Untitled - Springer Publishing
Untitled - Springer Publishing
Untitled - Springer Publishing
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CHAPTER 1<br />
There are various possible answers from theory (see Figure 1.6).<br />
There are brain circuits that are attuned to expressions of facial<br />
emotion, for example, in the amygdala. Perhaps, in some individuals,<br />
these circuits are especially finely attuned to facial<br />
stimuli. Encoding any kind of stimulus requires attention. An<br />
alternative hypothesis is that there are some persons who are<br />
especially good at attending to emotional stimuli, while ignoring<br />
other irrelevant ones. Reading the emotions of another is<br />
also easier if we know something about the person and their circumstances.<br />
Perhaps excellence in emotion perception resides<br />
in using background knowledge to make sense of clues to emotion,<br />
or in reasoning what the person is probably feeling given<br />
their recent experiences.<br />
The general point is that simply listing “emotion perception”<br />
as a facet of EI does not tell us anything about the differences<br />
in processing emotional stimuli that determine the<br />
Sensitive<br />
subcortical<br />
circuits for<br />
emotion<br />
Attending<br />
to cues that<br />
indicate<br />
emotion<br />
Superior<br />
emotion<br />
perception<br />
Reasoning<br />
what the<br />
person should<br />
feel<br />
Familiarity<br />
with the<br />
person<br />
FIGURE 1.6 Multiple influences on emotion perception ability, in a<br />
real-life context.<br />
24<br />
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