Hi, my name is Brian Collin. And today's topic is on the theories of emotion.
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To begin this discussion,
let's assume that you were camping with a
friend and a bear stumbles upon your campsite.
You are afraid for your life that the bear might attack you.
The James Lange theory argues that you first noticed the stimulus, which
in your case would be seeing a bear at your campsite.
Then because you see it, the bear at your campsite,
you start having physiological responses.
Your heart starts beating really fast and you start sweating.
So, because you are sweating and your heart starts beating quickly,
you realize that you are scared.
The James Lange theory argues that emotions such as feeling fear
are a result of how your body responds to a stimulus.
So, in essence,
it's saying that you feel fear because you
start sweating and your heart starts beating fast.
Do you really think that you feel fear because your
heart starts beating fast or because you start sweating?
So, if you're playing a sport and have the same physiological response,
does that mean you're going to experience fear?
Maybe, maybe not.
Which is why the James Lang theory is not
one of the more accepted theories on emotions.
The Canon-Bard theory argues that you first see the stimulus or notice the stimulus.
So, in your case would be seeing a bear at your campsite.
Then you experience the physiological response such
as sweating and your heart beating rapidly.
At the same exact time, you also experience the emotion.
So, in your case, at the campsite, the emotion would be feeling fear.
So, the Cannon-Bard theory argues that you experience the
physiological response and the emotion at the same time.
Unlike the James-Lange theory,
the Cannon-Bard theory does not indicate that you feel an emotion
because you have a physiological response.
Do you agree with the Canon-Bard theory? Why or why not?
The Schachter-Singer theory argues that you first see the stimulus.
So, in your case would be seeing a bear at your campsite.
Then you have your physiological response.
So, your heart starts beating fast and you start sweating.
Schachter-Singer argued that at the same time as your physiological response,
you would appraise the situation,
which meant identifying the stimulus and understanding why
it has led you to feel that emotion.
So, in your example,
there is a bear at my campsite that could
attack me or hurt me and therefore I'm scared.
So, as a result of both your physiological
response and your cognitive appraisal of the situation,
you experience the emotion, which in your case would be fear.
So, what do you think about the
Schachter-Singer theory?
Do you think it's a better or worse theory than the Cannon-Bard or James-Lange theory?
The Lazarus's Cognitive Mediational Theory argues that
you first see the stimulus. So, in your case would be seeing a bear at your campsite.
Then you have a cognitive appraisal of the situation
and understand why it may cause a particular emotion.
So, in your case, you might think there's a bear that could attack or hurt me,
therefore I'm scared.
Then because you appraise the situation,
you feel the emotion.
So, essentially because you recognize that the bear is present and is a threat to you,
you experience the emotion of fear.
Then, as a result of you experiencing the motion,
you have a physical response.
So, in your case, because you feel fear,
your heart starts beating quickly and you start sweating.
So, what do you think of Lazarus's Cognitive Mediational Theory?
Do you think it's better than the others? Why or why not?
So, let's review.
The James-Lange theory of emotion suggests that emotions
are caused by physiological responses to a stressor.
The Canon-Bard theory of emotion suggests
that you respond emotionally to a stressor,
at the same time, the physiological changes in your body happen.
The Schachter-Singer theory argues that after responding to a stressor,
you appraise the threat at the same time
as changes happen in your body such as sweating
and increased heart rate, which leads you to feel the emotion.
Lazarus's cognitive mediational theory argues that
after being exposed to a stressor,
you appraise the threat, then you feel the emotion,
and then because you feel the emotion,
you have a physiological response such as increased heart rate and sweating.
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