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Agenda for February 24

Agenda for February 24. Announcements: Mosaic conference Dimensions events Smith & Ellsworth’s Cognitive Appraisal Theory Presentation by Discussants Review Exam and Pass Back Evaluations of Presentations. Smith & Ellsworth’s Cognitive Appraisal Theory. The categorical approach to emotion

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Agenda for February 24

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  1. Agenda for February 24 • Announcements: • Mosaic conference • Dimensions events • Smith & Ellsworth’s Cognitive Appraisal Theory • Presentation by Discussants • Review Exam and Pass Back Evaluations of Presentations

  2. Smith & Ellsworth’sCognitive Appraisal Theory • The categorical approach to emotion • A long & illustrious history • Aristotle’s work on the four humors • Darwin’s (1872) work on basic emotions of adaptation • Benefits of categorical approach • Captures intuition that a basic set exists and that certain feeling states are fundamentally different in their subjective experience and functional role.

  3. Smith & Ellsworth’sCognitive Appraisal Theory • Drawbacks to a categorical approach: • It does not allow you to clearly identify how specific emotions are similar or dissimilar to each other. • Example: “joy and sorrow are opposites” “fear and anger are opposites” • Are joy & sorrow opposite in the same way as fear & anger?

  4. Smith & Ellsworth’sCognitive Appraisal Theory • The genesis of a dimensional approach; reviewing the literature • Dimensions of facial expression: • Pleasantness – Does one like or dislike the stimulus? • Level of activation – Does one feel aroused or quiescent? • Attentional activity – Does one attend to a stimulus, ignore it, or avoid it? • Dimensions of subjective feeling states: • Pleasantness • Level of activity • Control – Does one have control over what is going on?

  5. Smith & Ellsworth’sCognitive Appraisal Theory • Dimensions of cognitive appraisal • Assumption: Emotional differences inescapably involve differences in the way an organism evaluates its environment. • “We believe that people must answer certain fundamental questions about the changing sensations that impinge upon them not only so as to know what to do, but also so as to know what they feel (Smith & Ellsworth, p. 819).” • Note: S & E are not proposing that emotion is merely the product of cognition; instead, trying to explore cognitive aspects of emotion.

  6. Smith & Ellsworth’sCognitive Appraisal Theory • Method of Study • 16 subjects asked to recall past experiences associated with 15 different emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, boredom, challenge, interest, hope, frustration, contempt, disgust, surprise, pride, shame, and guilt. • All subjects self-reported themselves as emotionally expressive & good at posing expressions. • “Talking to Mr. Spock”

  7. Smith & Ellsworth’sExperimental Method • 16 subjects in a within-subject design • All subjects self-reported themselves as emotionally expressive & good at posing expressions. • Procedure: • Recall past experiences associated with 15 different emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, boredom, challenge, interest, hope, frustration, contempt, disgust, surprise, pride, shame, and guilt. • “Talking to Mr. Spock” • Pose expression • Make dimensional ratings (dependent variable)

  8. Smith & Ellsworth’sExperimental Method • Dimensional Ratings: • Pleasantness (good; bad) • Attentional activity (attend; divert attention away) • Control (Situational control; self-control; other control) • Certainty (Certain; uncertain) • Goal-path obstacle (Obstacle; no obstacle) • Legitimacy (Fairness; unfairness) • Responsibility (Self; other) • Anticipated Effort (Effort, lack of effort)

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