There are three principal theories of emotion that attempt to explain the general emotional process: (1) the James-Lange theory, (2) the Cannon-Bard theory, and (3) the cognitive appraisal theory. The James-Lange theory was proposed independently by two men.
William James in the United States and Carl Lange in Denmark. The theory states that an emotion can be induced by an action. The following example is based on observations made by James. Lets say that you see a bear in a forest. Common sense tells you that if you run away, the action of running is motivated by fear. On the other hand, according to James, common sense tells only half of the story. It is equally true that running makes you feel fear. At first presentation this does not seem reasonable. On the other hand, reflection suggests that the act of running has the effect of increasing arousal. If you were simply to get up now- and run in place for two or three minutes, you would increase your pulse and heart rate; there would be increased arousal. Under the condition of running away from the bear, the act of running intensifies fear by increasing arousal.
If there is anything to the James-Lange theory, then one can influence one's feeling to some extent by willing one's actions. The familiar advice to walk, not run, when there is a fire in a public place conforms to the James-Lange theory. It is widely recognized that the act of running, by increasing arousal, will cause fear to escalate into panic.
In the musical play The King and I, Anna's young son confesses to her that he is afraid to enter Siam. Anna tells him that one of the tricks she uses to conquer fear is to w-histle a happy tune. She says that by acting brave, he might become as brave as he's making believe he is. Again, the James-Lange theory is at work. An action is inducing a change in an emotional state. Fear is being turned into bravery.
The Cannon-Bard theory, also known as the thalamic theory, is based on the collaboration of the two researchers Walter B. Cannon and Philip Bard. The Cannon-Bard theory recognizes that the brain's thalamus is a relay station. When information comes in from the senses and arrives at the thalamus, the information is simultaneously sent up to the cortex and down to the spinal cord. This means that we become conscious of the cause of an emotion at the same time that our body is preparing to deal with it by making changes in physiological arousal.
Returning to the bear-in-the-forest example, the Cannon-Bard theory says that you are becoming aroused, and physiologically prepared to run, at the same time that you are able to think, That's a bear!" This saves the individual precious time in an emergency.
Proposed by the researcher Stanley Schachter, the cognitive appraisal theory, also known as the labeling-of-arousal hypothesis, states that a person's self-labeling of a state of arousal converts that state into a specific emotion. Let's say that Earl is driving, has taken a wrong turn, and is lost in an unfamiliar area of a big city. His pulse increases, his mouth feels dry, his muscles increase their tension. All of this is involuntary. He is experiencing increased arousal. He asks himself, What's going on? Why is my pulse faster?" Let's say he thinks, I'm afraid.1' By defining his state of arousal in this way, he clearly feels fear. On the other hand, let's say that he was to take a different cognitive approach. He's a person who often seeks adventure. He answers the questions posed above by thinking. I'm getting a kick out of this. It's a kind of bang to be challenged." By defining his state of arousal in terms of a more positive outlook, he might be having fun" a positive emotional stateinstead of experiencing fear. The hedonic tone, the sense that a state of arousal is pleasant or unpleasant, is often associated with the label that we assign to the state of arousal.
It is not necessary to make a distinct choice among the theories in order to determine which one is right and which one is wrong. All three theories have some degree of validity and help us to explain emotional states.
