- Compare and contrast the major theories of emotion
- Understand the role of the limbic system in emotion
- Describe how emotions are recognized and expressed
The words emotion and mood are sometimes used interchangeably, but psychologists use these words to refer to two different things. Here we will focus on emotion, and you will learn more about mood in the chapter that covers psychological disorders.
emotion vs. mood
The word emotion indicates a subjective, affective state that is relatively intense and that occurs in response to something we experience. Emotions are often thought to be consciously experienced and intentional.
Mood, on the other hand, refers to a prolonged, less intense, affective state that does not occur in response to something we experience. Mood states may not be consciously recognized and do not carry the intentionality that is associated with emotion (Beedie, Terry, Lane, & Devonport, 2011).
As humans, we can experience a range of emotions. We can be at the heights of joy or in the depths of despair. We might feel angry when we are betrayed, fear when we are threatened, and surprised when something unexpected happens.
This section will outline some of the most well-known theories explaining our emotional experience and provide insight into the biological bases of emotion. We will also discuss the ubiquitous nature of facial expressions and our abilities to recognize those expressions in others.
components of emotion
Our emotional states are combinations of the following components: physiological arousal, psychological appraisal, and subjective experiences.
These appraisals are informed by our experiences, backgrounds, and cultures. Therefore, different people may have different emotional experiences even when faced with similar circumstances.
Over time, several different theories of emotion, shown in Figure 2, have been proposed to explain how the various components of emotion interact with one another.
James-Lange theory of emotion
The James-Lange theory of emotion asserts that emotions arise from physiological arousal.
Recall what you have learned about the sympathetic nervous system and our fight or flight response when threatened. If you were to encounter some threat in your environment, like a venomous snake in your backyard, your sympathetic nervous system would initiate significant physiological arousal, which would make your heart race and increase your respiration rate.
According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, you would only experience a feeling of fear after this physiological arousal had taken place. Furthermore, different arousal patterns would be associated with different feelings.
Other theorists, however, have doubted whether our experiences of physiological arousal can be distinct enough to result in the wide variety of emotions that we experience. For instance, if we have an elevated heart rate and sweaty palms, how does our body distinguish between whether we are anxious or excited? The Cannon-Bard theory of emotion was developed as an attempt to solve that problem.
Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
According to the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion, physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously, yet independently (Lang, 1994). So, when you see the venomous snake, you feel fear at exactly the same time that your body mounts its fight or flight response. This emotional reaction would be separate and independent of the physiological arousal, even though they co-occur.
Despite the contribution of the Cannon-Bard theory to understanding the physiological components of emotion, it fails to account for the role of cognition in emotion. In contrast, the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory proposes that cognitive interpretation plays a critical role in determining the emotional experience.
Schachter-Singer two-factor theory of emotion
The Schachter-Singer two-factor theory of emotion is a variation on previous theories of emotions that takes into account both physiological arousal and emotional experience. According to this theory, emotions are composed of both physiological and cognitive factors. In other words, our emotional experience is the result of our physiological arousal being interpreted differently depending on the context in which it occurs.
In revisiting our example involving the venomous snake in your backyard, the two-factor theory maintains that the snake elicits sympathetic nervous system activation (physiological factor) that is labeled by our minds as fear given the context (cognitive factor), and thus our resulting emotional experience is that of fear. If the context was different and you had labeled your sympathetic nervous system activation as joy, you would have experienced joy. The Schachter-Singer two-factor theory of emotion depends on the cognitive labeling of our physiological experience as much as the physiological experience itself.
This idea was tested through an experiment where male participants were randomly assigned to different groups and given injections of epinephrine to mimic the fight-or-flight response. Some were informed that the injection would cause physiological arousal while others were not informed. Participants waited in a room with a confederate who acted either euphoric or angry, and those who were not expecting arousal were more likely to report experiencing emotions related to the confederate’s behavior (Schachter & Singer, 1962). This demonstrated that context plays a crucial role in interpreting physiological arousal as a particular emotional state.
Polygraph Tests
Strong emotional responses are associated with strong physiological arousal, which caused some theorists to suggest that the signs of physiological arousal, including increased heart rate, respiration rate, and sweating, might be used to determine whether someone is telling the truth or not. The assumption is that most of us would show signs of physiological arousal if we were being dishonest with someone.
A polygraph, or lie detector test, measures the physiological arousal of an individual responding to a series of questions. Someone trained in reading these tests would look for answers to questions that are associated with increased levels of arousal as potential signs that the respondent may have been dishonest on those answers. While polygraphs are still commonly used, their validity and accuracy are highly questionable because there is no evidence that lying is associated with any particular pattern of physiological arousal (Saxe & Ben-Shakhar, 1999).
While the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory emphasizes the role of both physiological arousal and cognition in emotions, the appraisal theory emphasizes cognitive appraisal, or the interpretation of a situation, as the primary driver of emotions.
appraisal theory
Also called cognitive-mediational theory, the key idea of Lazarus’ appraisal theory is that you have thoughts (a cognitive appraisal) before you experience an emotion, and the emotion you experience depends on the nature of the thoughts you have (Frijda, 1988; Lazarus, 1991). If you think something is positive, you will have more positive emotions about it than if your cognitive appraisal is negative, and the opposite is also true.
Appraisal theory explains the way two people can have two completely different emotions regarding the same event. For example, suppose your psychology instructor selected you to present a lecture to the class on emotion; you might see that as positive because it represents an opportunity to be the center of attention, in which case you might experience the emotion of happiness. However, if you dislike speaking in public, you could have a negative appraisal and experience discomfort.
