Study Guide for PSB2000 Exam 5 It is always advisable to know the key terms introduced in each section However the study hints listed here by chapter will also help you focus on other important concepts for the exam Chapter 12 1 12 2 Study Hints Emotion and Aggression 1 What are 3 aspects of an emotional state Cognition this is dangerous situation Feelings I feel frightened Actions run for the nearest exit 2 What is the James Lange theory of emotion Know the order of the 3 aspects of an emotional state according to this theory Autonomic nervous system sympathetic vs parasympathetic Sympathetic prepares body for brief vigorous flight or fight responses Parasympathetic increases digestion and other processes that save energy and prepare for later events James Lange Theory the autonomic arousal and skeletal actions come first What we experience as an emotion is the label we give to our responses I am afraid because I run away I am angry because I attack Common sense view Frightened situation FEAR running away increased heart rate etc James Lange Theory Frightened situation running away increased heart rate etc FEAR How would I know to run before I was scared The cognitive aspect comes first you appraise something as good bad frightening or whatever Ordinarily you make that appraisal within a split second Your appraisal of the situation leads to an appropriate action such as running away attacking or sitting motionless with your heart racing o When William James had said that arousal and actions lead to emotions what he meant was that feeling aspect of an emotion That is EVENT APPRAISAL cognitive aspect ACTION the behavioral aspect including physiology EMOTIONAL FEELING the feeling aspect o o o o o o o 3 What are some brain areas involved in emotion What are some examples of the right hemisphere being more responsive to emotional stimuli How is the prefrontal cortex involved in emotion The limbic system the forebrain areas surrounding the thalamus has been regarded as critical for emotion The insular cortex is strongly activated if you see a disgusting picture also to frightened ones Activity of the left hemisphere especially its frontal and temporal lobes relates to what Jeffrey Gray called the behavioral activation system BAS marked by low to moderate autonomic arousal and a tendency to approach which could characterize either happiness or anger Increased activity of the frontal and temporal lobes of the right hemisphere is associated with the behavioral inhibition system BIS which increases attention and arousal inhibits action and stimulates emotions such as fear and disgust On the average people with greater activity in the frontal cortex of the left hemisphere tend to be happier more outgoing and more fun loving Activation of the right hemisphere is associated with withdrawal from events and social contact The right hemisphere is also more specialized that the left for interpreting other people s expressions of emotions Damage to the parts of the prefrontal cortex blunts people s emotions in most regard except for occasional outbursts of anger It also impairs decision making People with such damage often make impulsive decisions without pausing to consider the consequences including how they will feel after a possible mistake When given a choice they frequently make a quick decision and then immediately sigh or wince knowing that they have made the wrong decision 4 What do twin studies and adoption studies tell us about the role of heredity in aggressive behavior What about smoking while pregnant The amount that a woman smokes during pregnancy correlated positively with the adolescent and adult criminal activity by her sons this effect is particularly strong if the woman smoked and had complications during delivery However these correlations do not demonstrate cause and effect Many women who smoke also use other drugs and differ on average from other women in genetics diet child rearing practices and so forth Nevertheless animal studies show the prenatal exposure to nicotine does impair brain development Monozygotic twins resemble each other more closely than dizygotic twins do with regard to violent and criminal behaviors and adopted children resemble their biological parents more closely than their adoptive parents The results imply a significant genetic contribution Several studies have found that violence is particularly enhanced in people with both a genetic predisposition and a troubled environment 5 What is some evidence that low serotonin turnover is associated with aggressive behavior When neurons release a neurotransmitter such as serotonin they reabsorb most of it and synthesize enough to replace the amount that washed away Thus the amount in neurons remains fairly constant However if we measure the serotonin metabolites in body fluids we gauge turnover which is the amount that neurons released and replaced Researchers estimate serotonin turnover from the concentration of 5 hydroxyindoleacetic acid 5 HIAA serotonins main metabolite in the CSF Monkeys in lowest quartile for 5 HIAA lowest serotonin turnover were the most aggressive greatest probability of attacking larger monkeys and incurred the most injuries Low serotonin turnover in people with a history of violent behavior including people convicted of arson and other violent crimes and people who have attempted suicide by violent means Those released from prison with low serotonin turnover rate have a greater probability of further convictions Clinical depression is linked to low serotonin activity but most people with depression are not violent 6 How is testosterone related to aggressive behavior Most fighting throughout the animal kingdom is by males competing for mates or females defending their young Male aggressive behavior depends heavily on testosterone which is highest for adult males in the reproductive season Throughout the world men fight more often than women get arrested for violent crimes more often shout insults at each other more often and so forth Young adult men have the highest rate of aggressive behavior and violent crimes Men with the highest testosterone levels commit the most violent crimes The high testosterone levels were more common among men imprisoned for rape or murder than those imprisoned for nonviolent crimes however environment such as stress could have played a role because the differences are not huge Testosterone exerts its effects partly by modifying the way people react to
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