emotions lecture 2
Early Theories of Emotion
Lecture two covers the content of chapter two, focusing on early theories of emotion. It is emphasized that precautions should be taken to understand these theories since they may appear similar but differ in the order of events in emotional processing.
William James and Carl Lange's Theory
Context and Timeline
William James and Carl Lange developed their theories of emotion around the years 1884 and 1885 respectively.
Dates are noted for context only; specific years are not essential for understanding the theories.
Core Concepts
James and Lange proposed their theories separately but they align enough that they can be integrated into a single theoretical framework.
This theory emphasizes the function of emotions, asserting that emotions arise from physiological responses to stimuli rather than causing them.
Emotions are functional and important for survival, not just feelings that interfere with rational thought. The theory is rooted in evolutionary psychology.
Process of Emotion
Eliciting Event: An event that triggers an emotional response.
Example: Seeing a large bear.
Brain Processing: The event is processed by the brain, leading to physiological and behavioral changes.
The brain monitors bodily states, sending feedback to itself about the ongoing situation through feedback loops.
Bodily Changes: These can include increased heart rate or sweating.
Behavioral Changes: Behaviors may include fleeing or other escape mechanisms.
Emotion Labeling: Finally, individuals label their feelings based on physiological and behavioral responses.
If the brain receives feedback that corresponds to fear (e.g., increased heart rate and running), the label of emotion is assigned as fear.
Cognitive Appraisal
The theory does not explicitly refer to feedback loops as cognitive appraisals; however, modern scholars often interpret them in this way. Cognitive appraisals can occur automatically and affect how emotions are labeled.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
It was the first theory to focus on what elicits an emotion, distinguishing between emotions and other feelings.
Cons:
The theory is criticized by Cannon and Bard, who believed that the order of events is different. They argue subjective feelings can occur prior to physiological changes.
The theory conflates subjective feelings with cognitive appraisals and lacks clarity as to whether feedback loops are cognitive appraisals.
Cannon and Bard's Theory
Cannon and Bard posited an alternative theory that opposed James and Lange on the order of emotional processing.
They agreed that an elicit event causes simultaneous physiological changes, behavioral changes, subjective feelings, and cognitive appraisals, occurring independently rather than sequentially.
Cannon's observations from animal studies indicated that emotions can still be exhibited even when brain connections to the body were severed, questioning the necessity of brain involvement in emotional responses.
They argued that similar physiological responses occur for different emotions (e.g., increased heart rate for fear and excitement), making it impossible for the brain to distinguish the emotion based solely on bodily changes.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
This theory is significant for its emphasis on the role of cognitive appraisals in the emotional process, clarifying the discussion around them.
Cons:
It does not adequately differentiate between fast and slow cognitive appraisals and fails to acknowledge some degree of order in emotional processing.
Schachter-Singer’s Two-Factor Theory
Overview
This theory suggests that an eliciting event causes physiological arousal, which is then cognitively appraised to determine the emotional label. This cognitive appraisal occurs before subjective feelings arise or behavioral responses change.
Example Process:
Eliciting event leads to physiological change.
The individual engages in cognitive appraisal to interpret the arousal.
Based on the appraisal, they label the emotion (e.g., sadness or joy) and experience a corresponding behavioral change.
Unexplained Arousal
A physiological change can occur without an immediate cognitive attribution. This leads to misattribution of arousal, where individuals may incorrectly label their emotions based on other contextual cues.
Research Methods in Emotion Studies
Experimental Design: It distinguishes experiments from correlational or case studies by manipulating an independent variable.
The independent variable is the manipulation made in a study, while the dependent variable is what gets measured.
Quasi-Independent Variables: These are variables that researchers cannot manipulate directly but treat as independent for analysis (e.g., characteristics like gender or age).
Operational Definitions: A clear definition of variables used in studies to ensure consistent interpretation and understanding.
Example: Defining emotion in studies focused on physiological arousal.
Schachter and Singer’s Classic Study
Participants received either an epinephrine injection or a placebo.
Stratified into groups that were either informed about or unaware of the side effects of the shot and then exposed to an eliciting event (euphoria or anger).
Independent Variables:
Type of injection (epinephrine vs. placebo), awareness of side effects, type of eliciting event (euphoria vs. anger).
Dependent Variable:Happiness to anger ratio based on self-reported feelings.
Results demonstrated that individuals with unexplained arousal (who were not aware of the side effects) attributed their feelings based on situational context, displaying the core tenet of the theory.
Dutton and Aron’s Bridge Study
This study further supported Schachter and Singer’s theory through a naturalistic manipulation of physiological arousal via bridge types (high vs. low).
Findings revealed that men crossing the high bridge (who experienced physiological arousal) were more likely to contact the attractive confederate afterward, indicating misattribution of their arousal to attraction.
Summary of Classical Theories
The lecture outlines key differences between these major theories: James-Lange emphasizes sequential processing, Cannon-Bard suggests simultaneous processing, and Schachter-Singer focuses on both physiological arousal and context in cognitive appraisal for emotion labeling.