Emotion Essay

474 Words2 Pages
Imagine you are walking alone late at night and hear footsteps behind you. Think about your emotional reaction to this situation. Consider the major theories of emotion: James-Lange theory, Cannon-Bard theory, and Schacter-Singer theory. From the perspective of these major theories of emotion, describe how each would predict the sequence of events that would occur as you experience a reaction to this situation. I have actually been in situations like this one so I don’t see it as an imagination but as of an actual event which has happened to me before. During the times that I walk home by myself late at night, whenever I hear footsteps behind me, my emotions seems to be running wild everywhere inside my body. Theories like the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory, and the Schacter-Singer can help me understand and explain why I experience this type of emotions during the time of the event. According to the James-Lange Theory, the event must first cause physiological arousal first and then we interpret this arousal second. It is only after our interpretations of the arousal can we then experience the emotion. If the arousal is not noticed or is not given any thought, then we will not experience any emotion based on this event. For example, when I hear the footsteps behind me, inside my body and nervous system I would instantly begin to tremble, and my heart would beat faster, and my breathing would automatically deepen. I would notice these physiological changes and interpret them as my body's prepares for a fearful situation, which then leading me to experience fear. Next, is the Cannon-Bard theory, which argues that we experience physiological arousal and emotional at the same time, but we don’t give no attention to that role of thoughts or outward behavior. For example, when I hear the footsteps behind me, I would begin to tremble, as my heart beats
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