Theories of Emotion

Theories of Emotion in Psychology

Multiple psychologists have attempted to understand emotion. This drive to understand has resulted in several different theories of emotions. These different theories of emotions stem from different ideas. Some of them stem from the idea that our physiologic states determine our emotions, others state that cognition is what determines our emotions. There are 6 universal emotions: Happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, disgust, and fear.

Emotion in psychology is defined as a complex state of feeling. These feelings will result in psychological and physical changes that will affect both thought and behavior. James and Lange (1884) constructed a theory of emotion in psychology. The Cannon-Bard theory (1927) was introduced later, and Schachter and Singer (1962) also added their thoughts on the psychology of emotions. More recently, Lazarus (1991) created his own theory of emotion as well.

Though psychologists agree that emotions associated with feelings have physiological, behavioral, and cognitive components, they disagree as to how the three components interact to produce feelings and actions.

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

The two-factor theory of emotion is also known as Schachter and Singer’s theory of emotion; it emerged in the 1960s. This theory was one of the first cognitive theories of emotion. This theory states that emotion comes from an interaction between physical arousal and the person's cognitive label of that emotion. Just having a physiologic response is not enough to experience an emotion.

In order to test this theory, the two theorists performed an experiment. Participants were informed that they were in a new trial testing a drug's effects on eyesight. They used epinephrine, which acts on the body as a sympathetic activator. Epinephrine causes fast heart rate, dilated pupils, trembling, and sweating. These subjects were split into two groups; one group was informed of side effects, while the other was not. Then they were placed in a room with an actor (confederate) who they believed to be just another participant. The actors were informed to either act excited or angry.

They concluded that the people who were not aware of the side effects were more likely to feel emotion than those who were informed. Those that weren’t aware of the drug's effects attributed the stimulation to their situation, and assumed it was because of emotion.

Cognitive-Appraisal Theory of Emotion

The cognitive-appraisal theory states that emotion depends on the interpretation of a situation.

One example of the cognitive-appraisal theory: Imagine a person walks into a dark house at night, and their friends jump out with a birthday cake. Despite this being a surprising situation, the person is likely to interpret the situation as exciting. They will most probably be happy.

Another example would be if a person goes through a breakup. Despite this being a sad situation, focusing on the positives (the ability to spend more time on hobbies, the ability to meet new people and have time for self-growth, etc) can help them have a positive view of the break-up.

The Lazarus Theory of Emotion

The Lazarus theory of emotion is also called the cognitive meditational theory of emotion. It was coined by Richard Lazarus, who focused on appraisal for explaining emotion.

According to Lazarus, there are 5 stages to his theory.

Stage 1

Primary appraisal is the first stage, involving the person appraising their situation. They can either classify it as positive, dangerous, or irrelevant. Positive or irrelevant situations end the stages of emotion.

Stage 2

Secondary appraisal occurs if the situation is thought to be dangerous. Then the person will assess their readiness to deal with said situation. If they are prepared then this ends the stages of emotions. If not, they progress to stage 3.

Stage 3

Stage 3 is stress. The inability to deal with their situation will lead to stress. A person will stay at this stage until they work towards a resolution.

Stage 4

Coping skills is stage 4. According to Lazarus, there are two ways an individual can cope with stress. They can be either problem-focused or emotionally focused.

Stage 5

Reappraisal occurs after the stressor is removed. They then reappraise their situation and learn from it.

The James-Lange Theory of Emotion

William James and Carl Lange were two psychologists who studied emotion in the 1800s. They actually came up with their theories separately! They combined their work later. According to their theory, there are two parts to our emotions. The first is what we experience in our environment and how it affects our physiology. The second part is how we interpret what we experience.

The sequence looks like this: Physiological changes --> interpretation of feelings --> emotion --> behavior.

When we get excited, our heart rate increases, our pupils dilate, and our blood pressure rises. We're generally not afraid of feeling excited. When we're nervous, our heart rate increases, our pupils dilate, and our blood pressure rises, just like when we feel excited. The difference is that we don't usually enjoy feeling nervous.

Feeling nervous all the time is a serious problem. So why the difference between these two feelings? According to James and Lange, the difference is how we interpret our physiologic response.

Before this theory, most psychologists thought that emotions come first, and physiological responses come after. James and Lange were some of the first psychologists to reverse this order: our physiological response (sweating, heart racing, etc.) comes first, and our perception of what is happening is second.

One criticism of the James-Lange theory of emotion is that emotions tend to usually be associated with only one physiological response.

Opponent-Process Theory of Emotion

The opponent-process theory of emotion was introduced by Richard Solomon. It states that certain emotions have opposites. After some time, one emotion will lead to the other. Let's take a look at an example to understand this better.

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

The Cannon-Bard theory of emotion was publicized by physiologists Walter Cannon and Phillip Bard in 1927. This theory, which is also known as the thalamic theory of emotion, states that humans feel emotion and experience a physiologic response simultaneously. In comparison to the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory used a more neurobiological approach.

This theory is also called the thalamic theory of emotion because it states that the thalamus transmits the signal to the amygdala at the same time it sends a signal to the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in a simultaneous experience. Let's take a look at another example.

Zajonc-LeDoux Theory of Emotion

The Zajonc-Ledoux theory of emotion asserts that sometimes you feel something before you think about it. You might feel afraid when you hear a gunshot, before your brain realizes that it is a gunshot.