View/Open - University of Zululand Institutional Repository

disgust." She also says the right hemisphere is able to encode emotional knowledge in
a way that the left hemisphere with its verbal search processes cannot.
According to Brand and Graves (1994:141) our psychic life is a continuum of
emotional (hot) function at one end and cognitive (cool) function at the other. Between
these two poles there are many combinations ofemotional cognitive mixes.
Modern Psychophysiological Approaches
These approaches emphasise the arousal of the autonomous nervous system
(ANS) and the role of the endocrine system in emotion. Ledoux (1986) and Ledoux,
Romanski & Xagoraris (1989), according to Sternberg (1998:549), suggest that the
arousal of the autonomous nervous system may not be solely responsible for arousing
emotions. However, they are ofthe opinion that there may be multiple patterns ofANS
arousal, which correspond to different emotions. Sternberg (1998:549) also quotes
Ekman, Levenson and Friesen (1983) that "suggested that different emotions might be
characterized by different patterns ofphysiological response."
A contrasting view by Henry and Stephens (1977) suggests that the endocrine
system is linked to emotions, where concentrations of different hormones may lead to
different emotions e.g.:
Emotion
Hormone
Anger is caused by an increase in Noradrenaline
Fear is caused by an increase in Adrenaline
Depression is caused by an increase in ACm
Aggression is caused by an increase in Testosterone
Elation is caused by a decrease in ACTH
Elation is caused by a decrease in ACTH
Figure 1. Table shOWing which hormones cause which emotions