1. Two-Factor Theory James Lange Theory Cannon-Bard Theory
Theories of Emotion
Two-Factor Theory
James Lange Theory
Cannon-Bard Theory
Emotions are our body’s adaptive response.

2. Theories of Emotion Emotions are a mix of:
Physiological activation (heart pounding)
Expressive behaviors (angry look on face)
Conscious experience (I can’t believe this jerk thinks he can steal my glue!)

3. Controversy
Does physiological arousal precede or follow your emotional experience?
Does cognition (thinking) precede emotion (feeling)?
Chicken egg debate

4. Commonsense View
When you become happy, your heart starts beating faster.
First comes conscious awareness, then comes physiological activity.
Bob Sacha

5. James-Lange Theory
William James and Carl Lange proposed an idea that was opposed to the common-sense view.
The James-Lange Theory proposes that physiological activity precedes the emotional experience.
In other words, the James-Lange theory of emotion holds that you:
You see a snake, your pulse races, and you feel afraid because your pulse is racing

6. Cannon-Bard Theory
Walter Cannon and Phillip Bard questioned the James-Lange Theory and proposed:
That an emotion-triggering stimulus and the body's arousal take place simultaneously
One does not cause the other.
The Cannon-Bard theory holds that you see a snake, the information is sent to the thalamus, which relays the signals simultaneously to the cortex and to the autonomic nervous system.

7. Two-Factor Theory
Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer (1962) proposed yet another theory which suggests our physiology and cognitions create emotions.
Emotions have two factors:
_________________________
Because emotions are physiologically similar (anger might have the same physiological sensations as fear)
An emotional experience requires a conscious interpretation of the physiological arousal.
Therefore, Schacter’s Two-Factor Theory holds that you feel autonomic arousal and look around to see why…if there’s a snake you feel fear.
physical arousal
cognitive label.

8. Classic Theories of Emotion - Recap
Figure Theories of emotion Myers: Psychology, Ninth Edition Copyright © 2010 by Worth Publishers

9. Fig. 10-23, p. 405 Figure 10.23: Theories of emotion.
Three influential theories of emotion are contrasted with one another and with the commonsense view. The James-Lange theory was the first to suggest that feelings of arousal cause emotion, rather than vice versa. Schachter built on this idea by adding a second factor—interpretation (appraisal and labeling) of arousal.
Fig , p. 405