Cognitive Theories of Emotions

James-Lange Theory: When we see something in our environment (stimuli), we start to exhibit physiological responses

• Somatic Marker Theory: People tend to use their gut reactions when they make a decisions

Cannon-Bard Theory: An emotion-provoking event leads to simultaneously to an emotional and bodily reaction

• The thalamus triggers both emotion and physiological reactions

Two Factor Theory of Emotion: When we experience an emotion we have a certain level of undifferentiated arousal with a mental attribution of that arousal

• Undifferentiated arousal: A specific level of arousal

• Mental attribution: Recognition of how they are feeling in a specific situation

• We have to interpret the arousal depending on the situation we are in

  • E.g. A person with social anxiety, would interpret social situations as “I am experiencing a lot of fear”

Unconscious Influences on Emotion

Subliminal Priming: Stimuli that is below the threshold of conscious detection

Many emotional reactions may be generated automatically

• Subliminal exposure to positive or negative cues influence moods

Facial Feedback Hypothesis: Blood vessels in the face feedback information information in the brain, altering our experience of emotions

• E.g. Smiling should typically make individuals feel happier, and frowning should make them feel sadder