Hemispheric Asymmetry and Affect in Social Perception
Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Natural Sciences
First Advisor
Bauer, Gordon
Keywords
Hemisphere, Asymmetry, Laterality, Prefrontal, Amugolala
Area of Concentration
Biopsychology
Abstract
The field of emotion research has undergone a renaissance in recent decades. Technological and conceptual advances have allowed many heretofore-unanswerable questions to be addressed in controlled experimentation. Findings indicate that emotional processing serves to hasten decision-making by limiting possible outputs to two main alternatives: approach and avoidance. Approach and avoidance states or tendencies are a universal means of coping with environmental pressures. Important nodes in this function are centered on the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the amygdala. Temporal lobe regions dedicated to object and face recognition communicate with the amygdala and OFC, allowing social cues such as facial or bodily expressions to act as rewarding or punishing stimuli and thus guide appropriate behavioral responses. A growing body of evidence from many species indicates that the right and left hemispheres have different roles in emotional processes. Two major hypotheses have been established concerning the nature of this involvement. The right hemisphere hypothesis proposes a possible right hemisphere advantage in emotion, affect, and social perception. The valence hypothesis postulates that the right hemisphere has special involvement with negative or avoidance type states while the left has a role in positive or approach oriented states. The evolution of the human central nervous system predisposed each of its two hemispheres to serve different functions. Evolutionary influences that have contributed to differences in cognitive functioning may have led to observed hemisphere differences for emotional behaviors.
Recommended Citation
Potthast, Daniel, "Hemispheric Asymmetry and Affect in Social Perception" (2003). Theses & ETDs. 3292.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3292
Rights
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