Reginald B. Adams, Nalini Ambady, Ken Nakayama, and Shinsuke Shimojo (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195333176
- eISBN:
- 9780199864324
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333176.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Vision, Cognitive Neuroscience
The human visual system is particularly attuned to and remarkably efficient at processing social cues. We can effectively “read” others' mental and emotional states and make snap judgments about ...
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The human visual system is particularly attuned to and remarkably efficient at processing social cues. We can effectively “read” others' mental and emotional states and make snap judgments about their characters and dispositions, simply by watching them. Given what is clearly a close relationship between vision and social interaction, it has become increasingly clear to social psychologists seeking to understand better the functional and neuroanatomical mechanisms underlying social perception that vision plays a critical role in the development and maintenance of social exchange. Likewise, vision scientists have come to appreciate the profound impact people, as social agents, have had on the visual system, acknowledging just how important it is to consider the socially adaptive functions that system evolved to perform. This book explores the biologically-determined to the culturally-shaped influences on social vision. Four themes emerge. These include: visually mediated attention moderates complex social interactions and plays a critical role in the development of social cognition; visual features perceptually determine categorical thinking and have profound downstream consequences including stereotype activation; perceptual experiences can be directly triggered by visual cues, in which case, visual and social perception are essentially equivalent processes; and social factors exert powerful top-down influences on even low-level visual perception, at some times biasing, while at others fine-tuning perceptual acuity. This book heralds the new field of social vision, and showcases the cutting edge and broadly interdisciplinary research that is currently at its forefront.Less
The human visual system is particularly attuned to and remarkably efficient at processing social cues. We can effectively “read” others' mental and emotional states and make snap judgments about their characters and dispositions, simply by watching them. Given what is clearly a close relationship between vision and social interaction, it has become increasingly clear to social psychologists seeking to understand better the functional and neuroanatomical mechanisms underlying social perception that vision plays a critical role in the development and maintenance of social exchange. Likewise, vision scientists have come to appreciate the profound impact people, as social agents, have had on the visual system, acknowledging just how important it is to consider the socially adaptive functions that system evolved to perform. This book explores the biologically-determined to the culturally-shaped influences on social vision. Four themes emerge. These include: visually mediated attention moderates complex social interactions and plays a critical role in the development of social cognition; visual features perceptually determine categorical thinking and have profound downstream consequences including stereotype activation; perceptual experiences can be directly triggered by visual cues, in which case, visual and social perception are essentially equivalent processes; and social factors exert powerful top-down influences on even low-level visual perception, at some times biasing, while at others fine-tuning perceptual acuity. This book heralds the new field of social vision, and showcases the cutting edge and broadly interdisciplinary research that is currently at its forefront.
Noël Carroll
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199539956
- eISBN:
- 9780191730931
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199539956.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
This essay explores a range of affective relations between popular audiences and the characters in mass fiction including including identification, empathy, sympathy, antipathy,sollidarity, ...
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This essay explores a range of affective relations between popular audiences and the characters in mass fiction including including identification, empathy, sympathy, antipathy,sollidarity, vectorially-convergent and connected emotional states, coincident emotional states, and mirror reflexes.Less
This essay explores a range of affective relations between popular audiences and the characters in mass fiction including including identification, empathy, sympathy, antipathy,sollidarity, vectorially-convergent and connected emotional states, coincident emotional states, and mirror reflexes.
Vladimir J. Koneˇcni
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199568086
- eISBN:
- 9780191731044
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199568086.003.0009
- Subject:
- Psychology, Music Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter presents reflections about an important and much discussed aspect of art-music composers' creative process, namely, the role — if any — that emotions, and specifically acute emotional ...
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This chapter presents reflections about an important and much discussed aspect of art-music composers' creative process, namely, the role — if any — that emotions, and specifically acute emotional states induced by life-events, play in that process. In contrast to the emotivist attitude, it argues for the paramount importance of contemplation, analytical and technical skills, problem-solving, and planning — in short, reason — as the key features of art-music composers' daily work, especially when developing large-scale pieces. It is also proposed that when emotions are experienced by composers in response to others' and their own music of very high quality, these are likely to be the states of being moved and aesthetic awe — which are very rare and have different phenomenological characteristics and evolutionary origin than the emotions with which psychologists and biologists are usually concerned.Less
This chapter presents reflections about an important and much discussed aspect of art-music composers' creative process, namely, the role — if any — that emotions, and specifically acute emotional states induced by life-events, play in that process. In contrast to the emotivist attitude, it argues for the paramount importance of contemplation, analytical and technical skills, problem-solving, and planning — in short, reason — as the key features of art-music composers' daily work, especially when developing large-scale pieces. It is also proposed that when emotions are experienced by composers in response to others' and their own music of very high quality, these are likely to be the states of being moved and aesthetic awe — which are very rare and have different phenomenological characteristics and evolutionary origin than the emotions with which psychologists and biologists are usually concerned.
Jaak Panksepp and Marcia Smith-Pasqualini
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198528845
- eISBN:
- 9780191689567
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198528845.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter points out that humans begin to navigate the complexities of the world, and learn about the values and contingencies of the environment at birth. What emerges most during development is ...
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This chapter points out that humans begin to navigate the complexities of the world, and learn about the values and contingencies of the environment at birth. What emerges most during development is the higher capacity to regulate emotional states and to construct more complex behavioural strategies to cope with emotionally challenging events. This chapter reviews brain imaging studies and recent advances in understanding basic emotional systems of the mammalian brain, and implications for understanding the nature of affective feelings in humans.Less
This chapter points out that humans begin to navigate the complexities of the world, and learn about the values and contingencies of the environment at birth. What emerges most during development is the higher capacity to regulate emotional states and to construct more complex behavioural strategies to cope with emotionally challenging events. This chapter reviews brain imaging studies and recent advances in understanding basic emotional systems of the mammalian brain, and implications for understanding the nature of affective feelings in humans.
E. Glenn Schellenberg
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199586974
- eISBN:
- 9780191738357
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199586974.003.0022
- Subject:
- Psychology, Music Psychology, Health Psychology
This chapter reviews studies that examined the effects of music listening on cognitive performance. It focuses on performance after listening to music. The arousal and mood hypothesis offers an ...
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This chapter reviews studies that examined the effects of music listening on cognitive performance. It focuses on performance after listening to music. The arousal and mood hypothesis offers an explanation of the Mozart effect that has nothing to do with Mozart or with spatial abilities. Rather, it proposes that Mozart's music is simply one example of a stimulus that can change how people feel, which, in turn, influences how they perform on tests of cognitive abilities. In other words, the hypothesis offers a simple and sensible explanation of the effect when it is evident. There does not appear to be a specific link between music listening and cognitive abilities, and certainly not between listening to Mozart and spatial abilities. Hence, the direct benefits of listening to music on cognition are more of a fantasy than a reality. On the other hand, it is clear that music can change listeners' emotional states, which, in turn, may impact on their cognitive performance, and the fact that the link is mediated by arousal and mood does not make it less meaningful.Less
This chapter reviews studies that examined the effects of music listening on cognitive performance. It focuses on performance after listening to music. The arousal and mood hypothesis offers an explanation of the Mozart effect that has nothing to do with Mozart or with spatial abilities. Rather, it proposes that Mozart's music is simply one example of a stimulus that can change how people feel, which, in turn, influences how they perform on tests of cognitive abilities. In other words, the hypothesis offers a simple and sensible explanation of the effect when it is evident. There does not appear to be a specific link between music listening and cognitive abilities, and certainly not between listening to Mozart and spatial abilities. Hence, the direct benefits of listening to music on cognition are more of a fantasy than a reality. On the other hand, it is clear that music can change listeners' emotional states, which, in turn, may impact on their cognitive performance, and the fact that the link is mediated by arousal and mood does not make it less meaningful.
Daniel M. Haybron
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199926725
- eISBN:
- 9780199394531
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199926725.003.0016
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This paper argues that positive emotion is a central element of human well-being, but with important qualifications. To begin with, it is helpful to focus attention more broadly than on emotions per ...
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This paper argues that positive emotion is a central element of human well-being, but with important qualifications. To begin with, it is helpful to focus attention more broadly than on emotions per se, on the notion of having a positive emotional condition, or emotional well-being. I sketch a regulate-and-inform view of the function of emotional conditions, followed by discussion of the value of a positive emotional condition. On the last question the obvious answer is that it is hedonically valuable, that is, pleasant. Less obviously, our emotional natures are central to who we are—the self—and positive emotional states may figure centrally in well-being, as an aspect of self-fulfilment. Additionally, a person’s emotional condition seems to matter as a cause of good outcomes, as a source of information about well-being, and as a verdict about the quality of the individual’s life. Yet positive emotional states are not always desirable: they can have ill effects or be unfitting. Unfitting emotional states in turn can be contrary to virtue, or inauthentic. A final question concerns the desirability of various emotional profiles. In particular, what balance of positive versus negative emotional states counts as genuinely “positive”? Some research by Barbara Fredrickson et al. suggests that a 3:1 ratio may represent a threshold for broadly positive functioning; less than that may signal significant problems, and generally poor functioning. If this view is correct, then research on the emotional side of subjective well-being may be due for a radical reinterpretation: studies previously thought to show most people are happy, and presumptively doing well, may in fact show the opposite.Less
This paper argues that positive emotion is a central element of human well-being, but with important qualifications. To begin with, it is helpful to focus attention more broadly than on emotions per se, on the notion of having a positive emotional condition, or emotional well-being. I sketch a regulate-and-inform view of the function of emotional conditions, followed by discussion of the value of a positive emotional condition. On the last question the obvious answer is that it is hedonically valuable, that is, pleasant. Less obviously, our emotional natures are central to who we are—the self—and positive emotional states may figure centrally in well-being, as an aspect of self-fulfilment. Additionally, a person’s emotional condition seems to matter as a cause of good outcomes, as a source of information about well-being, and as a verdict about the quality of the individual’s life. Yet positive emotional states are not always desirable: they can have ill effects or be unfitting. Unfitting emotional states in turn can be contrary to virtue, or inauthentic. A final question concerns the desirability of various emotional profiles. In particular, what balance of positive versus negative emotional states counts as genuinely “positive”? Some research by Barbara Fredrickson et al. suggests that a 3:1 ratio may represent a threshold for broadly positive functioning; less than that may signal significant problems, and generally poor functioning. If this view is correct, then research on the emotional side of subjective well-being may be due for a radical reinterpretation: studies previously thought to show most people are happy, and presumptively doing well, may in fact show the opposite.
Mark A. Changizi and Shinsuke Shimojo
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195333176
- eISBN:
- 9780199864324
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333176.003.0017
- Subject:
- Psychology, Vision, Cognitive Neuroscience
This chapter reviews evidence supporting the hypothesis that color vision is a kind of social vision, about the emotional states and moods of others. The argument from the first of the three main ...
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This chapter reviews evidence supporting the hypothesis that color vision is a kind of social vision, about the emotional states and moods of others. The argument from the first of the three main sections of the chapter centers on evidence that our perception of skin is organized so that we are maximally able to discriminate spectral changes around baseline skin color, akin to the way in which we are maximally able to discriminate temperature changes of skin around baseline skin temperature. The argument from the second section concerns evidence that our primate cone sensitivities have been designed by natural selection to sense the subtle spectrum changes that occur with modulations of hemoglobin oxygenation. Finally, the third section presents evidence that it is the primates with color vision that are bare-skinned; the nontrichromatic primates are furry faced, like a typical mammal. This is just as the hypothesis would predict if color vision is about skin.Less
This chapter reviews evidence supporting the hypothesis that color vision is a kind of social vision, about the emotional states and moods of others. The argument from the first of the three main sections of the chapter centers on evidence that our perception of skin is organized so that we are maximally able to discriminate spectral changes around baseline skin color, akin to the way in which we are maximally able to discriminate temperature changes of skin around baseline skin temperature. The argument from the second section concerns evidence that our primate cone sensitivities have been designed by natural selection to sense the subtle spectrum changes that occur with modulations of hemoglobin oxygenation. Finally, the third section presents evidence that it is the primates with color vision that are bare-skinned; the nontrichromatic primates are furry faced, like a typical mammal. This is just as the hypothesis would predict if color vision is about skin.
John Sloboda
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198530121
- eISBN:
- 9780191689741
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198530121.003.0012
- Subject:
- Psychology, Music Psychology
The reason that many people engage with music, as performers or listeners, is that it has power to evoke or enhance valued emotional states. Studies supporting this general assertion are reviewed in ...
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The reason that many people engage with music, as performers or listeners, is that it has power to evoke or enhance valued emotional states. Studies supporting this general assertion are reviewed in this chapter. In the light of this one might have expected the study of emotion to be central to the psychology of music. This has not been the case. This chapter discusses conceptual issues, including the inherent variability of emotional response. It also addresses some of the methodological issues arising primarily from difficulties of measurement. Notwithstanding the difficulties inherent in research on this topic, some progress has been made, and the chapter outlines some major findings, including some evidence that a major subset of emotional responses are cued by confirmations and violations of expectancy within the musical structure, in line with the predictions arising from the theoretical proposals first articulated by L. B. Meyer.Less
The reason that many people engage with music, as performers or listeners, is that it has power to evoke or enhance valued emotional states. Studies supporting this general assertion are reviewed in this chapter. In the light of this one might have expected the study of emotion to be central to the psychology of music. This has not been the case. This chapter discusses conceptual issues, including the inherent variability of emotional response. It also addresses some of the methodological issues arising primarily from difficulties of measurement. Notwithstanding the difficulties inherent in research on this topic, some progress has been made, and the chapter outlines some major findings, including some evidence that a major subset of emotional responses are cued by confirmations and violations of expectancy within the musical structure, in line with the predictions arising from the theoretical proposals first articulated by L. B. Meyer.
Mark Turner
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195306361
- eISBN:
- 9780199851034
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195306361.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
The Power of Images (1989) described some of the recurrent symptoms of emotional responses to paintings and sculptures throughout history. This chapter takes the problem one ...
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The Power of Images (1989) described some of the recurrent symptoms of emotional responses to paintings and sculptures throughout history. This chapter takes the problem one step further and suggests that one of the tasks of future interdisciplinary work between the neurosciences and the history of art might be to examine the relationship between how pictures look and the emotional responses they evoke. The chapter rejects the notion that such a relationship may be too ragged to plot. The chapter gives some examples—from the history of painting and the history of music—where efforts have been made to connect particular compositions with particular emotional states.Less
The Power of Images (1989) described some of the recurrent symptoms of emotional responses to paintings and sculptures throughout history. This chapter takes the problem one step further and suggests that one of the tasks of future interdisciplinary work between the neurosciences and the history of art might be to examine the relationship between how pictures look and the emotional responses they evoke. The chapter rejects the notion that such a relationship may be too ragged to plot. The chapter gives some examples—from the history of painting and the history of music—where efforts have been made to connect particular compositions with particular emotional states.
June Gruber and Judith Tedlie Moskowitz (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199926725
- eISBN:
- 9780199394531
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199926725.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This book offers a comprehensive summary of current theoretical and empirical work on positive emotion and provides empirical examples of the “light side’ or adaptive benefits of positive emotion ...
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This book offers a comprehensive summary of current theoretical and empirical work on positive emotion and provides empirical examples of the “light side’ or adaptive benefits of positive emotion according to the degree, context (health, social relationships, coping), and type of adaptive outcome. It also provides empirical examples of the “dark side’ or maladaptive aspects of positive emotion organized according to the degree, context, type and reasons for pursuing positive emotion in healthy and clinical populations. It discusses therapeutic applications regarding how to cultivate and foster healthy positive emotion, and suggests future research to better understand the nature of positive emotion.Less
This book offers a comprehensive summary of current theoretical and empirical work on positive emotion and provides empirical examples of the “light side’ or adaptive benefits of positive emotion according to the degree, context (health, social relationships, coping), and type of adaptive outcome. It also provides empirical examples of the “dark side’ or maladaptive aspects of positive emotion organized according to the degree, context, type and reasons for pursuing positive emotion in healthy and clinical populations. It discusses therapeutic applications regarding how to cultivate and foster healthy positive emotion, and suggests future research to better understand the nature of positive emotion.
Stephen Davies
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199608775
- eISBN:
- 9780191729669
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199608775.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
I argue against an account of expressiveness in musical performance that models it after quotation effected through the induction or simulation of an emotional state. A preferable view holds that, if ...
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I argue against an account of expressiveness in musical performance that models it after quotation effected through the induction or simulation of an emotional state. A preferable view holds that, if the music's expressiveness is an objective property of the music, the performance will be appropriately expressive so long as it realizes the relevant properties, which is achieved by following the score accurately. But in addition, the player usually makes a crucial contribution to the performance's expressiveness through her interpretation of the piece, both as regards her treatment of detail and her overall shaping of the performance.Less
I argue against an account of expressiveness in musical performance that models it after quotation effected through the induction or simulation of an emotional state. A preferable view holds that, if the music's expressiveness is an objective property of the music, the performance will be appropriately expressive so long as it realizes the relevant properties, which is achieved by following the score accurately. But in addition, the player usually makes a crucial contribution to the performance's expressiveness through her interpretation of the piece, both as regards her treatment of detail and her overall shaping of the performance.
Jodi Halpern
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780195111194
- eISBN:
- 9780190267728
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195111194.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter attempts to distinguish between emotional reasoning and detached reasoning. Physicians are aware of the therapeutic value of emotional engagement, yet emotions can also affect and even ...
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This chapter attempts to distinguish between emotional reasoning and detached reasoning. Physicians are aware of the therapeutic value of emotional engagement, yet emotions can also affect and even disrupt sound medical judgment. The modern view of detachment as a necessary evil in medical practice argues for objectivity—a physician detached from their patient's emotional state can better understand the patient and their condition. Yet detachment is not truly free of emotional influence, as it serves to suppress rather than address the physician's emotional responses. Due to this, the physician is much more liable of making medical decisions that are subconsciously emotional, thus breaking the illusion of objectivity.Less
This chapter attempts to distinguish between emotional reasoning and detached reasoning. Physicians are aware of the therapeutic value of emotional engagement, yet emotions can also affect and even disrupt sound medical judgment. The modern view of detachment as a necessary evil in medical practice argues for objectivity—a physician detached from their patient's emotional state can better understand the patient and their condition. Yet detachment is not truly free of emotional influence, as it serves to suppress rather than address the physician's emotional responses. Due to this, the physician is much more liable of making medical decisions that are subconsciously emotional, thus breaking the illusion of objectivity.
Bárbara Figueiredo
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780199676859
- eISBN:
- 9780191918346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199676859.003.0017
- Subject:
- Clinical Medicine and Allied Health, Psychiatry
A mother’s specific emotional and hormonal state after childbirth ensures her emotional involvement and adequate parental behaviour. Soon after delivery, or even in late pregnancy, the mother’s ...
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A mother’s specific emotional and hormonal state after childbirth ensures her emotional involvement and adequate parental behaviour. Soon after delivery, or even in late pregnancy, the mother’s emotional state—in particular, an increased sensitivity—becomes fully adapted to the identification and satisfaction of the infant’s physical and psychological needs. Winnicott (1956, 1960) was perhaps one of the first authors to point out the presence of a particular emotional state in recently delivered mothers—‘primary maternal preoccupation’, referring to the mother’s correct identification and immediate satisfaction of the infant’s physical and psychological needs. Winnicott (1990) later defined and described four main tasks to be fulfilled in the maternal role, including the emotional involvement with the child, which he termed ‘holding’. Holding tasks are: (1) to provide protection and care to the child, (2) to take into account the child’s limitations and dependency status, (3) to provide the necessary care for the child’s growth and development, and (4) to love the child. In the meantime, Yalom et al. (1968) and Pitt (1973) both described the ‘postpartum/maternity blues—a transient state of emotional dysphoria, emerging within a few hours to 2 weeks after childbirth, in about 50 to 70% of puerperal women, and characterized by intermittent mild fatigue, tearfulness, worry, difficulty in thinking, and sleep disturbances. Progesterone and oestrogen levels, which gradually increase during pregnancy, fall suddenly after delivery, returning to prepregnancy levels in just 3 days. This rapid decline, the most severe threat to a women’s hormonal and emotional balance, has been proposed as the main cause of postpartum/maternity blues (e.g. Pitt 1973; Yalomand et al. 1968). The mother’s behavioural sensitivity to such a drop in reproductive hormones was later associated with higher reactivity to the infant’s stimuli and greater proximity with the neonate (e.g. Barrett and Fleming 2011; Carter 2005; Fleming et al. 1997; Miller and Rukstalis 1999), and was proposed as serving the function of eliciting mother-to-infant involvement, to ensure that the infant receives the required care to survive (e.g. Carter 2005; Figueiredo 2003; Pedersen 1997). The evolutionary point of view had its clearest proponent in John Bowlby (1969/1982, 1980) who proposed the presence of a behavioural system (that is, an organized set of behaviours) in parents—the ‘caregiving system’, to guarantee the proximity and protection of the child.
Less
A mother’s specific emotional and hormonal state after childbirth ensures her emotional involvement and adequate parental behaviour. Soon after delivery, or even in late pregnancy, the mother’s emotional state—in particular, an increased sensitivity—becomes fully adapted to the identification and satisfaction of the infant’s physical and psychological needs. Winnicott (1956, 1960) was perhaps one of the first authors to point out the presence of a particular emotional state in recently delivered mothers—‘primary maternal preoccupation’, referring to the mother’s correct identification and immediate satisfaction of the infant’s physical and psychological needs. Winnicott (1990) later defined and described four main tasks to be fulfilled in the maternal role, including the emotional involvement with the child, which he termed ‘holding’. Holding tasks are: (1) to provide protection and care to the child, (2) to take into account the child’s limitations and dependency status, (3) to provide the necessary care for the child’s growth and development, and (4) to love the child. In the meantime, Yalom et al. (1968) and Pitt (1973) both described the ‘postpartum/maternity blues—a transient state of emotional dysphoria, emerging within a few hours to 2 weeks after childbirth, in about 50 to 70% of puerperal women, and characterized by intermittent mild fatigue, tearfulness, worry, difficulty in thinking, and sleep disturbances. Progesterone and oestrogen levels, which gradually increase during pregnancy, fall suddenly after delivery, returning to prepregnancy levels in just 3 days. This rapid decline, the most severe threat to a women’s hormonal and emotional balance, has been proposed as the main cause of postpartum/maternity blues (e.g. Pitt 1973; Yalomand et al. 1968). The mother’s behavioural sensitivity to such a drop in reproductive hormones was later associated with higher reactivity to the infant’s stimuli and greater proximity with the neonate (e.g. Barrett and Fleming 2011; Carter 2005; Fleming et al. 1997; Miller and Rukstalis 1999), and was proposed as serving the function of eliciting mother-to-infant involvement, to ensure that the infant receives the required care to survive (e.g. Carter 2005; Figueiredo 2003; Pedersen 1997). The evolutionary point of view had its clearest proponent in John Bowlby (1969/1982, 1980) who proposed the presence of a behavioural system (that is, an organized set of behaviours) in parents—the ‘caregiving system’, to guarantee the proximity and protection of the child.
C. Sue Carter, James Harri, and Stephen W. Porges
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262012973
- eISBN:
- 9780262255295
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262012973.003.0014
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Research and Theory
This chapter focuses on autonomic and neuroendocrine processes that underlie social behaviors and emotional states, including those that are believed to reflect empathy in humans. Empathy has been ...
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This chapter focuses on autonomic and neuroendocrine processes that underlie social behaviors and emotional states, including those that are believed to reflect empathy in humans. Empathy has been considered a unique characteristic of human consciousness, but evidence suggests that emotional contagion and consolation exist in other mammalian species, including social primates such as bonobo chimpanzees. The chapter argues that empathy is a trait shared by humans with other mammals and linked to the neural circuits that emerged during the evolutionary transition from reptiles to mammals. It discusses empathy in relation to the evolution of social awareness in mammals, along with the neuroendocrine correlates of sociality, prosocial behaviors in highly social mammals, the role of neuropeptides in selective sociality, and possible mechanisms for sex differences in sociality or empathy.Less
This chapter focuses on autonomic and neuroendocrine processes that underlie social behaviors and emotional states, including those that are believed to reflect empathy in humans. Empathy has been considered a unique characteristic of human consciousness, but evidence suggests that emotional contagion and consolation exist in other mammalian species, including social primates such as bonobo chimpanzees. The chapter argues that empathy is a trait shared by humans with other mammals and linked to the neural circuits that emerged during the evolutionary transition from reptiles to mammals. It discusses empathy in relation to the evolution of social awareness in mammals, along with the neuroendocrine correlates of sociality, prosocial behaviors in highly social mammals, the role of neuropeptides in selective sociality, and possible mechanisms for sex differences in sociality or empathy.
Tiffany A. Ito
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195316872
- eISBN:
- 9780199893324
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195316872.003.0006
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
The human ability to perceive faces is particularly impressive when considered in the context of the many different social inferences we perform, as well as the high degree of accuracy and relatively ...
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The human ability to perceive faces is particularly impressive when considered in the context of the many different social inferences we perform, as well as the high degree of accuracy and relatively little effort with which they are typically made. Even very brief glimpses at a person's face may allow us to gain information relevant to determining his or her emotional state, personality characteristics, and identity. Face perception has also been recognized as supporting inferences about social category membership, with information about an individual's race, gender, and age usually easily determined from his or her face. All of these inferences are integral to social perception, but it is the latter category of inferences that are of particular interest in this chapter, which reviews the line of research pursued using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to study social perception, focusing particularly on the perception of race and gender cues.Less
The human ability to perceive faces is particularly impressive when considered in the context of the many different social inferences we perform, as well as the high degree of accuracy and relatively little effort with which they are typically made. Even very brief glimpses at a person's face may allow us to gain information relevant to determining his or her emotional state, personality characteristics, and identity. Face perception has also been recognized as supporting inferences about social category membership, with information about an individual's race, gender, and age usually easily determined from his or her face. All of these inferences are integral to social perception, but it is the latter category of inferences that are of particular interest in this chapter, which reviews the line of research pursued using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to study social perception, focusing particularly on the perception of race and gender cues.
Moore Colleen F.
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195153910
- eISBN:
- 9780199846986
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195153910.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Health Psychology
This chapter explains the objective of this book, which is to review some of the best science on how pollution affects the quality of children's lives, particularly intellectual functioning, ...
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This chapter explains the objective of this book, which is to review some of the best science on how pollution affects the quality of children's lives, particularly intellectual functioning, behaviour, and emotional states. This book argues that a body count of deaths of cancer is not needed to conclude that a category of pollution has serious developmental effects. It analyses different types of pollutants including lead, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides.Less
This chapter explains the objective of this book, which is to review some of the best science on how pollution affects the quality of children's lives, particularly intellectual functioning, behaviour, and emotional states. This book argues that a body count of deaths of cancer is not needed to conclude that a category of pollution has serious developmental effects. It analyses different types of pollutants including lead, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides.
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226309095
- eISBN:
- 9780226309088
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226309088.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
Producers have an easier time leading guests to the emotional brink if the topic is sensitive or volatile to begin with, if the guest feels strongly about it, if the guest is being surprised, or if ...
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Producers have an easier time leading guests to the emotional brink if the topic is sensitive or volatile to begin with, if the guest feels strongly about it, if the guest is being surprised, or if producers have found others with an opposing viewpoint to challenge him or her on the air. Given these conditions, coaxing a dramatic performance from guests may not seem so difficult, but producers experience this aspect of their job as one of the, if not the, most unpredictable—and hence stressful—aspects of the job, for, no matter how much they work with guests, they can never be sure that someone who is good on the phone or in the green room will also be good onstage. Producers live in constant fear that guests will become tongue-tied, fail to express emotion, not disclose the most important information first, get the story mixed up or confused, go into too much detail, or lose focus and go off on a tangent.Less
Producers have an easier time leading guests to the emotional brink if the topic is sensitive or volatile to begin with, if the guest feels strongly about it, if the guest is being surprised, or if producers have found others with an opposing viewpoint to challenge him or her on the air. Given these conditions, coaxing a dramatic performance from guests may not seem so difficult, but producers experience this aspect of their job as one of the, if not the, most unpredictable—and hence stressful—aspects of the job, for, no matter how much they work with guests, they can never be sure that someone who is good on the phone or in the green room will also be good onstage. Producers live in constant fear that guests will become tongue-tied, fail to express emotion, not disclose the most important information first, get the story mixed up or confused, go into too much detail, or lose focus and go off on a tangent.
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804782364
- eISBN:
- 9780804783927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804782364.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter analyzes voter affect and the psychological mechanism connecting citizens' attitudes with the decision to vote in favor of party-system collapse in Peru and Venezuela. It describes an ...
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This chapter analyzes voter affect and the psychological mechanism connecting citizens' attitudes with the decision to vote in favor of party-system collapse in Peru and Venezuela. It describes an experiment regarding the effects of anger on propensity to support a candidate from outside the party system and discusses the result which shows that voters randomized to feel anger are significantly more likely to support the outsider candidate than are those assigned to the control group. The chapter also considers how emotional states influence political attitudes and positions on political issues.Less
This chapter analyzes voter affect and the psychological mechanism connecting citizens' attitudes with the decision to vote in favor of party-system collapse in Peru and Venezuela. It describes an experiment regarding the effects of anger on propensity to support a candidate from outside the party system and discusses the result which shows that voters randomized to feel anger are significantly more likely to support the outsider candidate than are those assigned to the control group. The chapter also considers how emotional states influence political attitudes and positions on political issues.
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226726137
- eISBN:
- 9780226726144
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226726144.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
In some societies, the domains of religion and sociopolitical life may be demarcated precisely by the projected impenetrability of another's mind, thus making it difficult for those one does not ...
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In some societies, the domains of religion and sociopolitical life may be demarcated precisely by the projected impenetrability of another's mind, thus making it difficult for those one does not trust—questionable neighbors, centralized powers, or the unpredictable promptings of one's own emotional states—to gain access to some deeper self through one's motives or intentions. In other societies, however—those of the Arabs among them—domains such as intent are so deeply connected to the concatenation of conceptual domains through which a person is known that whatever happens to one set of concepts is likely to affect many others as well. It is for this reason that this chapter questions whether anything has led the Arabs of Morocco—and perhaps those in other parts of the Arab and Muslim world—to change their concept of intent in recent decades, and it does so by moving the inquiry outside the realm of intent alone to consider whether similar shifts are also taking place in the concepts of probability, causality, and responsibility.Less
In some societies, the domains of religion and sociopolitical life may be demarcated precisely by the projected impenetrability of another's mind, thus making it difficult for those one does not trust—questionable neighbors, centralized powers, or the unpredictable promptings of one's own emotional states—to gain access to some deeper self through one's motives or intentions. In other societies, however—those of the Arabs among them—domains such as intent are so deeply connected to the concatenation of conceptual domains through which a person is known that whatever happens to one set of concepts is likely to affect many others as well. It is for this reason that this chapter questions whether anything has led the Arabs of Morocco—and perhaps those in other parts of the Arab and Muslim world—to change their concept of intent in recent decades, and it does so by moving the inquiry outside the realm of intent alone to consider whether similar shifts are also taking place in the concepts of probability, causality, and responsibility.
Alan B. Krueger, Daniel Kahneman, David Schkade, Norbert Schwarz, and Arthur A. Stone (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226454566
- eISBN:
- 9780226454573
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226454573.003.0010
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Econometrics
This chapter explains several valid points about the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed method for National Time Accounting (NTA), particularly regarding the idea of measuring subjective ...
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This chapter explains several valid points about the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed method for National Time Accounting (NTA), particularly regarding the idea of measuring subjective well-being by the fraction of time people spend in an unpleasant emotional state. The assumptions underlying the proposal for NTA seem to strike a reasonable balance between measurement requirements and practicality. The U-index and related indicators can provide a useful indicator of situations that are associated with unpleasant emotional experiences and of groups that are more likely to endure emotionally unpleasant experiences. It is hoped that NTA can provide a means for tracking whether societies are spending their time in more or less enjoyable ways, which can be an input along with others to derive a picture of the progress of society.Less
This chapter explains several valid points about the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed method for National Time Accounting (NTA), particularly regarding the idea of measuring subjective well-being by the fraction of time people spend in an unpleasant emotional state. The assumptions underlying the proposal for NTA seem to strike a reasonable balance between measurement requirements and practicality. The U-index and related indicators can provide a useful indicator of situations that are associated with unpleasant emotional experiences and of groups that are more likely to endure emotionally unpleasant experiences. It is hoped that NTA can provide a means for tracking whether societies are spending their time in more or less enjoyable ways, which can be an input along with others to derive a picture of the progress of society.