Hockenbury, D.H. & Hockenbury, S.E. (2010). Discovering psychology (6th ed.).

New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

THEORIES OF EMOTION
James-Lange Theory of Emotion
Imagine that you are walking though a deserted parking lot late at night. A
shadowy figure then emerges behind your car, and the figure starts to move towards
you. You then walk briskly, but then he calls out saying "What's the rush?" and then tries
to catch up to you. Your heart is pounding, and you make a run for your car. You then
scuffle with your keys, then swiftly get in your car and lock the doors. Your hands were
shaking so you had a difficulty in putting your keys into ignition. When you did, you
immediately stepped on the accelerator, and drove onto a well-lit and crowded street.
Still shaken up by what happened, you slowly ease your foot off the accelerator pedal,
wipe you sweaty palms on your pants, and calm yourself down. After several minutes,
you breathe a sigh of relief.
In the situation that was stated above, the three components to emotion are
present. The first one is a subjective feeling that is known as "fear." Second, is an
experience of physical arousal, which may be in the form trembling, sweating, pounding
of heart, and rapid breathing. And the last one, the expression of fear both in facial
expression, and in action in the form of making a run for the car.
Rationally, the view of emotion would say that one would distinguish a
threatening situation, and then react by the expression of fear. This experience would
activate the sympathetic nervous system, and then trigger ones fearful behavior.

However, psychologists William James, and Carl Lange proposed a different

explanation for emotion. Their theories were alike and were proposed at about the same
time. Thus, the theory was known as the James-Lange Theory of Emotion.
Take into consideration the example above. According to the James-Lange
Theory, your heart did not pound, and you did not run due to fear. You felt fear due to
the pounding of your heart and from the running. Feedback from the physiological
arousal and from the muscles involved in the actions caused the feeling of fearfulness.
Thus, the James-Lange Theory believe that the sequence of emotion is, first the
perception of stimulus; second, physiological and behavioral change happens; and
lastly, the experience of a specific emotion.
The James-Lange Theory was later disputed by American psychologist, Walter
Cannon. First, Cannon pointed out that physical reactions are similar for several
emotions yet the subjective experience of these emotions are vastly different. Second,
emotional reactions is often faster the physiological reaction. Thirdly, artificially inducing
physiological changes does not necessarily produce a related emotional experience.
(Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2010, p. 336)
In a collaboration with Philip Bard, the Cannon-Bard Theory was formed. It
theorized that the emotion and the physiological arousal occur more or less at the same
time. According to Cannon, the physical changes caused by various emotions were
distinct enough to allow them to be distinguished as different emotions. Bard,
expounded the idea by stating that the sensory information that comes into the brain is

send simultaneously by the thalamus to both the cortex and the organs of the
sympathetic nervous system.
COGNITIVE THEORIES OF EMOTION
A second theory of emotion was proposed by Stanley Schachter and Jerom
Singer. Schachter and Singer agreed with James theory that physiological arousal is the
main component of emotion, however, they also agreed with Cannon that physiological
arousal is similar for several kinds of emotions. Therefore, physiological arousal alone
would not produce an emotional response. Two-Factor Theory then states that emotion
is the result of the interaction of physiological arousal and cognitive label used to
explain the arousal.
Schachter and Singer tested their theory though the Angry/Happy Man
experiment. Male student volunteers were told that there were to answer a
questionnaire about their reactions to a new vitamin called Suproxin, which in reality
was a drug called epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline, which causes
physical arousal in the form of increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and reddened face.
Each students then took part in one of two conditions. One was wherein a confederate
posing as participant started complaining

about the experimenter, tearing up his

questionnaire, then storming out of the room. The other was one man who acted like he
was overjoyed, almost giddy, and playing with some of the objects in the room.
The participants who had been exposed to the angry man interpreted their
arousal symptoms as anger, whereas the ones exposed to the happy man interpreted

their arousal as happiness. Thus, it could be concluded that physiological arousal has to
be interpreted cognitively before it is experienced as a distinct emotion.
For the final theory of emotion, let us take into consideration the example in the
first theory, supposed that you recognized the voice that called out as that of a friend of
yours. The emotional response would be different from whose voice you do not
recognize. This is basic principle of the Cognitive-Mediational Theory. It was developed
by psychologist Richard Lazarus, the theory stresses that the most vital aspect of
emotional experience is cognitive interpretation, or appraisal, of a stimulus that is
potentially emotion-causing. As the name suggests, cognitive appraisals of a stimulus
mediates or determines the emotional response to it.
According to Lazarus, all emotions are results of cognitive appraisals of the
meaning of the experience or event to the specific person. In the case of the example of
the shadowy figure in the parking lot, the relief that you were not on the verge of being
attacked by an assailant could quickly change into a different emotion. If it were a good
friend, it may elicit a feeling of happiness, or if it were an irritating acquaintance, it may
elicit feelings of annoyance or dread.