TO WHAT EXTENT DO COGNITIVE AND
BIOLOGICAL FACTORS INTERACT IN
EMOTION?
By: John Shammi 13 IB 2!
WHAT IS EMOTION?
 Emotion can be defined as the body’s adaptive
response to a particular situation.
TO WHAT EXTENT
DO COGNITIVE AND
BIOLOGICAL FACTORS INTERACT IN
EMOTION?
1.
2.
Two-Factor Theory
Appraisal Theory
TWO-FACTOR THEORY OF EMOTION (TFT)
SCHACHTER AND SINGER (1962)
Emotion depends on two factors…
1. Physiological arousal
2. Cognitive interpretation of that
arousal (our mind labels it).
EXAMPLE….

If a women finds herself near an angry mob of people when she is
physiologically aroused, she might label that arousal “anger.” On the
other hand, if she experiences the same pattern of physiological arousal
at a music concert, she might label the arousal “excitement.”
SCHACHTER AND SINGER (1962)

While the strength of the
physiological arousal determines
the intensity of the emotional
experience, its interpretation
determines which particular
emotion is experienced.
APPRAISAL THEORY OF EMOTION
LAZARUS 1975
A theory of emotion which implicates
that people's personal interpretations
of an event determining their
emotional reaction.
 Event ==> thinking ==> Simultaneous
arousal and emotion.
 So the way you interpret a situation
(cognitive) can effect your
physiological response (biology)

APPRAISAL THEORY OF EMOTION
LAZARUS 1975
Two ways that we think about it….
1.
Primary Appraisal: we consider
how the situation affects our
personal well-being.
2.
Secondary Appraisal: we
consider how we might cope
with the situation (or who is to
blame)
EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATION OF EMOTIONS
THROUGH COGNITIVE APPRAISAL
SPEISMAN ET AL (1964)
Aim
 To investigate the extent in which
manipulation of cognitive appraisal
could influence emotional
experience.
 In other words, if they change the
way you look at an experience, will
that change your emotion towards
it.
SPEISMAN ET AL (1964)
Procedure:
 In this laboratory experiment,
participants saw anxiety
provoking films.
 Basically, a film of an aborigine
initiation ceremony where
adolescent boys were subjected
to unpleasant genital cutting.
SPEISMAN ET AL (1964)
The film was shown with three
different soundtracks intended to
manipulate emotional reactions.
 The “trauma condition” has a
soundtrack with emphasis on
mutilation and pain.
 The “intellectual” condition had a
soundtrack that gave an
anthropological interpretation of
the initiation ceremony.

SPEISMAN ET AL (1964)
The “denial condition” showed
adolescents as being willing and
happy in the ceremony.
 During each viewing of the film
various objective physiological
measures were taken, such as heart
rate and galvanic skin response.

SPEISMAN ET AL (1964)
Results:
• Participants in the “trauma
condition” showed much
higher physiological
measures of stress than
participants in the other two
conditions.
• Results support the appraisal
theory that the manipulation
of the participants cognitive
appraisal did have a
significant impact.
SPEISMAN ET AL (1964)
Evaluation:
 In lab…so it was controlled.
 Lacks ecological validity.
 Research on the role of the
appraisal in real life emotional
events tends to find the same
relationship as laboratory
research.
WHAT IS STRESS?



Stress is a biological and psychological response
experienced on encountering a threat that we feel
we do not have the resources to deal with. A
stressor is the stimulus (or threat) that
causes stress, e.g. exam, divorce, loss of job.
Stress can be both positive and negative
Stress is a result of both inside the body and
outside the body factors
FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE IN HUMANS
The fight or flight response is the
automatic defensive system that
is built into your body that is
triggered when your body senses
danger.
 The purpose of the fight or flight
response is to either help you
fight an enemy or to flee away
and save yourself.

NON-PHYSICAL THREATS CAN CREATE
MODERATE FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSES
Threats in form of:
 Emotional
 Intellectual
 Social/Value system
__________________
Stimulated by:
 Actual events
 Thoughts
 Imagination
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE FIGHT OR
FLIGHT RESPONSE IS TRIGGERED?
THE FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE IS AN
EMERGENCY STATE


Although the fight and flight
response is an emergency state that
your body wasn't designed to work
under for long periods of time.
Constantly triggering the fight and
flight response could cause some
serious health problems. Eg. High
blood pressure.
DOWN SIDE OF FLIGHT OR FIGHT
RESPONSE

The major problem arises when this
response is incorrectly triggered when
you perceive a situation as a threat
one while its not.
EXAMPLE:

For example; if your fight or flight
response was triggered as a
result of seeing a spider, or when
you hear some noise while being
at a dark place or just before you
make a presentation then you
must learn how to be more in
control of your thoughts and
emotions.