Biological Psychology

This is the final lecture/lesson dealing with Biological Psychology that is dealing with the ideas of Emotion. There are critical factors that effect emotion that are personal and individual that need understanding and have surplus meanings that also impose our own meanings. The Physiology of emotions are the characteristics of emotions that individuals have some understanding of being and having emotional awareness of and encounter an absense of emotion that is startling to us. Almost everyone experiences emotions. Other cultures there are some emotions that are not transferred and some are basic but some lack transference and are specific to various cultures. The social contexts are very important along with social meaning. Emotions are powerful and transfer these emotions transforms a person or circumstances. Emotions are labile (changeable) or transient. Emotions communicate purposes given that are direct and indirect while they are also controlled and focused and can be manipulated at times.

The Theory of emotions in literature, philosophy and music allows for a description psychology allows for a system of ideas without much science. William James' text created the modern field with the Lange-James theory before a science for this was developed or even biology for it is a peripheral theory of emotion, as in 'see a bear- run fast'. Your heart is beating fast in excitement and fear and after this response you can then reinterpret by feeling the emotions without the input from the body and still have the emotion exhibited. Cannon who was a physiologist/surgeon along with Papes and McClean presented this in 1930/1960/1970.

The Central theories of Emotions in the brain that involved the Cannon-Bard theory included the thalamus then Papes and McClean included the hypothalamus and were not very good. The modern theory of Shackner and Singer in New York City was creative and used as a model for there were no ethics at this time dealing with these issues and the participants were injected with 'Vitamins and learning' and 1/2 of the subjects were given placebos and 1/2 was given adrenaline and it seemed that every third person was happy or angry in the different groups. There were forms filled out about personal matters and how emotional they are about participation. Influences in the outcome and the feedback given even with the side effects the context dealing with emotions with physiology is still science.

Shackner Theory of Emotion is based on three elements one is the physiological what is the body doing? The sympathetic and autonomic systems along with the biological responses. The arousal responses that are physiological are emergency response systems. The various behaviors exhibited are assumed to be determined and the context the people learned there was variety of time. Cognitively learned behavior in the 'mind' means that components coming together interpret and label situations that occur. There are three pieces that always seem to happen at the same time like irritation and tense feelings lead to angry interpretations made that are cyclic or spiral and easy to 'spin' and increase problems and normal restraints do not apply. All of these ideas are working together with several interventions at all three levels of cognitive development. Emotion and the qualities that show the universality of them are labile with each emotional experience. Components at times are prefabricated response systems along with subroutines that are hard-wired developed from birth and become automatic responses. The emergency response is when fast reactions need to be done in emergency situations. These extraordinary functions can be done by the body. The limitations of energy and homeostatis is the regulation of body functions.

To be continued: Emotions-final lecture