Cannon-Bard And Schacter-Singer Theory: Different Theories Of Emotion

nderstanding emotion can be difficult to fully do. No one is for sure how exactly the body deals with stimuli that result in physiological reactions and the interpretation of emotions. There are several people who have researched the topic of emotions and have developed theories. Some of these theories of emotion are James-Lange theory, Cannon-Bard theory, and Schacter-Singer theory. None of these theories have been proven to be more accurate than another. The James-Lange theory was proposed by William James and Carl Lange. This theory suggests that from the experience physiological reactions to events. According to this theory, the external stimulus produces the physiological reaction and the way a produces interprets this reaction as a certain …show more content…
This theory also is referred to as the two-factor theory of emotion. In this theory, they suggest that emotions are result of physical arousal and thoughts. People use information from past situations to make sense of what is going on. The thoughts and physical arousal a person feels towards a stimulus is used to determine the emotion the person is feeling. The walking alone and hearing footsteps scenario can better explain the idea of this theory. When the person is walking alone at night and starts hearing the footsteps they will consciously interpret that this could dangerous. This paired with a physical arousal will tell the person that they are experiencing fear. In conclusion, there are many theories of emotion and so far none of them have been proven. The three major theories are James-Lange theory, Cannon-Bard theory, and Schacter-Singer theory. They all have different reasons as to when and why we understand our emotions. Some think that we interpret our emotions from our physiological reactions others think that they both occur at the same time or even that people use prior knowledge of events to interpret the emotion being