Deck 1: The Nature of Emotion

Question 1

Why did experimental psychologists ignore emotion as a research topic for much of the 20th century?

A) Emotion was not considered an important aspect of human experience.
B) No theories of emotion had been proposed prior to the late 20th
Century.
C) Emotion was considered a completely subjective, internal experience that could not be studied with objective measures.
D) Experimental psychologists did not begin studying emotion until the technology was developed for studying brain activity during emotional experiences.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

According to your textbook, are usually responses to important events in one's external environment, whereas are motivational states caused by the body's immediate, internal needs.

A) drives…appraisals
B) emotions…drives
C) emotions…appraisals
D) drives…emotions

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which classic emotion theorists proposed that emotional feelings result from awareness of changes in the body, such as increased heart rate and sweating?

A) William James and Carl Lange
B) Walter Cannon and Philip Bard
C) Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer
D) The James-Lange and Schachter-Singer theories would both agree with this proposal.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which classic emotion theorists proposed that emotional feelings are causally independent of bodily and behavioral changes, even though they may occur at the same time?

A) William James and Carl Lange
B) Walter Cannon and Philip Bard
C) Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer
D) The James-Lange and Cannon-Bard theories would both agree with this proposal.

Question 5

Which classic emotion theorists proposed that physiological arousal determines how strong an emotion feels, but that people decide which emotion they are feeling based on the information they have about their situation?

A) William James and Carl Lange
B) Walter Cannon and Philip Bard
C) Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer
D) The Cannon-Bard and Schachter-Singer theories would both agree with this proposal.

Question 6

Which classic emotion theorist first proposed that different "shades of emotion" might correspond to different profiles of changes in the body?

A) Stanley Schachter
B) Walter Cannon
C) Paul Ekman
D) William James

Question 7

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the results of the classic Schachter and Singer (1962) study of arousal and emotional feelings?

A) On average, participants in every experimental condition reported being more happy than angry when completing the questionnaire.
B) Among participants who received epinephrine, but were not told what symptoms to expect, those in the "happiness" condition reported higher ratios of happiness to anger than those in the "anger" condition.
C) Among participants who received epinephrine, and were told what symptoms to expect, those in the "happiness" condition reported lower ratios of happiness to anger than those in the "anger" condition.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 8

Which of the modern theories of emotion proposes that different categories of emotions, such as sadness, fear, and anger, evolved separately to solve specific adaptive problems?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Core affect/psychological construction theory
C) The component process model
D) All three of these theories would agree with this proposal.

Question 9

Which of the modern theories of emotion most implies the strongest correlation among different aspects of emotion, such as feelings, physiological changes, expressions, and so forth?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Core affect/psychological construction theory
C) The component process model
D) None of these theories would agree with this proposal.

Question 10

Which of the following theories of emotion proposes that the conceptual categories people use to describe their emotions, such as fear and anger, indicate real, naturally occurring categories of human psychological experience?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Core affect/psychological construction theory
C) The component process model
D) All three of these theories would agree with this proposal.

Question 11

The core affect and psychological construction theories of emotion most strongly emphasize the aspect of emotion, rather than the other aspects.

A) physiological change
B) cognitive change
C) subjective feeling
D) observable behavior

Question 12

Research suggests that the subjective experience of emotion is described well in terms of two intersecting dimensions, which are:

A) pleasantness and arousal.
B) positive affect and negative affect.
C) Neither of these sets of dimensions describes the subjective experience of emotion well.
D) Both (a) and (b) have been supported by research.

Question 13

In James Russell's circumplex model of emotion, core affect is defined by the intersecting dimensions of:

A) sadness and happiness
B) pleasantness and arousal
C) approach and avoidance
D) positive and negative activation

Question 14

Which of the modern theories of emotion most strongly proposes that emotion categories, such as fear and anger, are learned, culturally defined concepts rather than reflecting distinctions present in human nature?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Core affect/psychological construction theory
C) The component process model
D) None of these theories would agree with this proposal.

Question 15

Which classic theory of emotion is most strongly linked to the modern core affect and psychological construction theories?

A) James and Lange's theory
B) Cannon and Bard's theory
C) Schachter and Singer's theory
D) None of the above

Question 16

Which modern theory of emotion proposes that emotions emerge from our appraisal of stimuli or situations in terms of dimensions such as novelty, pleasantness, expectedness, certainty, goal conduciveness, and controllability?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Core affect/psychological construction theory
C) The component process model
D) None of these theories would agree with this proposal.

Question 17

Belinda usually drinks decaffeinated coffee, but this morning her local coffee shop accidentally gave her a latte with full caffeine. As she drives to work, Belinda is thinking about a meeting she will have with her supervisor later that day, to receive a performance review. Unaware of the error with her coffee, as Belinda feels her heart begin to pound, she thinks "wow, I must be more anxious about this meeting with my supervisor than I realized!" This example best illustrates which of the following theories of emotion?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Schachter and Singer's theory
C) The component process model
D) Cannon and Bard's theory

Question 18

Imagine that a researcher shows participants several film clips, each eliciting a different emotion. The researcher records several physiological variables throughout the study, such as change in heart rate, breathing, sweat on the skin, muscle tension, and blood pressure. Which of the theories below would predict that people show similar physiological patterns to all emotionally intense films?

A) William James and Carl Lange's theory
B) Basic/discrete emotions theory
C) Core affect/psychological construction theory
D) The component process model

Question 19

Two people, Jamie and Shawn, are waiting to board the same flight at the airport. Although it is 20 minutes before the flight is scheduled to leave, their plane is still not at the gate. Jamie is uncertain about whether the flight will be late, and feels anxious. Shawn receives a text message confirming that the flight will definitely be leaving an hour late. Although both are in the same situation, Shawn's certainty leads to anger, rather than anxiety. This example best illustrates the principles of which theory of emotion?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Schachter and Singer's theory
C) James and Lange's theory
D) The component process model

Question 20

A researcher asks participants to remember personal experiences with several, specific emotions while her brain is scanned in an MRI machine. Afterwards, the researcher compares patterns of activation throughout the brain, across different emotions. Which of the following theories of emotion would most strongly predict that each emotion is associated with a different, distinctive pattern of brain activity?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Schachter and Singer's theory
C) Core affect/psychological construction theory
D) None of the theories above would predict this

Question 21

Which of the following is the most accurate description of the experience sampling method in emotion research?

A) The participant is asked to describe three of the most emotionally intense experiences he has ever had.
B) The participant is asked to give examples of experiences she thinks will tend to elicit strong emotions.
C) The participant is asked to complete a single questionnaire asking about the kinds of emotions he experiences most often.
D) The participant receives a text a few times each day, over the course of several days, and each time she completes a questionnaire about her current emotions.

Question 22

A researcher is interested in using a questionnaire measure of dispositional pride - how often and intensely individuals feel this emotion. Which of the following would provide the most direct evidence that the measure is reliable?

A) If people complete the questionnaire several times, they get a similar score each time.
B) The items on the questionnaire seem like reasonable measures of pride.
C) Scores on the questionnaire are highly correlated with people's social status.
D) Researchers who study emotion trust that the questionnaire accurately measures pride.

Question 23

Which of the following would NOT be considered strong evidence of validity in a questionnaire measure of emotional intensity?

A) Researchers who study emotion agree that the items in the questionnaire do a good job of capturing the concept of emotional intensity.
B) Participants who complete the questionnaire multiple times get the same score each time.
C) Scores on the measure accurately predict how strongly people react to emotional experiences in their day-to-day lives.
D) All of the above would be considered strong evidence of validity.

Question 24

Which of the following will result in an increase in heart rate?

A) A strong experience of the emotion fear
B) Rapidly bouncing one's leg up and down
C) Sneezing
D) All of the above can cause an increase in heart rate.

Question 25

Molecules that are released into the bloodstream by one part of the body, and carry instructions through the blood to organs in different parts of the body, are called .

A) neurons
B) neurotransmitters
C) hormones
D) neuropeptides

Question 26

Which of the following is FALSE regarding electroencephalography (EEG)?

A) EEG is able to identify the location of brain activity with great precision.
B) EEG has very fine time precision, detecting brain activity within milliseconds.
C) EEG is measured through electrodes placed on the scalp.
D) EEG is relatively inexpensive, compared to other measures of brain activity.

Question 27

Which of the following is TRUE regarding functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)?

A) fMRI can detect changes in brain activity within a half-second or less.
B) fMRI measures changes in the amount of oxygen carried through blood vessels in the brain.
C) fMRI scans of brain activity can currently be used to determine how intensely someone feels an emotion.
D) All of the above are true regarding fMRI.

Question 28

In a study by Iris Mauss and colleagues (2005), participants viewed a film clip that went from funny to sad, and back to funny again. Participants' physiological responses were measured, their facial expressions were coded, and they used a rating dial to provide continuous self-report measures of their emotions throughout this film. Which of the following statements about the findings of this study is FALSE?

A) The researchers examined correlations between different aspects of emotion as they changed over time, within each participant.
B) The strongest correlations were between facial expressions and self-reports of emotion.
C) Correlations among the different aspects of emotion ranged from very small, around .10, to fairly strong, around .70.
D) None of the statements above is false; all are true.

Question 29

Which of the following is the best definition of emotional response coherence?

A) The extent to which different aspects of emotion are correlated with each other
B) The extent to which a person's emotional response makes sense, given the context she is in
C) The extent to which a person can explain his emotional responses in a coherent way
D) The extent to which the findings of studies of emotional responding are consistent, telling a coherent story

Question 30

Which of the modern theories of emotion would predict that emotional response coherence, as measured in the study by Iris Mauss and colleagues, should be very low?

A) Basic/discrete emotions theory
B) Psychological construction theory
C) The component process model
D) All of the theories above would predict very low emotional response coherence.

Question 31

Studies suggest that, when people experience unexplained physiological arousal, they tend to report feeling negative affect.

Question 32

In Schachter and Singer's study, participants who received epinephrine and were not told what symptoms to expect reported feeling more happy than angry after being exposed to the "happy" situation, but reported feeling more angry than happy after being exposed to the "angry" situation.

Question 33

According to researchers, there are exactly six basic emotions: fear, anger, sadness, disgust, happiness, and surprise.

Question 34

According to basic/discrete emotions theory, human facial expressions of emotions such as fear, anger, and disgust should look very similar throughout the world.

Question 35

Research shows that newborn infants display clearly distinct facial expressions of fear, anger, and sadness.

Question 36

The core affect and psychological construction theories of emotion emphasize the subjective feeling aspect of emotion more strongly than the physiological or behavioral aspects.

Question 37

Research evidence clearly indicates that, among the modern theories of emotion, the basic/discrete theory is correct.

Question 38

Research evidence clearly indicates that, among the modern theories of emotion, the core affect/psychological construction theory is correct.

Question 39

Research evidence clearly indicates that, among the modern theories of emotion, the component process model is correct.

Question 40

According to the component process model, there may be cross-culturally "modal" regions of the multi-dimensional appraisal space that correspond to basic/discrete emotions.

Question 41

According to your textbook, how do theorists commonly describe the difference between emotions and drives?

Question 42

The Schachter-Singer classic theory of emotion was developed in response to William James' previous theory. Schachter and Singer agreed with one of James' key claims about the relationship between emotional feelings and changes in the body, such as increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and sweating, but they disagreed with another of his claims. On what point did these researchers agree, and on what point did they disagree?

Question 43

Your textbook describes four criteria that have been proposed for deciding whether some emotion category qualifies as a "basic" emotion. What are those criteria?

Question 44

A researcher wants to study the effect of being in a good vs. grumpy mood on some aspect of decision-making. He goes to a public place, measures how each person is already feeling on a happy-to-grumpy scale, and then has them complete the decision-making task. What is the main problem with this study?

Question 45

Your textbook discusses several different aspects of emotion, such as eliciting situations, subjective feelings, physiological responses, and observable behaviors. In studying emotion, researchers must decide which aspect of emotion should be considered the "gold standard" - the criterion that defines whether or not an emotion has occurred, and if so, which emotion. What aspect of emotion do you think should be the gold standard? Explain your answer, providing examples of evidence presented in class to support your choice.

Question 46

The basic/discrete and psychological construction theories of emotion differ in their explanations of emotion categories, such as fear, anger, and sadness. According to basic/discrete emotion theory, where do these categories come from; why do people think of fear as different from anger, and so forth? According to psychological construction theory, where do these categories come from?

Question 47

Describe the strengths and limitations of each of the following ways of eliciting emotions in research: having participants remember personal experiences; putting participants in emotional situations (such as receiving a small gift); and asking participants to watch emotion-eliciting film-clips.

Question 48

Imagine that two people are participants in the same study. After reliving a personal experience of loss, each participant is asked to rate how strongly he feels sadness on a scale from 0 (not sad at all) to 10 (strongest experience of sadness ever felt). One participant rates is sadness as a "6," the other as a 9." In fact, the two participants feel equally sad. Explain how this might happen, based upon the limitations of self-report measures discussed in your textbook.