Reason, Passion, & Social Cognition Week 4, Part 1

Agenda for February 8

Administrative Items/Announcements Attendance 2nd Presentation This Thursday 1st Exam next week Paper Assignment Distributed on Tuesday, 2/15

Feedback Exercise (quiz) Continuation of 1st Presentation Are Cognition and Emotion Separate

Systems? Today’s topic: Emotional Lability

Reason, Passion, & Social Cognition Week 4, Part 1

Feedback Exercise

Part I. Schachter & Singer (1962) posit two necessary conditions for the experience of emotion. What are they?

Part II. Are emotions contagious? Why or why not? (Draw on today’s readings to inform your response.)

Reason, Passion, & Social Cognition Week 4, Part 1

Continuation of 1st Presentation

Reason, Passion, & Social Cognition Week 4, Part 1

Emotional LabilitySchacter & Singer (1962) Hypotheses:

Euphoria Pattern:Epi Mis > Epi Ign > Epi Inf = Placebo

Anger Pattern:Epi Ign > Epi Inf = Placebo

Reason, Passion, & Social Cognition Week 4, Part 1

Emotional Lability, cont. Design: 3 x 2

3 Drug (Epinephrine informed, Epi. Ignorant, Placebo) X2 Confederate Emotion (Anger, Euphoria)

Plus offset Epi. Misinformed within Euphoria Primary DV’s

Emotional state (behavior and self report)

Reason, Passion, & Social Cognition Week 4, Part 1

Emotional Lability, cont.Schacter & Singer (1962) Results:

Mood: Ss in Epi. Ign. and Epi. Mis. were more susceptible to stooge’s euphoria

Behavior: Ss in in Epi. Mis. were more likely to behave euphorically than ss in Epi. Mis. Ss in Epi. Ign. more likely to act angrily than ss in Epi. Inf. Or in placebo.

Discussion: Any problems with the study?

Reason, Passion, & Social Cognition Week 4, Part 1

Problems with the Schachter & Singer Study

1. Experimental confound in the anger manipulation (questionnaire)

2. Comparison of self-reported euphoria (Table 2) not significantly different between placebo and Epi. Mis or Epi. Ign.

3. Only behavioral data for anger. Ss unwilling to act angry if it jeopardized extra-credit points?

Reason, Passion, & Social Cognition Week 4, Part 1

Problems with the Schachter & Singer Study

4. The shot caused placebo subjects to “get the shivers,” potentially obscuring epinephrine effects.

5. S & S cannot, therefore, test their idea that “subjects will only reaction emotionally to the extent that they experience physiological arousal.