Understanding Fear and Anger: The Role of Amygdala and Genes

1. Myers 533-537 Anger Brian C. Cole B. Sean Q. Thomas J. fear

2. Fear

3. The Amygdala • Plays a key role in fear • Sends signals to areas of the body that produce symptoms of extreme fear - such as diarrhea and shortness of breath • Involved in associating emotions, like fear, with certain stimuli • A rat given a drug that deactivates its amygdala shows no fear learning

4. Amygdala • People repeatedly blasted by a horn after seeing an image will eventually react emotionally to the image without the horn • If someone has hippocampus damage, he will still have an emotional reaction to the horn without remembering why • If the amygdala is damaged, a person will remember the conditioning of the fear, but will have no emotional reaction • Little Albert experiment

5. The Effects Of Our Genes • Experiences, as well as genes, shape our fears • Identical twins can be used to prove that our genes influence our levels of fear • It has been found that one twin’s level of fearfulness is similar to the other’s • Even when raised apart from each other, identical twins show a similarity in fear level (Nature)

6. Who thinks they have the weirdest fear?

7. Phobias • Phobia: An intense fear of an object, situation, or idea • People can be afraid of almost anything. • The most common fear is arachnophobia: the fear of spiders. • Chiclephobia: Fear of chewing gum • Ablutophobia: Fear of bathing • Coulrophobia: Fear of clowns • Ergasiophobia: Fear of work • Paraskavedekatriaphobia: Fear of Friday the 13th

8. ANGER

9. Maladaptive Anger- Physical or verbal acts of aggression that we later regret • Anger primes prejudice • After the events of 9/11 many Americans who experienced anger more than fear showed more intolerance for immigrants and Muslims

10. To vent or not to vent • Chronic hostility is linked to heart disease • Some therapists believe it is better to release our anger than to internalize it • Cultures who rely on interdependence see outward signs of anger as a threat to the group • In places like Japan and Tahiti, expressions of anger are less common than in the West • New Yorkers

11. Expressing anger • Catharsis - through aggressive action or fantasy we can achieve emotional release • Seen mostly in Western Culture • Experimenters say that retaliating against the source of their anger may calm them but only if their retaliation seems justifiable • Expressing anger is more of a temporary fix • Catharsis usually fails to cleanse one’s rage

12. Anger  More Anger • More often than not, expressing anger just leads to more anger • In experiments done by researcher Brad Bushman, people hit a punching bag believing it would release their anger • The result was that in fact, those being studied showed more cruelty • “Venting to reduce anger is like using gasoline to put out a fire.” -Bushman

13. Dealing with anger • Experts say there are two ways to handle anger: • Wait until your body’s emotional arousal is down • Try calming yourself through exercise or talking • Don’t bottle up your anger • Many people go to anger management classes to learn how to handle their frustration and aggression more easily 2:45 - 4:33

14. Activity Hold up the card that describes how you feel after viewing the image.

15. Fear or Anger?

16. Fear or Anger?

17. Fear or Anger?

18. Fear or Anger?

19. Fear or Anger?

20. Is this baby feeling fear or anger?