Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-wpx69 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-21T06:31:01.253Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Neuroscience findings are consistent with appraisal theories of emotion; but does the brain “respect” constructionism?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2012

Klaus R. Scherer
Klaus R. Scherer
Affiliation:
Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (SCAS), University of Geneva, CH-1205 Geneva, Switzerland. Klaus.Scherer@unige.chhttp://www.affective-sciences.org/user/scherer
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

I reject Lindquist et al.'s implicit claim that all emotion theories other than constructionist ones subscribe to a “brain locationist” approach. The neural mechanisms underlying relevance detection, reward, attention, conceptualization, or language use are consistent with many theories of emotion, in particular componential appraisal theories. I also question the authors' claim that the meta-analysis they report provides support for the specific assumptions of constructionist theories.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , June 2012 , pp. 163 - 164
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Balderston, N. L., Schultz, D. H. & Helmstetter, F. J. (2011) The human amygdala plays a stimulus specific role in the detection of novelty. Neuroimage 55(4):1889–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dan Glauser, E. s. & Scherer, K. R. (2008) Neuronal processes involved in subjective feeling emergence: Oscillatory activity during an emotional monitoring task. Brain Topography 20(4):224–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davidson, R. J. (1993) Parsing affective space: Perspectives from neuropsychology and psychophysiology. Neuropsychology 7:464–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellsworth, P. C. & Scherer, K. R. (2003) Appraisal processes in emotion. In: Handbook of affective sciences, ed. Davidson, R. J., Scherer, K. R. & Goldsmith, H., pp. 572–95. Oxford University Press. Available at: http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Affective-Sciences-Science/dp/0195126017.Google Scholar
Frijda, N. H. (2007) The laws of emotion. Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Grandjean, D., Sander, D. & Scherer, K. R. (2008) Conscious emotional experience emerges as a function of multilevel, appraisal-driven response synchronization. Consciousness and Cognition 17(2):484–95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grandjean, D. & Scherer, K. R. (2008) Unpacking the cognitive architecture of emotion processes. Emotion 8(3):341–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moors, A. (2009) Theories of emotion causation: A review. Cognition and Emotion 23(4):625–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ranganath, C. & Rainer, G. (2003) Neural mechanisms for detecting and remembering novel events. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 4(3):193–202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roseman, I. J. (2011) Emotional behaviors, emotivational goals, emotion strategies: Multiple levels of organization integrate variable and consistent responses. Emotion Review 3(4):1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roseman, I. J. & Smith, C. A. (2001) Appraisal theory: Overview, assumptions, varieties, controversies. In: Appraisal processes in emotion, ed. Scherer, K. R., Schorr, A. & Johnstone, T., pp. 3–34. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sander, D., Grandjean, D. & Scherer, K. R. (2005) A systems approach to appraisal mechanisms in emotion. Neural Networks 18:317–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scherer, K. R. (1984) On the nature and function of emotion: A component process approach. In: Appraisal processes in emotion, ed. Scherer, K. R., Schorr, A. & Johnstone, T., pp. 293–317. Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Scherer, K. R. (1986) Vocal affect expression: A review and a model for future research. Psychological Bulletin 99:143–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherer, K. R. (1993) Neuroscience projections to current debates in emotion psychology. Cognition and Emotion 7:1–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherer, K. R. (2001) Appraisal considered as a process of multi-level sequential checking. In: Appraisal processes in emotion: Theory, methods, research, ed. Scherer, K. R., Schorr, A. & Johnstone, T., pp. 92–120. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherer, K. R. (2009b) The dynamic architecture of emotion: Evidence for the component process model. Cognition and Emotion 23(7):1307–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherer, K. R. & Ceschi, G. (2000) Studying affective communication in the airport: The case of lost baggage claims. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 26(3):327–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherer, K. R. & Peper, M. (2001) Psychological theories of emotion and neuropsychological research. In: Handbook of neuropsychology, vol. 5: Emotional behavior and its disorders, ed. Gainotti, G., pp. 17–48. Handbook Series editors: F. Boller & J. Grafman. Elsevier.Google Scholar
Siemer, M., Mauss, I. & Gross, J. (2007) Same situation–different emotions: How appraisals shape our emotions. Emotion 7(3):592–600.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed