American University of Nigeria

A Critique of the Various Theories of Emotion

Ahmad Abdulkadir Arabi – A00023244

Rakiya Yakubu – A00023288

Muhammad Khaleed Kashim – A00023225

Kamsiyochukwu Okoye – A00023120

Psychology 101

Prof. Abdul-mumin sa’ad

19th April, 2022

to something we see or experience. Although emotions are famously difficult to quantify,

they are undeniably important in our lives. They frequently dictate how we engage with the

environment, biasing our impressions of new stimuli and influencing how we respond to

them. Emotions can so serve as guidance for how we interact with other people; they can

limit or broaden our actions depending on the situation. Fear, (for example, can cause us to

retreat and become avoidant, presumably as a defense mechanism against potentially harmful

situations, and it can also cause us to be astonished when something unexpected

occurs.). Emotion is being seen by psychologists as a means of ensuring surviving and

enriching experience throughout life. This part will go through some of the most well-known

hypotheses for understanding our emotional experiences and also the biological roots of

emotion with an exploration on the pervasiveness of emotional "facial expressions" and our

ability to perceive them in others (Theories of Emotion). Our emotional states are

combinations (Physiological arousal, psychological assessment, and subjective experiences)

which contribute to it. Together, these are known as the components of emotion. Our

experiences, backgrounds, and cultures all influence our assessments. As a result, even when

confronted with comparable situations, different persons may have diverse emotional

responses. Several theories of emotion have been presented over time to explain how the

various components of emotion interact, and these theories will be discussed.

Theory of James-Lange, between 1884 and 1885, William James and Carl Lange

developed one of the earliest formal theories of emotions. Therefore, sometimes called

James-Lange theory  "Physiological stimuli (arousal) prompts the autonomic nervous system

to react, which then causes humans to experience emotion," according to the hypothesis. The

nervous system's response, according to James-Lange, includes a racing heart, tense muscles,

and increasing sweating. As a result, physiological arousal is said to be the source of

your vehicle. Your heart starts to rush as you glimpse a shadowy figure following you.

According to the James-Lange theory, your physical reactions to the stimulus are

subsequently interpreted as fear. As a result, you are terrified and race to your car as quickly

as possible. While it was feasible to envision feeling fear or fury, James and Lange believed

that your imagined rendition of the emotion would be a bland replica of the true experience

(Kendra).

Why? Because they believed it would be impossible to experience these emotions "on

demand" without the physiological response they believed triggered them. In other words, in

order to experience true emotion, the physical reaction must be present. The standard line of

thought prior to the James-Lange theory was that people's first reaction to perception was

cognitive. Physical reactions followed as a result of that concept. Instead, the James-Lange

method proposed that these physiological responses occur first and have a significant role in

the emotional experience (Kendra).

The theory had a significant impact on psychology and the understanding of

emotions. Despite its influence, not everyone agreed that physical responses were the cause

of emotions. As the first theory to explain emotions on a profound level, the idea has faced a

number of objections from other scholars who have pointed out and suggested their own

theories to explain the emotional experience. Wilhelm Wundt, a German psychologist, was

one of the first to criticize the notion. Instead, he proposed that emotions were a (hard-wired,

primordial sensory reaction). Walter Cannon, who pointed out that physiological reactions

aren't necessarily restricted to certain emotions, was one of the most controversial aspects

(Golightly 289).
 The cannon-bard theory was developed in 1927 by Walter B. Cannon and his

graduate student, Philip Bard. They developed it as an alternative to the James-Lange theory

of emotion. Their theory states that feelings are the result of physical reactions to a

stimulating event. Walter Cannon was a physiologist at Harvard University, when he began

to criticize James-Lange Theory of Emotion; he carried out experiments to support his theory.

“Cannon supported his claim that individuals are able to feel emotions even before the body

responds to the emotion by surgically removing the sympathetic nervous system of a cat.

Even though the somatic signals of stimulation were removed, he found that the cat still

displayed anger, fear and pleasure” (Dwari). His student, Philip Bard agreed with his idea and

joined Cannon in developing their theory which they named the Cannon-Bard Theory.

This theory of emotions states that stimulating events trigger feelings and reactions

that occur at the same time. For example, seeing a snake or lion will cause both the feeling of

fear and a racing heartbeat which is a physical reaction. This theory supports the idea that

physical actions and emotions occur at the same time instead of one right after the other, as

the James-Lange theory proposes. “The Cannon-Bard theory proposes that outside events can

cause emotional and physical responses at the same time. The theory directly challenges the

James-Lange theory of emotion, which states that emotions are the result of a physical

reaction to a stimulating event” (Fletcher).

The cannon-bard theory is supported by neurobiological science that says that once

a stimulating event is detected, the information is relayed to both the amygdala and the brain

cortex at the same time. Carly Vandergriendt supported this by explaining that when a

stimulating event occurs, the thalamus sends signals to the amygdala which is responsible for

processing strong emotions, such as fear and anger (Vandergriendt). It also sends signals to

the cerebral cortex, which controls conscious thought. These signals are sent simultaneously

which causes the feelings and physical reactions to occur.

emotions and when we consider this philosophy of emotions and Physical reactions occurring

at the same time, it opposes the James-Lange theory and the question that arises is which of

these theories is closer to the truth. Until recent years, many psychologists believed that

Cannon-Bard theory was more accurate but recently, certain aspects of James-Lange theory

have been accepted (Vandergriendt).

The Schachter-Singer Theory, this theory was developed by Stanley Schachter and

Jerome E. Singer, introduces the element of reasoning into the process of emotion. The

theory hypothesizes that when we experience an event that causes physiological arousal, we

try to find a reason for the arousal. Our phenomenon or arousal, as well as the understanding

or cognitions that help us comprehend the conduct we feel, are also both engaged in our

emotional experiences. These interact and cause us to perceive various emotions (Hopper).

The strengths of this theory covers High level of control – Because this was a

laboratory experiment, there was a high level of control. As a result, there's a low chance that

any anomaly based will skew the results. The procedure was standardized in terms of

assigning random participants, supplying the same information to each group, and keeping

the stooge in the uninformed. This implies that perhaps the investigation can be easily

replicated to ensure that the results are accurate. Supervision over demand characteristics —

because participants were uninformed that they were being watched, the use of a one-way

mirror minimized the probability of demand characteristics occurring (Hopper).

Weaknesses concerning this theory were also pointed out; Paucity of ecological

validity — the experimental investigation was carried out in a controlled setting; therefore,

the participants may have behaved differently. Also, because individuals are aware of an

event before they feel emotional arousal in the actual world, the researchers' strategy of
inducing emotions lacked ecological validity, Limitations of comprehensiveness - since this

sample basically consisted of males from the University of Minnesota, the skills can be

generalized to females or individuals from other places. The use of independent organizations

even though participants only contributed in one condition, individual factors may have

contributed to the increase. As a result, participants who were 'naturally' more happy or angry

may were included in those groups, implying that perhaps the labeling criterion was not

always the one impacting conduct (Hopper).

Alternative Theory." he American Journal of Psychology, vol. 39, no. 1/4 (1927): pp.

106–24.

Dwari, Madhushree. "The Psychology Notes Headquarters." 4 january 2013. Cannon–Bard

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Golightly, Cornelius L. "The James-Lange Theory: A Logical Post-Mortem." Philosophy of

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