Before I provide the basics on this topic, I just happened to stumble across something interesting while doing research: Apparently, although there are well-established, neurobiological explanations for emotions, there is some debate about understanding emotions from a biological standpoint versus psychological and conceptual/constructionist standpoints. Studies have been conducted to show either how these three approaches are clearly distinct from each other or how they overlap. Further, there is even some debate about how exactly to define the words associated with emotions .
However, because I am delving into this subject and first want to understand thoroughly the neurobiological foundation for emotions — not to mention it would probably require an entirely different discussion thread to address conceptual or constructionist approaches to emotions — I am just pointing out an interesting find that may be worth exploring at some point. I am generally a bit skeptical about conceptual approaches that stray away from established biology or change the language in science — but there are certainly many studies being done on all sides of the debate.
Moving forward, here is an overview of four core emotions — fear, anger, happiness, sadness — and how the brain helps initiate and manage them:
Fear: A few keys parts of the brain are activated to produce fear: the hypothalamus, the amygdala, and the frontal cortex. Damage to the amygdala (lesions, for example) can cause a weaker emotional response, as well as memory loss, including not fully retaining significant events, It can also weaken the perception of danger.
Anger: The amygdala, being a chief component of emotional response, is engaged, as well as the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. Damage to the prefrontal cortex, for example, can cause rather erratic behaviors and impede moral judgement.
Happiness: The limbic cortex, in conjunction with the precuneus, produces happiness. Damage to the precuneus, specifically, can cause loss of memory and attention span.
Sadness: Engaged in several areas of the brain, including the amygdala, the hippocampus, the left insula, and the right occipital lobe. Because sadness can be linked to depression, dysfunction in the above parts of the brain can create chemical balances that initiate or worsen depression.
Next up — gender socialization and emotional expression:
Briefly, men and women have both similarities and differences in their emotional response to various situations. And while there are classic stereotypes assigned to men and women, these often overlap in different ways, Cultural influence also plays a role in what degree emotions are displayed, what is or isn’t socially acceptable, etc.
For example — and while this is not the most comfortable of subjects — gender-based violence may elicit different emotion responses, or approaches to those responses in various cultures. Here in the West, while domestic violence unfortunately still occurs, it is not directly tied to an ideological system. And society as a whole frowns upon domestic violence.
However, in a culture where a certain ideological system or corrupt social hierarchy enables certain acts of violence against men or women, the emotion response may be varied or outwardly contradictory to other cultures. Say, in one culture, a man is publicly flogged for infidelity: While this may elicit a fear response to what is about to happen, it might be more about the act itself than of the laws and social customs in that society. In other words, the man may acknowledge that he deserved the punishment because of his upbringing and traditions.
Whereas in a more classically liberal, not-so-heavily ideological society, violently abusive acts against men and women are considered abhorrent, and the society generally empathizes with the victims and focuses on coping with the situation and psychologically dealing with the often lasting insecurities and humiliation that comes from being a victim of violence.
Overall, each situation may have lasting effects on the individual, including ongoing trauma that can affect a person’s trust and future responses in similar situations. Especially if those individuals happen to view similar acts of violence while watching the news, or a TV show that deals with a similar subject. and other possible emotional triggers.
Moawad, H. (2017). How the Brain Processes Emotions. Retrieved from https://www.neurologytimes.com/blog/how-brain-processes-emotions
Seladi-Schulman, J. (2018). What Part of the Brain Controls Emotions?. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/what-part-of-the-brain-controls-emotions#anger
Sanchez-Pradaa, A., Delgado-Alvarez, C. (2014). Approaching the Effects of Gender-Based Socialization on the Emotional Expression: an Exploratory Study. Retrieved from https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/
Celeghin, A., Diano, M., Bagnis, A., Viola, M., Tamieto, M. (2017). Basic Emotions in Human Neuroscience: Neuroimaging and Beyond. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5573709/