How emotion influences cognition (e.g., memory, judgment, attention, etc.)

3-5 page paper (double-spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman or similar font, 1 inch margins), you should write a paper on a topic related to something we’ve discussed in this course.

The paper should include clear experimental examples from two peer-reviewed empirical (i.e., experiment-based) articles (ideally from psychology journals) that you find outside of what I have provided to you via lecture, readings, textbook, etc. For example, the Kornell & Bjork (painting) article is a peer-reviewed empirical article: it conveys novel research and contains a method and results section. (Some journal article talk about research others have conducted, but you need to find the primary source). In your paper, you would describe the methods and results from one or more studies for each of the papers cited. You can use more than two references if you want, and these additional references could be other types of writing (books, review articles, websites).

Make sure to include a title for your paper and attach a reference list. The references in your paper should adhere to APA style. See attached document for information.

To earn an A, your paper should be well written, well researched (including the discussion of research not discussed in class, the textbook, or assigned readings), insightful, and compelling/interesting to a general audience). Open the assignment to view the rubric.

ANSWER

How Emotions Influence Cognition

Cognition refers to the mental processes that are utilized in comprehension and gaining knowledge. These processes include remembering, knowing, problem solving, attention and planning (Eysenck & Brysbaert, 2018). Emotions are universal and are essential to human cognitive processes. Various research studies have indicated that emotions greatly influence the cognitive processes in human beings, such as attention, perception, memory, learning, problem-solving, and reasoning. Therefore, this paper will explain how human emotional states tend to influence cognitive processes.

According to Finley (2019), cognitive and emotional processes are considered two different but interacting systems. Previously, emotion and cognition have been long perceived as independent systems. However, current research on neurobiological and cognitive sciences has indicated a relationship between cognitive processes and emotions. Human emotions consist of intricate interactions of behavioural and psychological responses and subjective feelings that are increasingly triggered by external stimuli, which are subjectively considered significant. Three varying approaches are utilized to monitor the emotional changes. These include subjective approaches, objective approaches and behavioural investigations of facial expressions (Tyng, Amin, Saad & Malik, 2017). On the other hand, cognition entails the mental processes that are conducted in the brain and how individuals tend to comprehend and absorb information and make sense out of it.

Emotions have played a great role in cognitive processing. Emotions can lead to effects at the time of encoding, recollection and retrieval processes. Strong evidence has shown that emotion plays a crucial role in executive control, perception, attention and decision making. (Kuppens & Verduyn, 2017). For instance, models of attention compete for limited processing capacity. Visual attention can be voluntarily associated with an emotionally important stimulus. Ideally, attentional functions and emotional stimuli move in parallel stems within the brain before integrating into a particular part of the brain known as the anterior cingulate. For this reason, emotional stimuli are likely to influence individual concertation in activities such as driving that needs attention.

One of the most appropriate ways to understand the influence of emotions on cognition is through examining the brain’s relation to memory and emotion. Ideally, a memory exists depending on how one has cognitively processed an event that can be linked to the individual’s emotional state during the recalled event. Emotions greatly affect how an event is recalled in detail as compared to another. Numerous emotions have an impact on working memory performance. Tyng, Amin, Saad & Malik (2017) found out that anxiety, elation, effects of danger and carving are emotions that tend to disrupt working memory. Craving entails positive disturbing thoughts that can lead to further elaboration within the episodic buffer, thus lowering the working memory processing capacity.

People with positive emotions are likely to recall the information offered, while those with negative moods such as anger and sadness are less likely to recall the information. Tyng, Amin, Saad & Malik (2017) found out that emotional arousal tends to enhance memory for very significant information and lowers the memory for low priority information. Additionally, positive and negative words are highly recalled as compared to neutral words.

The theory of Flashbulb demonstrates how emotions influence cognition. Talarico & Rubin (2017) stated that the theory explains how an individual’s emotional state greatly influences memories. The theory describes how an individual can often recall where they are, what they are doing, how they reacted and how they were informed as if the entire scene was a flashbulb illumination. Flashbulb memories are often linked to essential autobiographical and historical events. These events can be unexpected, shocking and dramatic, thus associated with emotional feelings. For instance, emotionally arousing situations are very well recalled and are encoded, which boosts memory.

Learning entails questioning what one thinks, knows and opens oneself to complexity and ideas. Emotions tend to affect learners at varying stages within the learning process. Tyng, Amin, Saad & Malik (2017) have demonstrated that emotions can have negative and positive effects on the student’s attention, learning strategies, motivation, and capacity to regulate self-learning. Fear of failure, anxiety, embarrassment, discouragement, boredom and inability to understand an exercise are some of the negative emotions that affect learning. However, positive emotions such as enthusiasm for learning, pleasure for learning a specific topic and the hope of succeeding positively affect the learning process. This is because positive emotions tend to broaden the students’ thinking and attention, which means that they have more positive thoughts.

Additionally, Emotions have also influenced the learning process in terms of retrieval and encoding of information efficiency (Tyng, Amin, Saad & Malik, 2017). For instance, students can have emotional experiences that can influence their ability to learn and engage in class. Students who have positive moods tend to remember the information offered to them easily compared to those with negative moods, which are less likely to recall the information offered to them. Emotions are also known for triggering the learner’s attention which influences the entire learning process. Therefore, emotions affect what is learnt and what a person can retain in their mind. For instance, mathematics anxiety has a wide-ranging effect on the test performance and choice of subject. Additionally, emotions influence memory vital to learning since it allows the use and storage of information.

Emotions have also affected thinking and problem-solving. Positive emotions can improve creative thinking, while negative emotions impact the thinking capacity and can adversely affect the performance of a certain task. Ideally, emotions are considered as the reason for changes in the affective system. For instance, positive emotions such as contentedness, comfort and pleasure enable an individual to appropriately solve problems and make effective decisions while considering sets of alternatives and develop creative decisions and strategies (Scheibe, 2019).

Emotions play an essential role in the decision making process. Yannakakis, Cowie & Busso (2017) argues that emotions impair individual’s decision making ability. Emotions always pass judgements and offer individual instant information concerning the world, the potential dangers and comfort. Emotions can influence not only the decision but also the speed at which one makes a decision. For instance, anger can lead to rash and impatient decision making. When a person is excited, they tend to make rash decisions without having to consider implications. Anxiety prevents one from making inappropriate choices, while interest tends to facilitate one into following their passion and make balanced choices.

Conclusion

In summary, emotions are considered an organism’s reaction to the external event, which has cognitive, psychological, and behavioural aspects. The intensity and quality of emotions indicate the presence of a situation or event that may have an impact, either negative or positive. Emotions have determined how human beings perceive the world, make decisions and organize memory. Substantial evidence has indicated that emotions and cognition have a strong relationship. Emotions influence cognitive processes such as thinking, memory, learning, perception, decision making and attention. Furthermore, influences are derived from both positive and negative emotions that may facilitate or impair the cognitive processes. The studies have indicated that emotions facilitate the secondary process of memory and learning. Therefore, it’s evident that the brain’s higher-level functions are greatly affected by emotions and emotional experiences.

References

Eysenck, M. W., & Brysbaert, M. (2018). Fundamentals of cognition. Routledge.

Finley, A. J. (2019). The Interplay of Cognition and Emotion: Does Incidental Cognitive Processing Influence Subsequent Emotional Responding? (Doctoral dissertation).

Kuppens, P., & Verduyn, P. (2017). Emotion dynamics. Current Opinion in Psychology, 17, 22-26.

Scheibe, S. (2019). Predicting real-world behaviour: Cognition-emotion links across adulthood and everyday functioning at work. Cognition and Emotion, 33(1), 126-132.

Talarico, J. M., & Rubin, D. C. (2017). Ordinary memory processes shape Flashbulb memories of extraordinary events. Flashbulb memories: New challenges and future perspectives, 4, 85-99.

Tyng, C. M., Amin, H. U., Saad, M. N., & Malik, A. S. (2017). The influences of emotion on learning and memory. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 1454.

Yannakakis, G. N., Cowie, R., & Busso, C. (2017, October). The ordinal nature of emotions. In 2017 Seventh International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII) (pp. 248-255). IEEE.