Who Needs Emotions? The Brain Meets the Robot

eware the passionate robot 339
when a plan is completed which addresses the source of that
state; or it may simply dissipate when alternative plans are made.
However, if some major goal has been rendered unattainable
by some event, the negative emotion associated with the event
may not be dissipated by embarking on other plans since they
do not approach the goal. Another issue is that our memory of
an episode may be more or less charged with the emotional state
which was part of the event. On one occasion, one might recall
the death of a loved one with real grief; on another occasion,
that death is recalled without any trace of sadness. Thus, our
emotional state on any one occasion can be modulated by the
emotional states evoked by the more or less conscious recall of
associated episodes. (I do not claim to have any theory of how
memory and emotion interact or of the variability of these interactions;
but see, e.g., Christianson, 1992.)
4. I decided in mid-afternoon to put together a chart to discuss with
N at our meeting, but the printer gave me some problems, and it
was already after 4 when I left my office for the meeting, feeling
somewhat flustered, but glad that I had a useful handout and
pleased that I was only a few minutes late. I was looking forward
to the meeting, and experienced no regret or frustration that it had
been postponed the day before.
Putting together a chart → using printer and having problems →
running late for meeting → feeling flustered → but only mildly
late and with a good handout → glad; pleasant anticipation (4)
Presumably, the extra time to prepare the chart provides
another reason to dispel residual annoyance (if any) from
Tuesday’s cancellation; but this opportunity was not realized
in time to affect my mental state on Tuesday. Consequences of
a situation may not be realized until long afterward. Note that
the lack of regret or frustration is not part of my mental state at
this point. Rather, it is part of the narrative composed later and
was designed to highlight what happened next.
5. However, when I arrived at about 4:06, N’s secretary wasn’t there
and neither was N. Another secretary explained that N’s secretary
had left a message for me earlier in the day to move the meeting
forward to 2:30. (I had not received the message because of my
secretary’s absence that day.) N was not available. Would I care
to make an appointment? With a curt “No,” I turned on my heels,
and stormed out of the office and back to my own.