THE BASIC THEORIES OF EMOTIONS
The Basic Theories of Emotions
Tiffany Nguyen
Professor Richard Kasschau
Psychology 1300 – MWF9
University of Houston
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THE BASIC THEORIES OF EMOTIONS
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The Basic Theories of Emotions
Emotions play a crucial role in human life whether one feels excitement and curiosity
while learning a new a language or frustration while sitting in traffic. Emotions have long been a
complex subject in psychology. Although hard to describe, emotions are described as a state of
arousal in relations to our behavior and experience. Emotions play a critical role in our behavior
affecting our efficiency in everyday life. Our levels of arousal have a direct part in our
efficiency. High levels or arousals cause inefficiency while more moderate levels bring upon
more efficient behaviors (Damasio, A., 2012). It’s difficult to describe because each individuals
experience differ from one another it’s hard to distinguish an emotion due to the degree of
variation and the multitude of emotions. Regardless, there are numerous influential theories that
help give a better understanding of emotions while conflicting with one another at the same time.
The first theory would be the James-Lange theory created by William James and Carl
Lange. William James, born in 1842 in New York City and was an American psychologist and
philosopher (Lange, C., & James W., 1922). Carl Lange was also a psychologist at the same time
as James. Coincidentally, James and Lange developed two similar theories of emotions
separately from one another but at the same time. This theory suggests that emotions are caused
by our bodily responses that directly correlate to our emotions (Lange, C., & James W., 1922).
So a person must experience a body response before actually feeling any emotions. An example
of this could a student preparing for a public speech. His hands sweat which thus makes him
realizes he is nervous. Our emotion is a consequent response to a stimulus.
The second theory is the Cannon-Bard theory which was started with Walter Cannon.
During the 1930’s, Canon wanted to test the James-Lange theory and discover what results he
could get. (Gorman, P., 2004). Walter criticized the James-Lange theory on observations he
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noticed through his own experiments. What Canon discovered was that “the feeling of emotion
and the peripheral arousal that accompanied it were completely independent…” (Gorman, P.,
2004, p.111). This theory had an opposing view towards the James-Lange theory stating that
emotions are not reactions to physiological responses. Signals that are sent from the thalamus
allow for emotion and physiological responses to occur parallel from one another. (Strongman,
K. T., 2003). Basically, the Cannon-Bard theory states that although “reactions are crucial in the
process of general arousal, the experience and expression of a specific emotion is independently
triggered elsewhere…” (Gorman, P., 2004, p.111). An example of the Canon-Bard theory would
be an individual watching a scary movie. The young girl is startled by the horror flick (stimulus)
and begins to sweat and tense up while simultaneously feeling fear.
Third, would be the Opponent-Process Theory of emotion which was developed by
Richard Solomon and John Corbit. Solomon and Corbit were both psychologists and suggested
that each basic emotion we experience has an opposing counterpart (Strongman, K. T., 2003).
Basically, while an individual experience one emotion, the opposite emotion is suppressed but
reemerges to inhibit the first initial response. There is also strong emphasis that without feeling
one emotion, an individual cannot feel the other differing emotion. Solomon and Corbit actually
used skydivers as research by analyzing the emotions that beginners skydivers first experienced
– which was often fear. After the jumped and landed, the fear of jumping was minimal and the
post jump pleasure was also increased (Solomon, L. R., Corbit, D. J., 1978).
Overall, the James-Lange theory emphasizes on body responses in the production of an
emotional response. Essentially, people feel emotions and then react whether it’s smiling or
crying. While on the other hand, the Canon-Bard theory is known for putting “greater emphasis
on… the emotional experience prior to the feeling of emotion” (Gorman, P., 2004). This theory
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expressed that a variation of different emotions and physiological arousal happen
simultaneously. A person can be profusely sweating while their heart is racing when his is
nervous. The last theory discussed was the Opponent-Process theory – a relatively newer theory
than the previous two. This theory describes how an individual’s emotional reaction to a stimulus
is followed by the exact opposite reaction. Compared to the first two early theories, the
Opponent-Process theory is a more modern theoretical view of emotions. Together, these
theories allow for different, unique take on the views of emotions and how they occur. Although
some contradict others, all three of the theories allow for a better understanding of not only
emotions but behavior as well.
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References
Damasio, A. (2012). Emotion. In AccessScience. Retrieved from
www.accessscience.com.ezproxy.lib.uh.ed.
Gorman, P. (2004). Motivation and Emotion. Routledge.
Lange, C., & James W. (1922). The Emotions Volume 1. Williams & Wilkins Company.
Solomon, L. R., Corbit, D. J. (1978) An Opponent-Process Theory of Motivation (Vols. 68).
American Economic Association.
Strongman, K. T. (2003). The Psychology of Emotion : From Everyday Life to Theory. J. Wiley
& Sons.