Theories of Emotion
Historical Approaches
Common Sense Theory
1.
2.
3.
4.
Emotion-arousing stimulus leads to a
Conscious feeling (fear, anger) and a
Physiological response.
Emotional Behavior
•
Seeing an angry dog triggers feelings of
fear and physical responses such as
trembling and behavior like running.
Common-Sense Theory
Stimulus
Perception
Emotion
(Tiger)
(Interpretation
of stimulus—
danger)
(Fear)
Bodily
arousal
(Pounding
heart) & Fearful
Behavior
• Common sense might suggest that the
perception of a stimulus triggers emotion
which then causes bodily arousal
Debates in Emotion Research
• Which comes first, physiological
arousal or the subjective experience
of an emotion?
• Can we react emotionally before
appraising a situation, or does
thinking always precede emotion?
James-Lange Theory
•
•
•
•
Opposite of the Common Sense Theory
An emotion-arousing stimulus in the
environment triggers a physiological reaction
and behavior.
Our awareness of the physiological reaction
leads to our experience of an emotion.
James believed that emotion followed this
sequence:
1. We perceive a stimulus.
2. Physiological and behavioral changes occur.
3. We experience a particular emotion.
James’s Theory
Stimulus
(Tiger)
Perception
(Interpretation
of stimulus-danger)
Bodily
arousal
Emotion
(Fear)
(Pounding
heart) & Fearful
Behavior
• Perception of a stimulus causes bodily arousal which
leads to emotion
• We do not run from a tiger because we are
afraid. We are afraid because we ran from the tiger.
• The relationship is See the tiger, Run from tiger,
Experience fear
James-Lange Theory
Walter B. Cannon challenged
the James–Lange theory
• Body reactions similar for most emotions
– Heart races whether we’re frightened, angry or exhilarated
• Emotional reaction to a stimulus is often faster than
our physiological reaction . I’m scared then I tremble
• Artificially inducing physiological changes via
adrenaline did not necessarily produce a related
emotional experience
– You peel an onion & cry yet you don’t feel sad
• James had proposed that if a person were cut off from
feeling bodily changes, he would not experience true
emotions.
– Studies of people with spinal cord injuries and cats with
disabled sympathetic N.S. do not support James’ idea - They
still respond emotionally to a stimulus.
Cannon-Bard Theory
• An emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously
triggers both a…
– physiological response (sympathetic nervous
system) and
– the experience of an emotion (brain’s cerebral
cortex).
Cannon Bard Theory
Theories of Emotion:
Cognition and
Emotion
Schachter-Singer
Two-Factor Theory
• Emotions involve two factors:
– A physiological arousal
– A cognitive/conscious label of the arousal
• Study using epinephrine and a humorous or
irritating situation showed that those who did
NOT know their physiological responses
(increased heart beat) was caused by a shot
rated their emotions as more intense than those
who knew (Spillover Effect)
Schachter’s Cognition-Plus-Feedback Theory
Stimulus
(Tiger)
Bodily
arousal
Perception
(Interpretation
of stimulus-danger)
(Pounding
heart)
Emotion
(Fear)
Type
Intensity
• Perception and thought about a stimulus influence
the type of emotion felt
• Degree of bodily arousal influences the intensity of
emotion felt
Two-Factor Theory
Emotion results from physiological arousal plus a cognitive label
for that arousal
Richard Lazarus (1922-2002)
Cognitive-Mediational Theory
• Emotions result from the cognitive appraisal of a situation’s
effect on personal well-being (done automatically by mind)
• All other components of emotion, including physiological
arousal, follow the initial cognitive appraisal
• Intense emotions come from situations whose outcomes are
important to us.
• Critics argue emotional reactions to a stimulus or event are
virtually instantaneous—too rapid to allow for the process of
cognitive appraisal. They suggest that we feel first and think
later.
Cognitive-Mediational Theory
2. I think he’s a
mugger!
3. I’m afraid
(heart beating)
& will run
away.
1.
I see a man by the parked car.
2.
I hear & recognize his voice.
3.
I know him and am not afraid
OR
1.
I see a man by the parked car.
2.
I think he’s a mugger.
3.
I’m afraid and will run away.
Your emotion depends on your cognitive appraisal or
interpretation of the situation & the perceived outcome of it
Lazarus CognitiveMediational Theory
Cognitive
Label
“This is a
dangerous
situation!”
Pounding
Heart
(arousal)
Fear
(emotion)
James-Lange
Schachter-Singer Two Factor
Cannon-Bard
Cognitive-Mediational
2. I think he’s a
mugger!
3. I’m afraid
(heart beating)
& will run away.
1.
I see a man by the parked car.
2.
I hear & recognize his voice.
3.
I know him and am not afraid
Mnemonics to Help You Remember
James-Lange Theory
Joke – Laugh – Thrilled!
think JAE which stands for "James
Arousal Emotion"
Schachter-Singer
Two Factor Theory
"All Clowns Love, Elephants" which
stands for arousal cognitive label and
emotion, the comma makes you pause so
that emotion is after arousal and
cognitive label.
Cannon-Bard Theory
Say the two Ns in Cannon simultaneously
just like you experience arousal and
emotion
Cannon=Causes, Bard=Both; so it would
be the "Causes Both Theory" because the
theory says that the physiological
response and experience of emotion
happen at the same time, or "the Cause
stimulates Both at the same time.
Cognitive Mediational Theory
Robert Zajonc (1923-2008)
• We feel first, think later.
• Argued emotions developed first then cognition in
the history of human development
• Suggested that not all emotions involve deliberate
thinking
• Therefore, cognition/conscious awareness of what
is happening is not necessary for all emotions
• Some emotions skip the thinking part of the brain
Zajonc Theory:
And the Winner is…
Modern Research Supports
James–Lange Theory
• Antonio Damasio’s findings—that each basic
emotion produced a distinct pattern or neural
response and that the physiological changes
occurred before they were interpreted as an
emotion—support the theory
• Support is also provided by research on the facial
feedback hypothesis—the view that expressing a
specific emotion, especially facially, causes the
subjective experience of that emotion
– When people mimic the facial expressions characteristic of
a given emotion, they tend to report feeling that emotion.
– The basic explanation for this is that the facial muscles send
feedback signals to the brain, which uses the information to
activate and regulate emotional experience.