb memory may be narrative convention.
Neisser and Harsh (1992) investigated people’s memory accuracy of the incident 24 hours after the accident, and then again two years later. Post-event information had influenced their memories.
Talariko and Rubin (2003) found that an emotional intensity was often associated with greater memory confidence, but not with accuracy. It has been suggested that only post event information, but also current attitudes and emotions may influence people’s memory.
Breckler (1994) found that people’s current attitudes towards blood donation impacted their memories about how they felt when they donated blood in the past.
Holmberg and Holmes (1994) found that men whose marriages had become less happy over time tended to recall early interactions in the marriage as being more negative than they have originally reported.
The theory of flashbulb memory was suggested by Brown and Kulik (1977). It is a special kind of emotional memory, which refers to vivid and detailed memories of highly emotional events that appear to be recorded in the brain as though with the help of a camera’s flash.
Brown and Kulik found that people said that they had very clear memories of where they were, what they did, and what they felt when they first learnt about an important public occurrence such as assassination of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King or Robert Kennedy. The participants recalled the assassination of John Kennedy most vividly. In the study people were also asked if they had flashbulb memories of personal events. Of 80 participants, 73 said that they had flashbulb memories associated with a personal shock such as the sudden death of a close relative.
Brown and Kulik suggested that there may be a special neural mechanism which triggers and emotional arousal because the event is unexpected or very important. As a hypothesis, this also supported a modern neuroscience: emotional events are better remembered than less emotional events- perhaps because of the critical role of the amygdale.
Neisser (1982) stated that people do not always know that the event is important until later. He suggested that the memories are so vivid, because the event itself is rehearsed and reconsidered after the event. According to him, flashbulb memory may be narrative convention.
Neisser and Harsh (1992) investigated people’s memory accuracy of the incident 24 hours after the accident, and then again two years later. Post-event information had influenced their memories.
Talariko and Rubin (2003) found that an emotional intensity was often associated with greater memory confidence, but not with accuracy. It has been suggested that only post event information, but also current attitudes and emotions may influence people’s memory.
Breckler (1994) found that people’s current attitudes towards blood donation impacted their memories about how they felt when they donated blood in the past.
Holmberg and Holmes (1994) found that men whose marriages had become less happy over time tended to recall early interactions in the marriage as being more negative than they have originally reported.
- Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process (for example, state-dependent memory, flashbulb memory, affective filters).
According to Lazarus, appraisals are evaluations related to how the situation will impact on one’s personal well-being. Positive emotions emerge if the appraisal assesses potential benefit; negative emotions emerge if the appraisal assesses potential harm.
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) suggested that an individual’s experience of stress can be moderated by a number of factors, which include appraisal of threat and appraisal of one’s own resources for dealing with stress. They found that people use different strategies in stressful situations.
1. Problem-focused coping, which aimed to change the problematic situation that causes emotional stress.
2. Emotion-focused coping, where the purpose is to handle the emotions rather than changing the problematic situation.
Name: Lazarus’ appraisal theory
Researcher: Speisman et al.
Date: 1964
Definition: Lazarus claimed that cognitive appraisal is an important part of people’s reaction to emotional stress and that stress experiences are not only physiological.
Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate if people’s emotional reaction to the unpleasant film could be manipulated.
Method: A film about an initiation ceremony involving unpleasant genital surgery was shown to participants with three different soundtracks. Condition one, the trauma condition, included a soundtrack, which emphasized the pain and mutilation. In the second condition, the denial condition, the soundtrack showed the participants as willing and happy. In condition three, the intellectualization condition, the soundtrack gave the anthropological interpretation of the ceremony.
Results: The results showed that participants reacted more emotionally to the trauma condition.
Conclusion: This seems to support Lazarus’s theory. It is not the events themselves that elicit emotional stress, but rather the individual’s interpretation or appraisal of those events.
Evaluation: It was a laboratory study with manipulation of variables, which always raises the issue of artificiality. There were also ethical issues involved here, because the researchers deliberately used deception and put participants in unpleasant situations. Cognitive appraisal then seems to influence the emotional reaction so this study could then illustrate how cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion.
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) suggested that an individual’s experience of stress can be moderated by a number of factors, which include appraisal of threat and appraisal of one’s own resources for dealing with stress. They found that people use different strategies in stressful situations.
1. Problem-focused coping, which aimed to change the problematic situation that causes emotional stress.
2. Emotion-focused coping, where the purpose is to handle the emotions rather than changing the problematic situation.
Name: Lazarus’ appraisal theory
Researcher: Speisman et al.
Date: 1964
Definition: Lazarus claimed that cognitive appraisal is an important part of people’s reaction to emotional stress and that stress experiences are not only physiological.
Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate if people’s emotional reaction to the unpleasant film could be manipulated.
Method: A film about an initiation ceremony involving unpleasant genital surgery was shown to participants with three different soundtracks. Condition one, the trauma condition, included a soundtrack, which emphasized the pain and mutilation. In the second condition, the denial condition, the soundtrack showed the participants as willing and happy. In condition three, the intellectualization condition, the soundtrack gave the anthropological interpretation of the ceremony.
Results: The results showed that participants reacted more emotionally to the trauma condition.
Conclusion: This seems to support Lazarus’s theory. It is not the events themselves that elicit emotional stress, but rather the individual’s interpretation or appraisal of those events.
Evaluation: It was a laboratory study with manipulation of variables, which always raises the issue of artificiality. There were also ethical issues involved here, because the researchers deliberately used deception and put participants in unpleasant situations. Cognitive appraisal then seems to influence the emotional reaction so this study could then illustrate how cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion.