Putting Emotions on Trial: teacher key

Feelings, grade 10 edition, written for 10th grade. From William James in 1884 to brain scans of faces, follow the experiments and arguments that scientists have used to find out what an emotion is and what it does.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What did William James argue in 1884?
   • We feel sorry because we cry (answer)
   • We cry because we feel sorry
   • Feelings come from the heart
2. What did Darwin actually claim about facial expressions?
   • Every expression is universal
   • Only a specific set he studied is universal (answer)
   • No expression is universal
3. In the UCLA study, which label reduced the amygdala response?
   • The name "Harry"
   • The word "angry" (answer)
   • Neither one
4. What do appraisal theories say makes emotions differ from one another?
   • How a person evaluates the significance of a situation (answer)
   • How loud a person is
   • How fast a person runs
5. Why might the amygdala respond to pictures shown too quickly to see?
   • One path from the senses leads quickly to it (answer)
   • It has eyes of its own
   • Pictures are always bright
6. What happened to the control group in the Stanford study?
   • Their heart rates went up
   • They showed no change (answer)
   • They could not take part

Words

• universal: the same everywhere
• appraisal: sizing up
• reappraisal: rethinking a situation
• amygdala: the brain's alarm
• arousal: body activation