Theories of Emotion

What is an emotion?
In psychology, emotion is often defined as a complex state
of feeling that results in physical and psychological changes
that influence thought and behavior.
Theories of Emotions

Theories of emotion can be grouped into three main categories:

1. Physiological theories.
2. Neurological theories.
3. Cognitive theories .
Evolutionary Theory of Emotion
● Charles Darwin, proposed that emotions evolved due to their
adaptability which allowed humans and animals to survive and
reproduce.
● Feelings of love and affection lead people to seek mates and
reproduce.
● Feelings of fear compel people to either fight or flee the source of
danger.
James-Lange Theory of Emotion
● This theory proposes that people have a physiological response to
environmental stimuli and that their interpretation of that physical
response then results in an emotional experience.
● Witnessing an external stimulus leads to a physiological response and
emotional reaction depends on how someone interpret those physical
reactions.
● One classic study published in 1990 provided some support for the
James-Lange theory, finding that when people were asked to make facial
expressions for different emotions, they also displayed slight differences in
their psychological reactions such as heart rate and skin temperature.
● The perception of internal physical states plays a role in how people
experience emotions.
Limitation of James-Lange Theory of Emotion
● Both James & Lange based their ideas upon anything that remotely
resembled controlled experiments. Instead, the theory was largely the
result of introspection and correlational research.
● Researchers discovered that even those with muscle paralysis and
lack of sensation were able to still feel emotions such as joy, fear, and
anger.
● Researchers found that both animals and humans who had
experienced major sensory losses were still capable of experiencing
emotions.
● Factors such as the individual's existing mental state, cues in the
environment, and the reactions of other people can all play a role in
the resulting emotional response.
The Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion
● Cannon-Bard theory represents a neurobiological approach and it states
that we feel emotions and experience physiological reactions such as
sweating, trembling, and muscle tension simultaneously.
● The Cannon-Bard theory of emotion states that people react to a stimulus
and experience the associated emotion at the same time. The physical
reactions are not dependent upon the emotional reaction, or vice versa.
● When an event occurs, the thalamus transmits a signal to the amygdala.
The amygdala is a small, oval-shaped structure in the brain that plays an
important role in emotional processing, including emotions such as fear
and anger. The thalamus also sends signals to the autonomic nervous
system, resulting in physical reactions such as muscle tension, shaking,
and sweating.
Criticisms of Cannon- Bard Theory
Cannon-Bard theory places too much emphasis on the role that the thalamus plays
in emotions while largely ignoring other parts of the brain.

The thalamus is part of the limbic system and does play an important part in the
experience of emotions, but more recent research suggests that the process is
more complex than the Cannon-Bard theory suggests.
Schachter and Singer's Two Factor Theory of Emotion

● The Schachter–Singer theory views emotion as the result

of the interaction between two factors: physiological
arousal and cognition.
● According to the Schachter–Singer theory, physiological
arousal is cognitively interpreted based on environmental
context; this process culminates in emotional experience.
Criticisms of Schachter and Singer's Theory of Emotion
● Other researchers have only partially supported the findings of the original
study and have at times shown contradictory results.
● The researchers found that participants were no more likely to act euphoric
when exposed to a euphoric confederate than when they were exposed to a
neutral confederate.
● Sometimes emotions are experienced before we think about them. Other
researchers have supported James-Lange's initial suggestion that there are
actual physiological differences between emotions.
The Cognitive Appraisal Theory
● The appraisal theory of emotion proposes that emotions are extracted from
our “appraisals” (i.e., our evaluations, interpretations, and explanations) of
events. These appraisals lead to different specific reactions in different people.
● Richard Lazarus built on appraisal theory to develop cognitive -mediational
theory. This theory still asserts that our emotions are determined by our
appraisal of the stimulus, but it suggests that immediate, unconscious
appraisals mediate between the stimulus and the emotional response.
● An initial appraisal begins the emotional sequence by arousing both the
appropriate physiological reactions and the emotional experience itself.
Facial-Feedback Theory of Emotion

● The facial-feedback theory of emotions suggests that facial

expressions are connected to experiencing emotions.
● Charles Darwin and William James both noted early on that
sometimes physiological responses often had a direct impact on
emotion, rather than simply being a consequence of the emotion.
● Supporters of this theory suggest that emotions are directly tied to
changes in facial muscles.