[MUSIC]

So the idea that we often automatically

react to some
emotional stimuli suggests that we have
some fundamental innate emotions.
The theory of basic emotions suggests that
all
cultures, identify the same kind of basic
emotions.
Anger, disgust, fear, sadness, joy and
surprise.
So in various cultures we can find that
people quite easily recognizes basic f, f,
facial expressions.
And the theory suggests that across
different cultures,
we can find the same basic emotional
reactions.
And also basic emotions.
So this our ability to detect emotional
stimuli and react
to emotional stimuli automatically perhaps
assumes that we have innate emotions.
So the theory of basic emotions suggests
that across
different cultures, people identify the
same kind of emotions.
At least anger, disgust, fear, sadness,
joy and surprise.
So we are able to recognize faces so we
are able to recognize facial expressions
across different cultures.
And we can also recognize expressions
produced by members of other cultures.
So here you see happy, disgusted, angry
face of a person from Papua New Guinea.
And actually Americans students made
between 46-73% correct
judgments for happy, angry, sad and
disgust expressions.
Students were not so good in the correct
judgments of fear or surprise.
But overall, we show quite dramatic
ability
to recognize emotional expressions
correctly across different cultures.
So this effect can be illustrated by
emotional
expressions produced by blind and deaf
children from birth.
These children never saw any emotional
expressions but as
you see here on this examples, they're
emotionally expressive.
You see clear happy faces, you see smiles.
Sadness, you see angry expressions on
faces of children who never
saw any expressions in their life because
they're blind from birth.
So it looks like we have an innate ability
to produce
emotional expressions, we have an
innate ability to recognize emotional
expressions.
And it looks like we have an innate set of
emotions.
At least some basic emotions are
universal.
So why do we need this emotions?
Why do we need this complex system of
basic emotions?
Perhaps to select some actions based on
specific emotions.
The appraisal theory of emotions suggests
that emotion consist of steps.
So first, when we face an emotional fact,
an emotional object.
It triggers an appraisal of this event.
So next, we, it relays a context of the
emotional event.
And this relation process, changes our
priorities for certain actions.
It changes action readiness.
So emotional evaluation would give a
priority to certain decision, to certain
action.
And finally, based on this process, we
releases
the action or we start and make a choice.
And also this choice, as this decision,
this behavior
is accompanied by physiological changes,
by emotional expressions and some.
So here you see a process of emotions.
And at the end of this process, we
select certain action in response to the
emotional stimulus.
So we can illustrate this process using an
example.
For example, you are approached by a
dangerous car and what would you do?
You first evaluate this event as a
relevant as important for you.
Next, emotions give a priority to one or
two actions.
For example, you will jump away from the
street.
And finally, you will experience your
emotions as a mental state.
Accompanied by body changes, by
expressions, by also actions.
So within this process of emotions, you
evaluate external objects.
And you select your action based on this
elimination process.
So we can sum up this idea, in this graph.
So when we face an event, our brain
system, our cognitive system,
processes the stimulus and we can select
an action to react to this stimulus.
We can imagine different mechanisms.
We can select an action by chance.
But this is not a very effective way to
make decisions, to select actions.
We can also use a rational search.
It can be a very good solution but quite
often
takes a lot of time to make a rational
search.
Or we can simply use our emotions, our
emotional reactions, our emotional
evaluation of the stimulus.
So, emotions here are kind of heuristics.
So we select actions.
We select our, em, choices based on
emotions.
Sometimes emotional stimuli automatically
trigger emotions.
Trigger our actions.
Sometimes we have to learn that certain
objects have values.
So it looks like in the brain we have two
parallel process.
One, an, automatic processing of innate
emotional stimuli.
Stimuli that have, innate values, and
additional system in the
brain related to, first of all, to
amygdala and also to orbitofrontal cortex.
Is involved into active learning of new
values, or into updating of values.
So we will focus focus on the se, second
system and we will see today that learning
of
values, learning of emotional meanings of
the stimuli can
dramatically modulate our decisions and
also our financial decisions.
So let's try to understand some basic
facts
about the emotional effective mechanisms,
in our brain.
So, I have to mention the theory of Limbic
System.
This is an old theory and nowadays it's
not very
popular though the strong version of this
theory is perhaps wrong.
But the weak version of this theory is
still popular.
Perhaps because it captures very
interesting aspects of our emotions.
So Paul MacLean suggests that, that in our
brain, we can find three large portions.
The evolutionary old portion belongs to
our
reptilian ancestors, so it is evolutionary
very old.
And on top of this reptilian brain, we got
a new region,
so-called Limbic System as a system
surrounding the reptilian brain.
And this system is related to a dramatic
revolution in,
the behavior of mammalians compared to the
behavior of reptilians.
So, think for a moment, what would be
the major difference between reptilian
behavior and mammalian behavior?
So what would be the most pronounced
difference?
So perhaps our emotional and our social
life is
much richer than the emotional and social
life of reptilians.
Mm, mammalians communicate much more often
to each others.
We also have a rich vocal communication
system.
We care about off, about our offsprings
much more.
There is much closer relationship within,
as a communities
of mammalians, than normally within the
communities of reptilians.
So we have richer social and emotional
life.
And actually, Paul MacLean suggested this
dramatic change in our
behavior was associated with the
development of the Limbic System.
So, this is a system in our brain that is
linked to emotions, to our social life
to our, care f, about our offsprings, to
our vocal communication.
So, this region, our Limbic System, is
related to our dramatic revolution
in social, emotional, parent behavior for
mammalians in comparison with reptiles.
So, interestingly the damage of the
structures indeed lead
to, quite critical abnormalities in
sexual, emotional, social behavior.
So taken together, the theory of Limbic
System suggests that, in our brain, we
can find a evolutionary new system, that
is connected to a dramatic revolution.
In our social, emotional and parent
behavior.
And as compared to the behavior of
reptiles.
Interestingly, the damage of these
structures indeed lead to
very serious abnormalities in sexual,
emotional and feeding behavior.
So traditionally a Limbic System includes
cingulate cortex, amygdala,
hypothalamus, orbitofrontal cortex,
hypothalam, hippocampus.
Sometimes orbitofrontal cortex is also
included in the Limbic System.
But nowadays the strong version of this
theory suggesting that there
is a single emotional system in the brain
is not popular anymore.
So I would present you an opinion of the
leading neuroscientist, Joseph
LeDoux, who is a leading, researcher in
the field of affective neuroscience.
Who suggests that the idea that there is a
single emotional system in the
brain is misleading so it looks like
we have, different systems dedicated to
different emotions.
And each of this system is involved
into solving some problems related to our
survival.
So, it looks like there is no single
emotional system in
the brain, but there are different systems
involved in different emotional process.
So now it makes sense to give a definition
of emotions.
As Edmond Rolls suggested, emotions are
states elicited by
rewards and punishers included the changes
in reward and punishment.
For the purpose of this course I will use
a shorter version of this definition.
Emotions are states elicited by stimuli
with non-zero utility.
So basically, punishers and rewards, they
have values.
And for the purpose of this neuroeconomics
course I think that we can use this,
short version of the definition.
Of course, this is simplification of this
story.
I will try to explain you the related
problems
in the next slide, but this definition is
quite effective.
So Edmund Rolls fitted, major emotions
into to the two dimensional space.
Related to the presentation of rewards,
presentation of punishments,
and to the emission of rewards, and
emission of punishments.
So pleasure is experienced when we get
some reward.
An ecstasy is experienced when we get a
lot of rewards.
So.
Fear is experience when we are punished,
and
terror experienced when we are punished a
lot.
So in the same way, we feel frustration f,
if the
reward is omitted, or we feel an anger if
reward is omitted.
We can feel a relief if the punishment is
omitted.
So indeed within this definition of Edmond
Rolls we can fit the majority of emotions.
Importantly for our course, we use a
shorter version of this
definition which suggests that emotions
are
equal to subjective values to utilities.
Of course emotions are more complex
phenomena than subjective values.
I will illustrate it, it in the next
slide.
So when you fill an emotion.
An emotion is normally triggered by this
stimulus.
So an emotional situation.
Next you interpret the situation.
Next you perhaps trigger a physiological
reaction.
Emotional expressions are produced, you
have an emotional feeling, your
mood changes and all of these steps
modulate other steps.
So emotion normally is a very complex
phenomena.
It consists of various stages.
We use a very simple definition for the
purpose of this course.
Emotions are equal to values.
Of course, emotions also include mood
changes,
emotional expressions, physiological
reactions and so on.
But for the purpose of our neuroeconomics
course I think, it
is important to understand that values are
parts of the emotions.
So emotions perhaps are more complex.
Phenomenon than values.
But surprisingly, emotional brain regions
also encode
values as we will see throughout the
course.
So during the course, we will use the
simplest version of
the definition of emotions, so that
emotions are produced by stimuli.
With non-zero utility.
Of course emotions are more complex,
phenomena than
utility and utility is a component of
emotions.
But utility is coded by emotional neuronal
networks.
And we will see during the course that
emotional brain regions
are involved into the valuation stage of
the decision making process.
So now let's try to understand how their
innate aspects of emotions are decoded by
the brain
and how do we learn emotional meanings of
some
emotional stimuli and how does it affect
our decisions.
[MUSIC]