There are different ways of explaining how certain emotions are produced. For example, one may think that emotions occur naturally as a response to danger or another event. Others may theorize that a conscious appraisal of the citation is what causes an emotional response or that these processes occur simultaneously. This paper will examine and explain the three theories of emotions: Schachter-Singer, James-Lange, and Canon-Barth.
James and Lange introduced a theory of emotions that offered a different view on the sequence of emotional responses after an event. Under this approach, a stimulus leads to the body response, which is then interpreted as an emotion (Kumar & Makand, 2021). Hence, there are three steps that lead to emotion in accordance with the James-Lange theory: stimuli, the first response by the autonomic nervous system (ANS) system and body arousal, and conscious response. In the scenario of walking late at night and hearing footsteps behind, the first stage would be the stimuli or hearing someone walk behind. The second stage would be ANS response, which would lead to one’s body stiffening. Finally, during the third stage, the mind would consciously process that there is a potential fear, a stranger behind. Hence, James-Lange’s explanation of emotions suggests that in a given scenario, I would be afraid because I would begin to shake as a result of the ANS arousal.
The Canon-Bart theory approaches the emotional response differently when compared to the James-Lange theory. Canon-Barth theorizes that the body response and emotional response occur simultaneously. Therefore, the three stages of feeling an emotion would be the following: a stimulus that leads to the subcortical brain activity and a second response: both the ANS arousal and the body’s response (Kumar & Makand, 2021). In a scenario with a stranger, I would first receive a stimulus by hearing the footsteps behind. Then, following the Canon-Bart approach, the subcortical part of the brain would receive information about the stimuli. I would simultaneously feel fear and body stiffness as a response to this information. Hence, the primary difference between the approach offered by James-Lange and Canon-Bart is that the former views emotions as a final stage of the sequence of interpreting stimuli, while the latter think that this response occurs simultaneously with the ANS arousal.
The final theory of emotion that explains how a stimulus results in a certain feeling is by Schachter-Singer. This theory is also referred to as the Cognitive Arousal Theory because it is based on the idea that two simultaneous things cause an emotion: ANS arousal and cognitive appraisal of the situation (Kumar & Makand, 2021). Hence, after a stimulus, the ANS system is activated, and the cognitive mind tries to interpret the events and physical response. The third stage is the result of this interpretation, which is based on this cognitive appraisal. Therefore, this theory is similar to the James-Lange approach; however, Schachter-Singer added an element of cognitive labeling, where a person examines their environment and stimuli and labels the emotion. In the scenario, after feeling ANS’s response, I would appraise the situation and realize that I am feeling fear because of the footsteps behind me.
In summary, this paper examines the three theories of emotions: Schachter-Singer, James-Lange, and Canon-Barth. Schacher-Singer hypothesized that emotions are a result of the ANS arousal and cognitive labeling of the events. James-Lange argued that emotions were the final stage of the process after a stimulus and an ANS response. Canon-Barth argued that ANS arousal and emotions occur simultaneously. Each of the theories is reviewed using an example scenario in this paper.
Reference
Kumar, A. & Makand, M. (2021). Applied psychology. The Readers Paradise.