Cognition
To what extent does cognition control emotion?
Cognition and emotion are inextricably linked. The debate over their connection dates back even to Greek philosophy. Marcus Aurelius meditated
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment” (cited in Ochsner & Gross, 2005, p.243).
This statement epitomized the puzzle: Are emotions entirely subject to cognitive interpretation, and by the same reasoning, can emotions be consciously altered or removed, at will?
This essay considers the theories that have been proposed to explain the links between emotion and cognition, as well as the ways that cognition controls emotion, with evidence gleaned from experimental research demonstrating this link in action, followed by a consideration of the extent to which cognition does, and does not, control emotion based on the evidence presented.
It has been suggested that there are five main emotions, sometimes termed ‘the big five’, consisting of anger, fear, sadness, disgust and happiness. These emotions include both feelings of the moment, or ‘state’ emotions, and long-standing personality characteristics, or ‘trait’ emotions (Yiend & Mackintosh, 2005).
In more recent consideration of the link between emotion and cognition, a variety of theorists have attempted to elucidate the nature and extent of the relationship between cognition and emotion.
As a precursor to the ‘cognitive revolution,’ several researchers linked autonomic response to the control of emotion. James suggested that physiological responses to stimuli lead in turn to emotion (Yiend, et al, 2005). For example you might see a lion, turn to flee, and in fleeing, experience fear. Carl Lange agreed with James’ analysis, thus forming the James-Lange theory (Yiend, et al, 2005). Both men observed physiological responses to stressful situations that they believed were too rapid
Cognition and emotion are inextricably linked. The debate over their connection dates back even to Greek philosophy. Marcus Aurelius meditated
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment” (cited in Ochsner & Gross, 2005, p.243).
This statement epitomized the puzzle: Are emotions entirely subject to cognitive interpretation, and by the same reasoning, can emotions be consciously altered or removed, at will?
This essay considers the theories that have been proposed to explain the links between emotion and cognition, as well as the ways that cognition controls emotion, with evidence gleaned from experimental research demonstrating this link in action, followed by a consideration of the extent to which cognition does, and does not, control emotion based on the evidence presented.
It has been suggested that there are five main emotions, sometimes termed ‘the big five’, consisting of anger, fear, sadness, disgust and happiness. These emotions include both feelings of the moment, or ‘state’ emotions, and long-standing personality characteristics, or ‘trait’ emotions (Yiend & Mackintosh, 2005).
In more recent consideration of the link between emotion and cognition, a variety of theorists have attempted to elucidate the nature and extent of the relationship between cognition and emotion.
As a precursor to the ‘cognitive revolution,’ several researchers linked autonomic response to the control of emotion. James suggested that physiological responses to stimuli lead in turn to emotion (Yiend, et al, 2005). For example you might see a lion, turn to flee, and in fleeing, experience fear. Carl Lange agreed with James’ analysis, thus forming the James-Lange theory (Yiend, et al, 2005). Both men observed physiological responses to stressful situations that they believed were too rapid
References: Blair, H.T., Sotres-Bayon, F., Moita, M.A. & LeDoux, J.E. (2005). The lateral amygdala processes the value of conditioned and unconditioned aversive stimuli. Neuroscience. 133: 561-9. Buunk, B.P. & Ybema, J.F. (2003). Feeling bad, but satisfied: the effects of upward and downward comparison upon mood and marital satisfaction. British Journal of Social Psychology, 42: 613-28. Critchley, H., Daly, E., Phillips, M., et al., (2000). Explicit and implicit neural mechanisms for processing of social information from facial expressions: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Human Brain Mapping, 9: 93-105. Cunningham, W.A., Johnson, M.K., Gatenby, J.C., Gore, J.C. & Banaji, M.R. (2003). Neural components of social evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85: 639-49. Dutton, D.G. & Aron, A.P. (1974). Some evidence for heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30: 510-17. Lazarus, R.S. & Alfert, E. (1964). Short-circuiting of threat by experimentally altering cognitive appraisal. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 69: 195-205. LeDoux, S., Libman, I., Robert, G., Just, N. (1989). Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy with grey matter involvement. Canadian Journal of Neurological Science. 16: 200-2. LeDoux (1996) The Emotional Brain. New York: Schuster. Lewis, P.A. & Critchley, H.D. (2003). Mood-dependent memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7: 83-85. Ochsner, K. N. & Gross, J. J. (2005). The cognitive control of emotion. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 9: 242-249. Schachter, S., & Singer, J. (1962). Cognitive, Social, and Physiological Determinants of Emotional State. Psychological Review, 69: 379–99. Vuilleumier, P., Armony, J.L., Driver, J. & Dolan, R. J., (2001). Neuron, 30: 829-41. Winston, J.S., Strange, B.A., O’Doherty, J. & Dolan, R.J. (2002). Automatic and intentional brain responses during evaluation of trustworthiness of faces. Nature Neuroscience, 5: 227-83. Yiend, J. & Mackintosh, B. (2005) Cognition and emotion, Chapter 13, in Braisby, N. & Gellalty, A. (Eds.) Cognitive Psychology (pp. 463-506), Oxford: Oxford University Press.