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A two-way road

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posted on 2023-06-08, 18:02 authored by Neil Harrison, Sylvia D Kreibig, Hugo CritchleyHugo Critchley
Definitions of Emotion How to conceptualize and define emotion remains an active debate (Scherer, 2005) and is of considerable importance, because different concepts of emotion contribute to divergent interpretations of research findings (see, e.g., the natural kinds debate; (Feldman-Barrett, 2006; Izard, 2007). In the interaction of emotion and physiology, two important conceptualizations can be distinguished: efferent (outwardly conducting nervous impulses to an effector organ) and afferent (inwardly conducting impulses toward the central nervous system) effects of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in emotion. A prevalent view that emphasizes the role of efferent outflows of ANS activity conceptualizes emotion as a multicomponent response, elicited by appraising an event as relevant to personal goals, needs, or values, with coordinated effects on subjective feeling, physiology, and motor expression (Scherer, 2009; see also Chapter 1). This definition emphasizes the multiple components that constitute an emotional response, including emotional feelings, physiological reactivity, and instrumental and expressive behavior, as well as the central orchestration of the response.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Page range

82-106

Pages

24.0

Book title

The Cambridge handbook of human affective neuroscience efferent and afferent pathways of autonomic activity in emotion

Place of publication

Cambridge

ISBN

9781107001114

Department affiliated with

  • Clinical and Experimental Medicine Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Editors

Jorge Armony, Patrik Vuilleumier

Legacy Posted Date

2014-08-06

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