Emotional Hijacking Analysis

brain is directed by the action of amygdala that is, the passionate reaction, and on the other hand, the neo-cortex drives it to experience, the reasoning for the responses, justification for that and the memory of the experience. Animals such as reptiles, don't have neo-cortex and therefore, cannot experience and learn anything such as maternal love; this is why baby snakes have to hide to avoid being eaten by their parents.

However, Le Doux (1986) has explained that the instinctual and passionate responses of the primitive brain take priority over the thoughtful, considered responses of the neo-cortex and human beings are actually genetically programmed to be driven by the instinctual passions (due to amygdala's action). This is termed

While explaining the ‘emotional hijacking’ in human brains, Le Doux (1986) has mentioned that amygdala, in the limbic system of the human brain, acts as an alarm system which, through specific emotional response, copes up with the emergency situation and alerts the major parts of brain. 'It triggers the secretion of the body's fight-or-flight hormones, mobilizes the centres for movement, and activates the cardio-vascular system, the muscles, and the gut' (Goleman, 1995; pp 16-17), Sensory signal from sensory organs first goes to brain's thalamus and across a synapse it reaches the amygdala. From thalamus, another signal is rooted to the brain's rational part of

In general, the term 'emotion' is used to designate "a state of consciousness having to do with the arousal of feelings (Webster's New World Dictionary)'. It is 'distinguished from other mental states, from cognition, volition, and awareness of physical sensation'. Feeling refers to 'any of the subjective reactions, pleasant or unpleasant' that one may experience in a situation. Emotions consists of (a) physiological changes within the bodies, for example, shifts in the heart beat rate, blood pressure and so on; (b) subjective cognitive states, for example, the personal experiences we label as emotions; and (c) expressive behaviours, such as, outward signs of these internal reactions (Taylor, 1999). There are many theories of emotion:

i. James-Lange theory (1890) [cited in Taylor, 1999]: Subjective emotional responses are the result of physiological changes within human bodies. The brain perceives an event and, in turn, sends messages down its neural circuit to other areas of the brain. This action ultimately produces motor, autonomic and endocrine responses. These responses elicit an emotional response, which in turn, is perceived by the brain. Therefore, it is a cyclical process. This theory argues that physiological behaviours precede the