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Emotions

Emotions involve three components: a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral response. The James-Lange theory proposes that physiological responses produce emotions, while the Cannon-Bard theory argues that the emotional experience and physiological response occur simultaneously in response to a stimulus. Both theories use the example of hearing a noise in a dark room alone to illustrate how fear is experienced through changes in heart rate and trembling under each theory.

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Aiman Razzaq
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33 views2 pages

Emotions

Emotions involve three components: a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral response. The James-Lange theory proposes that physiological responses produce emotions, while the Cannon-Bard theory argues that the emotional experience and physiological response occur simultaneously in response to a stimulus. Both theories use the example of hearing a noise in a dark room alone to illustrate how fear is experienced through changes in heart rate and trembling under each theory.

Uploaded by

Aiman Razzaq
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What Are Emotions?

In their book "Discovering Psychology," authors Don Hockenbury and Sandra E.


Hockenbury suggest that an emotion is a complex psychological state that involves
three distinct components: a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a
behavioral or expressive response.2
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience that we experience as a
result of our interactions with our environment. There are positive emotions and
negative emotions, and these emotions can be related to an object, an event, social
emotions, self-appraisal emotions, etc.

James-Lange Theory

The James-Lange theory of emotion was proposed by psychologists William James


and Carl Lange. According to this theory, as we experience different events, our
nervous system develops physical reactions to these events. Examples of these
reactions include increased heart rate, trembling, upset stomach, etc. These
physical reactions in turn create emotional reactions such as anger, fear and
sadness.
For example, imagine sitting in a dark room all by yourself. Suddenly you hear
breathing sound behind you. Your heart rate increases and you may even begin to
tremble. You interpret these physical responses as you are scared and so you
experiencefear.
Cannon-Bard Theory
The Cannon-Bard theory of emotion was developed by physiologists Walter
Cannon and Philip Bard. According to this theory, we feel the emotions and
experience the physiological reactions such as sweating, trembling and muscle
tension simultaneously.

Cannon-Bard Theory declares that the experience of emotion does not merely rely
on bodily inputs and how the body responds to stimuli. Both of these occur at the
same time autonomously. People recognize the emotions and simultaneously
undergo physiological responses such as perspiring, trembling and tensing of
muscles.

For example, you are in a dark room all by yourself and suddenly you hear
breathing sound nearby. According to the Cannon-Bard theory, your heart rate
increases and you begin to tremble. While you are experiencing these physical
reactions, you also experience the emotion of fear.

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