Zajonc and LeDoux

Major Contributions of Zajonc and LeDoux

Zajonc and LeDoux are often paired together due to their combined efforts on one of the major theories of emotion. Nevertheless, each man contributed individually to the world of psychology. To help you understand their theories, keep in mind that emotion is a psychological state associated with anger, joy, envy, love, etc. Cognitions are thoughts, or, how we process our experiences and sensations.

Robert B. Zajonc

Born in 1923, the Polish American Zajonc's achievements reside in the realm of social psychology. His major accomplishments include his theory of emotion, the mere-exposure effect, and social facilitation.

We will be looking at Zajonc’s theory of emotion later. First, let's take a look at the mere-exposure effect and the concept of social facilitation.

Mere–Exposure Effect

Zajonc’s mere-exposure effect is the concept that people gravitate towards certain objects because of previous exposure to that object. Zajonc based this idea on examples of social behavior that included connections between thoughts and feelings.

Social Facilitation

Zajonc theorized that people tend to perform better in the presence of others. Zajonc believed that if others were observing us, we would try our best to gain their acceptance or approval, and we would try harder if they were observing, rather than if no one was observing.

Joseph E. LeDoux

Born in 1949, LeDoux is an American neuroscientist whose works and accomplishments revolve around mental processes and emotions; his primary focus is understanding fear and anxiety. Two breakthroughs of LeDoux’s include his theory of threat response, and his concept of two pathways.

Threat Response

Ledoux proposed that people recognize threats after experiencing emotions of fear and anxiety. Ledoux theorized that people don’t always recognize threats immediately. They need to use rational thinking skills before they can decide if the threat is legitimate.

Two Pathways/Dual Pathways

LeDoux proposes that there are two different pathways for experiencing emotion. LeDoux says that there is both a “low road” and a “high road” on this dual pathway; the “low road” bypasses thinking because the emotions are immediate, while the “high road” requires thinking to perceive the emotion.

The Meaning of Zajonc's and LeDoux's Theories

Based on their works and ideas, Zajonc and LeDoux share the belief that our emotional responses and cognitive responses do not always follow a specific pattern. Both theorized that some emotions are processed before cognition can occur, while others come after cognition.

Emotions that are helpful to our survival (e.g., fear) come before our cognitive rationalization, while emotions that have less impact on survival, or develop over time (e.g., love) come after cognitive rationalization. The reason for these different patterns is that we need to process and feel fear quickly to respond to danger. We need to know that we might be in danger right away, and feeling happens more quickly than thinking and perception.

Fg. 1 Emotional expression, pexels.com

In instances when our emotions come after cognitions, we need to think about the situation before we know how to feel about it. We need a cognitive reason to feel a certain emotion instead of another.

You can think of these two emotional patterns as two different pathways:

1. A stimulus is introduced --> An emotion is felt --> The brain works on understanding the emotion.
2. A stimulus is introduced --> The brain decides how to feel about the stimuli --> An emotion is felt.

Zajonc's Theory of Emotion

Zajonc also theorized that emotion can be separate from cognition. Think back to when you had your first crush. Did you immediately like that person without knowing why? That is one way Zajonc believed that emotion can occur: without a cognitive appraisal. You can feel something without knowing why you feel it! Zajonc believed we can be primed to feel a certain way or engage in certain behaviors.

Zajonc defended his beliefs by asserting that:

• Not all emotions require purposeful thinking.

  • Audrey gets happy when she listens to K-pop music; she can’t speak Korean but she loves listening to it (she can't explain why she feels happy when hearing it).

• Some emotions can occur without a cognitive analysis of them.

  • Lindsay thinks roller coasters are frightening, but she decides to ride on one anyway. She ends up loving them!

Examples of Zajonc-LeDoux's Theory

A major example of Zajonc-LeDoux's theory is subjective experiences. Subjective experiences refer to the impact on human experience caused by internal emotional and cognitive processes. The opposite of this is objective experiences, which are based on real-life occurrences, i.e., what actually happened, and not how we felt about it or interpreted it. While objective experiences can be verified, subjective experiences are based on individual perceptions.

An example of a highly subjective experience is how people experience pain. Anyone can experience pain, but how we process our emotions and thoughts about the pain varies. How the experience of pain is processed emotionally and cognitively impacts how intensely the pain is experienced.

Another example of Zajonc-Ledoux's theory is one person's judgment of another person. Think back to a time that you judged something or someone. It could be positive or negative: What was the basis for your judgment? Was it based on emotion, or what you thought about the object or person?

Your basis for judgment relates to the two emotional pathways in Zajonc-LeDoux's theory. People pass judgments based on emotions or based on thoughts, and both types of judgments can influence the other.

The Importance of Zajonc and LeDoux's Theory

In their combined theories of emotion, Zajonc and LeDoux created the basis for understanding that emotion and cognition can interact in different ways. Together, both men theorized that emotion could occur before or after cognition, and these two different processes depend on our survival instincts and the passive formation of feelings.

Individually, Zajonc was able to show that humans form preferences based on past experiences. This theory helps explain why kids form certain fears, or why people enjoy certain activities. Zajonc also demonstrated that humans tend to perform better in the presence of others because of a desire for affirmation or approval.

LeDoux described how emotions can develop through two different pathways. His concept of "dual pathways" was a novel theory as it showed that emotions could bypass certain mental processes, based on the amount of brain function required. This theory tested whether or not all emotions require cognition. LeDoux also cultivated the idea of threat responses.

Overall, the research of both men impacted how we study and understand emotion. Their ideas questioned and replaced past ideas about the relationship between cognition and emotion.