About what are we talking, if
we talk about emotions?
Lecture 1: Emotion Theories
and Concepts
Harald C. Traue
Graduate School of the SFB/TR 62 Companion Technologies
University of Ulm, June 2009
About what are we talking, if we talk about emotions?
Overview
z Lecture 1: Emotion Theories and Concepts
z Lecture 2: Models of Emotion
z Lecture 3: Methods of Emotion Elicitation and Assessment
2
The topic emotion is …
… a riddle (Sieb) wrapped in a mystery
inside an enigma.
Churchill once said it once of Russia
3
Why than do we need to talk about emotions?
z Companions should be enabled to
z Identify and process emotional cognitions, intensions and behaviors of human users
z in order to regulate the HCI and provide adaptative functioning of the system
z There is no useful common sense for emotional phenomenons,
everyday concepts of ‘emotion’ mixe up
z
z
z
z
Motivations,
Attitudes,
Moods,
and other mental states/conditions like intelligence, personality etc
z There is no comprehensive scientific emotion theory, but many theories (or
concepts) which focus on different emotion components
z
z
z
z
z
z
Subjective feelings
Language and semantic,
Neurobiological, endocrine and psychophysiological activity
Expression and Interaction
Cultural influences
etc., etc.
4
Good news: We are not the first struggling with emotions!
z Stoicism
z Emotion is a judgment that is wrong, untrustworthy and incorrect
z Minimize confusion by cultivating more detached states.
z Plato
z emotions are dangerous for achieving true knowledge because they can overcome and
subvert reason and the intellect
z Emotive and cognitive aspects of human understanding were seen as in opposition
z Aristotle
z Emotion is part of moral/character only when in balance.
z Descartes
z Located emotion in the soul, the seat of consciousness
z Called passions because the soul is passive in relation to them
z “species of perception” – perceptions of the soul, caused/changed by movement of the
spirits
z Distinguished from desires, which are caused by the soul itself.
z A motivator to guide in the face of shifting thoughts.
z Activity of the body that affects the soul.
z Kant
z A moral decision cannot be made on emotion.
5
We are not the first struggling with emotions (part 2)!
z Hume
z Defines emotions as “impressions” which is his term for conscious feelings.
z Although reason can judge notions, ideas and matters of fact, the most
noticeable results never persuade us to action as much as the slightest
emotion or feeling can do.
z Contemoporary philosophers (e.g. Sloman)
z Having motives, having preferences, having values, having
attitudes, all involve control information – but there’s no reason to
regard them all as ‘emotions’.
z Design-oriented stance, which means to construct an intelligent
system with all the components it needs to survive
z Some of these components are what he calls “control structures”
z These control structures serve to interrupt an ongoing task and to
concentrate the system’s attention on urgent business
See Robert C. Solomon (2006) The philosophy of Emotions. In The
Handbook of Emotions.
6
Roots of psychological emotion theories
z More than a century now psychologists have busied themselves
with emotions
z But the topic has never been as prominent as personality,
cognition or learning
z What are the reasons?
The nature of emotions is first of all subjective
Emotions have different timely processes
Emotions are multi-dimensional
New experimental assessment methods have been developed only
recently
z The main focus on emotions was clinical (anxiety, aggression etc.)
z
z
z
z
See: Traue (1998) Emotion und Gesundheit, Heidelberg: Spektrum
7
Wishful thinking: A general definition of emotion
………”Everyone knows what an emotion is, until asked to give a
definition”…………
Beverly Fehr and James Russell
8
Five classical perspectives on emotion
z Darwinian perspective
z Jamesian perspective
z Cognitive perspective
z Social construction perspective
z Neurobiological perspective
z
(clinical perspective)
See: Traue, H.C. und Kessler, H. (2003) Psychologische Emotionskonzepte. In A. Stephan und H. Walter
(Hrsg.) Natur und Theorie der Emotion. Paderborn: mentis Verlag
9
The Darwinian perspective
z The Darwinian perspective views emotions as
z Evolved and innate phenomena
z with an important survival function
z Emotions are basic for communication
z Recognition and interpretation of
emotional information from the outside (empathy)
z Recognition and interpretation of
inner states (self-awareness, intero- and viscerception
z Approach & avoidance behaviours
z Self-Protection and territory defense
z Darwinians try to pinpoint universal emotions and their expressions and
recognition
z Prominent names in this field are William McDougall, Robert Plutchik,
Paul Ekman, Carroll Izard, Sylvan Tompkins
10
The Jamesian perspective
William James
z No emotions without bodily changes
z bodily changes always come first
z An emotion-provoking stimulus directly produces physiological
changes and behavior, and then these events produce the feeling of
an emotion.
Fear
z Contemporarily Antonio Damasio (bodily markers) can be classified
under this category, also Fahrenberg, Leventhal, Stemmler etc
11
The cognitive perspective
z The cognitive perspective assumes that thought and emotion are
inseparable
z Emotions are cognitive information processing
z All emotions are seen as the product of a cognitive appraisal
process
z Cognitive Neurosciences try to identify the emotion processing
neuronal matrix
z In the time being well-known researchers are: Lazarus, Frijda,
Scherer, Roseman, Roth, contemporary and influential in
computer sciences: Ortony, Clore and Collins
12
The social-constructivist perspective
z The Social-constructivist perspective views emotions as cultural
products that owe their meaning and coherence to learned social
rules
z Emotions are not just remnants of our phylogenetic past, nor
can they be explained in strictly physiological terms.
z They are social constructions,
z and they can be fully understood only on a social level of
analysis"
(see e.g. Averill, 1980)
13
The neurobiological Perspective
z Emotion matrix (limbic system and frontal cortex)
z Amygdala
z Orbitofrontal Cortex
z Anterior Cingulate Cortex
z Insula
W. Cannon
14
P. Bard
z Different roles of brain areas – but nothing in the brain acts in isolation
z Originally Cannon-Bard: An emotion-provoking stimulus activates limbic
brain centers, which simultaneously sends messages to the cortex,
producing the feeling of an emotion, to the viscera, producing arousal,
and to the skeletal muscles, producing behavior.
Fear
First conclusion: Human emotions are a combination
of….
z Awareness and interpretations of internal states and/or
exteroreceptive stimuli (emotion recognition and appraisal)
z Cognitions (imaginations, ideas, schemata for evaluation, plans
for behavior, linguistic representation)
z Overt expressive behavior (facial, gestures and body
movements)
z Psychobiological activity (neuronal, endocrine, immunological)
z Subjective experience or feelings (gestalt processing of the
above mentioned components)
z Not in emotional event all components are involved
15
Second conclusion: Functions of human emotions
z They give personal meaning to external stimuli and
internal states: self- and other-oriented
empathy.
z Communication of these meanings between
communication partners.
z Emotions are regulation processes between
stimulation and behavior (evolutionary
transformation of hard-wired instincts into
regulated behavior)
z Emotions support learning by either stimulation
and/or consequences
16
Third conclusion: Emotions are state and/or processes
Situation →
appraisal →
context evaluation →
action readiness →
physiological change, expression,
action
(See Nico Frijda (1986):
17
The emotion perspectives in more detail
z Terminology
z Details of the concepts
z Combining theoretical concepts (hybrids)
z Modells (lecture 2)
z Methods of measurement and assessment
18
Terminology
19
z affect = strong, mainly uncontrollable emotions (legal aspect,
short duration)
z mood = emotinal coloring of thinking, subjective experiences,
behavior and cognitions (long duration up to weeks)
z feelings = mainly the subjective awareness or experience of
emotions
z Emotion
z overarching concept
z or discrete categories of emotional behavior underlying emotion
regulation processes (time domain seconds to minutes)
More details on the five perspectives
20
Firstly The Darwinian (evolutionary) perspective
z Main interest: Primary emotions
z Main assumption
z
z
z
z
Universal expressive behavior
Human and animal similarities
General localization in the brain
Abilities of Emotion Regulation
z Main focus
z Emotion Expression
z Emotion Recognition
z Main function: Emotion Communication
21
Simplified model of emotion communication
Individual A
Individual B
Meaning
Encoding
Perception/
Recognition
Expression
Facial Expessions
Perception/
Recognition
Decoding
Meaning
Expression
other channels
22
Emotions are distinctive states in humans
(distinctive approach from P. Ekman and others)
z Emotions are distinct units:
z fear, anger, happiness, disgust/contempt, sadness, surprise
z Every unit contains of
z
z
z
z
Subjective feeling
Facial expression (well defined muscle action units e.g. byFACS
Body reaction pattern (related with arousal theory)
A label in each language (related with cognitive theory)
z Emotions are innate
z
z
z
z
z
Expressiions in newborn
Cultural universal interpretation
Expression in blind born humans
Different neuronal pathways for spontaneous and voluntary expression
however, their expressions and even subjective feelings may be modified by cultural
impact.
23
The six universal basic facial expressions (Ekman and
others)
24
Smiling can mask other emotions (display rules):
A) Mask anger
B) Overly polite
C) Soften criticism
D) Reluctant compliance
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
…. mixed emotions
25
The 10 Basic Emotions (accord. Izard 1993)
z Joy
z Surprise
z Anger
z Contempt
z Shame
z Interest – Excitement
z Sadness
z Disgust
z Fear
z Guilt
How often in your daily life do you
[mothers in the first 3 years after
childbirth] feel:
26
Male and female problems…
27
Change of perspective from emotional expression to emotion
recognition
28
Emotion recognition is a central aspect/dimension of:
General:
Empathy (human and technical)
Emotional intelligence
Emotion regulation
and other concepts like personality
Clinical:
Alexithymia
and other concepts like mental symptoms
29
Statistics of human emotion recognition (FEEL-Scores)
(controls)
Min
Max
Mean
SD
Percent
correct
406
22
42
34.34
3.99
81.76%
Anxiety
406
0
7
4.71
1.73
67.29%
Anger
406
2
7
6.39
.96
91.29%
Disgust
406
0
7
5.30
1.62
75.71%
Happiness
406
3
7
6.71
.59
95.86%
Sadness
406
0
7
5.39
1.60
77.00%
Surprise
406
2
7
5.84
1.19
83.43%
Emotion
FEEL-Score
(total)
N
30
FEEL-Scores
(for emotion)
65 70 75 80 85 90
Reaction time
[ms]
377
780
5949
1970
758
Kessler, H., Bayerl, P., Deighton, R.M. & Traue, H.C. (2002), Traue et al, in preparation
It is not always the way it should be:
Emotion recognition (FEEL) and self-report data
zEmotion regulation
zAlexithymia
zAmbivalence over emotional
expressiveness
zPhysical symptoms (somatization)
zLevel of emotional awareness
See Kessler H., Kammerer M., Hoffmann H. & Traue H.C. (2008)
"Emotionserkennung und Alexithymie: Korrelationen zwischen Performanz und Selbstkonzept„, PPmP
31
Cross-Correlation Table (N=119, control sample)
32
Emotion
1. FEELScore (total)
2. TAS
-.06
3. description
.05
.76
4. identification
.07
.71
.45
5. external
style
-.22
.58
.15
.00
6. AEQ
.12
.51
.56
.47
.03
7. reappraisal
.02
-.07
.03
.02
.16
8. suppression
.04
.45
.23
.53
.20
9. LEAS
.13
-.20
10. SCL
.10
.37
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
.03
.10
-.14
.52
.03
.18
9
ERQ
.29
.54
-.08
.37
.17
Recognition of color, physiognomy and facial emotion
expression: Fusiform Gyrus
The fusiform gyrus of the human brain holds the functional regions
responsible for color (blue), identification of a face (green) and recognition
of facial expression (red).
Damage to any of these areas leads to a deficit specific for that mode of
visual function.
33
Emotion regulation: Features of according
to Gross (2003):
z Individual differences in situation selection.
z Situation modification.
z Attentional deployment.
z Meaning construal.
z Emotion expression modulation.
e.g. Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) with Reappraisal and
Suppression, John & Gross, 2003
34
Antecedent Emotion Regulation
35
z
Situation Selection.
Chose situations that elicit or do not elicit certain emotions.
- Avoid threatening situations (phobia)
- Seek other (more positive) stimulating situations
z
Situation Modification.
Change situations so that they are likely to elicit a particular emotion.
- Study for exams to reduce anxiety.
- Make a joke to release tension in a social situation.
z
Cognitive change.
Change the meaning of a stimulus.
- Downplay importance after loss or rejection.
- See the positive in a negative.
z Attention deployment.
Attend to emotional or non-emotional aspects of the situation.
Brain activity and emotion regulation
Excample
Reappraisal (after
training) versus attention
Successful coping with
intensive negative stimuli
correlates with activity of
anterior cingulus cortex
(r= .805).
Ochsner et al Journal of Cognitive
Neuroscience, 14:8, 1219, 2002
36
More on Emotion Regulation next lectures
37
z Model
z Assessment
z Tests
z Imaging (experiments)
Second: James-Lange theory and its development
z "My theory ... is that the bodily changes follow directly the perception of
the exciting fact, and that our feeling of the same changes as they
occur is the emotion.”
z Decades of arousal measurement (stress theory, sexuality, emotions
etc)
z Sympathetic or parasympathetic NS activated
z Epinephrine and Norepinephrine are released
z EDA, Heart rate, Blood pressure, and Blood sugar rise, preparing us for fight
or flight
z Phonetic parameters
z Most influential development
z by combination with cognitive processes making a simple theory
much more complicated
z More specific by facial feedback theory (not ANS, but motor nervous
system)
38
Psychphysiological response pattern (HR, Finger temp., SCL
and Muscle Act.in primary emotions
Levenson et al. 1993
39
Most studies: Pos./neg. comparison of diverse physiological
parameters
40
Related to James-Lange are dimensional concepts of emotions:
Emotion dimensions
41
z Emotions are not distinctive units (categories)
z Emotions are a locations in in more-dimensional space (e.g.
PAD, Russell, 1983)
z Axis could be
z Valence (mostly Pleasure):
z From positiv via neutral to negativ
z Arousal:
z From calm/relaxed to excited
z Dominance:
z Being dominated-dominating
z Or defined as approach/withdrawal
P
Various circumplex models
42
IAPS Stimuli (more on that in lecture 3)
43
Correlations between facial muscle activity and Pleasure dimension
From Lang PJ et al: Looking at pictures: Affective, facial, visceral and behavioral reactions.
Psychophysiology 30 (1993)
44
Thirdly: The cognitive perspective
z The cognitive perspective assumes that thought and emotion are
inseparable
z All emotions are seen as the product of a cognitive appraisal
process
z Involved cognitive processes or phenomenon:
z
z
z
z
z
Attention
Memory
Semantics of Emotions
Reasoning
Decision making
45
Arousal and Valence ratings of words
Posner et al (2009) The Neurophysiological Bases of Emotion.
Hum Brain Mapp. 30(3): 883–895
46
Dimensions the cognitive cause (or appraisal) theory
Emotionally
Significant
object
Perception
of the object
Appraisal
judgment
z Primary appraisals
z Something is emotionally significant
z Goal relevance
z Goal congruence
z Type of ego-involvement
z Secondary appraisals
z Pertains to resources one has available for coping
z Coping potential
z Future expectancy
Emotional
state
47
Hybrid theories: Extensions and combinations of Arousaland Cognitive Theories
Types
z Schachter-Singer theory
z Facial Feedback Theory
z Somatic Feeling Theory
48
1. Schachter-Singer theory
49
z Experience of emotion depends on 2 factors:
z physiological arousal of the autonomic nervous system (intensity)
z cognitive appraisal of the physiological arousal (valence)
z If that explanation is non emotive then one will not experience an
emotion
The emotion
Emotionally
Significant
event
Recognition
of the event/
situation
Arousal
Evaluation
Cognitive
label
Schachter & Singer: Epinephrine injection, informed vs. noninformed subject and accomplice behavior
50
Appraisals that Generate Anger
z Goal relevance: relevant
z Goal congruence: incongruent
z Ego involvement: self-esteem, social-esteem, or identity
z Blame or credit: some is to blame
z Coping potential: attack is viable
z Future expectancy: goal congruence predicted to increase by
attack.
51
2. Facial Feedback Theory
z Interoception of
z Electromyographic facial muscle activity
z Joint receptors
z Soft tissue receptors
z Activation of conditioned cognitive schemata
z Interpretation of emotional inner states
52
3. Somatic Feeling Theory (Damasio)
z Rooted in work by William James
z Emotions are cognitive representations of body states that are
part of a homeostatic mechanism by which the internal milieu is
monitored and controlled, and by which this internal milieu
influences behavior of the whole organism.
z Emotions can register changes in the levels of transmitters and
physiological changes
z But: Emotional response can also occur in the absence of bodily
changes when brain centers ordinarily associated with bodily
change are active (unconcious)
53
Fifth: Details of the neurobiological
Perspective
z Rooted in Cannon-Bard
z Extended in the last decades by leDoux, Damasio and others
z Much research on the nuronal emotion matrix (limbic system and frontal cortex)
z Amygdala
z Orbitofrontal Cortex
z Anterior Cingulate Cortex
z Insula
54
A historical case: Phineas Gages Lesion in the PFC
55
1848 in Cavendish, Vermont, Rutland & Burlington Railroad;
Occupation: Forman of construction crew that blasts rock;
Accident: Pre-mature explosion driving iron rod through Cage’s
pre-frontal cortex (PFC)
The clinical case of phinea’s cage
z Intact functions
z long term memory, language, visual perception, IQ,
consciousness cognitions
z Impairment: emotion control
z impatient, rude, outbursts of anger and rage, not able to follow
consistent course of action
56
Experimental studies: Symptoms of PFC lesions
Pre-frontal patients do no learn to anticipate poor risky
outcomes, make risky choices, loose and are upset about it.
Normals learn to make less risky choices.
57
Symptoms of PFC lesions (cont.)
Patients with pre-frontal
lesions have a problem
in perceiving the
emotional content of
situations. For example,
their galvanic skin
response to emotionally
upsetting pictures does
not go up as it does in
control patients, even
though they can describe
the cognitive content of
the pictures (e.g.,
“disgusting image of
a mutilated body”)
58
Evidence for distinct affect programs
z Imaging support distinct emotions for
z
z
z
z
z
Anxiety
Disgust
Anger
Happiness
Sadness
z Amygdala and anxiety processing
z Two pathway processing
59
Two pathways model to the amygdala
(accord. to Le Doux)
60
Affect Program
z Disgust: mainly Insula
z Also taste
61
Affect Program
z anger: lateral orbitofrontal Cortex OFC
60% overlap
with anxiety!
OFC lesions Æ
aggressiveness
62
The lateralization hypothesis: Left-right
hemispheric differences in emotion
63
z LH
z
z
z
z
z RH
z
z
z
z
Approach
Positive emotions
lesion: depression
EEG: more active with positive emotion video clips (e.g. puppy playing with
flowers)
Avoidance
negative emotions
lesion: manic, inappropriate persistence
EEG: more active with negative emotion video clips
(e.g., a leg being amputated)
z Emotion is not just a subcortical, limbic, primitive reaction
A general mechanism of self-regulation?
Dorsal Frontal
L
64
Orbitofrontal
Placebo
W Wager 2004, antic.
G Wager 2004, pain
I Lieberman 2004
V Petrovic 2002
T Petrovic 2005
M Mayberg 2002
R
Lateral
Frontal
L
Medial
Frontal
R
Opioid increases
F Firestone 1996
A Adler 1997
N Wagner 2001
P Petrovic 2002
Emotion regulation
L Levesque 2003
C Ochsner 2002
O Ochsner 2004
H Phan 2004
B Bishop 2004
Last message for today: CNS Activation (left side) and Inhibition (right
side) of romantic love in contrast to simple liking
(from Bartels & Zeki, 2000)
65
More next
z Lecture 2: Models of Emotion
z Experimental models
z Linguistic models
z Computer models
z Lecture 3: Methods of Emotion Elicitation and Assessment
z Experimental stimulation
z Measurement
z Content analysis (e.g. LEAS)
z Scales
z Psychophysiology
z Behavioral responses (e.g. eye tracking, choice)
z Imaging
66