How does Schachter and Singers theory of emotions differ from the James Lange view?
How do you feel? Show
As you try to answer this question, you might pay attention to the thoughts going through your mind, things that you are feeling in your body, or things that you are doing right now. Why do we attach our emotions to our thoughts, bodily sensations, and actions?
Definition of the Schachter-Singer Theory in PsychologyThoughts, bodily sensations, and actions: As you think about these, know that others have debated how these three factors play a role in our emotions. A lot of research has tried to figure out how we experience emotions. One theory that helps us better understand our emotions is Stanley Schachter's and Jerome Singer’s two-factor theory of emotion. You’re driving home from your friend’s house when you see a car drive into a ditch. The people in the car are stuck and need help. Even though you are just a witness to the event, your body reacts to what you are seeing. There are two things that happen before your emotions come into play: 1) your body reacts to the event (increased heart rate, racing thoughts, blood pumping, etc.), and 2) you think about what you are feeling in a certain way ("Someone could be hurt! I am feeling like this because someone could be in danger."). How you think about what you are experiencing in your body determines what emotions you feel. In this case, you feel fear, concern, a sense of urgency, and compassion. Fg. 1 Car in ditch, pixabay.com The scenario above is an example of how theSchachter-Singer theory of emotion works. This theory explains how emotion is experienced after two factors: physiological responses and cognitive appraisals. According to Schachter and Singer, these two factors happen before we experience emotion. Physiological responses are the body’s automatic reactions (e.g., goosebumps) to a person, place, object, or event. Cognitive appraisals are what we think about the person, place, object, or event (e.g., is what happened good or bad?). Fg. 2 Goosebumps, pixabay.com The Schachter-Singer Two-Factor TheoryStanley Schachter and Jerome Singer came up with their theory of emotion in the early 1960s. The most important part of the Schachter-Singer theory is your cognitive appraisal of your bodily reaction. What you think about how your body is responding determines what emotion you feel. However, there is more to this theory than just these two factors. There are three primary ideas that are part of the Schachter and Singer theory. Idea 1When a person experiences a bodily response to something, but they have no idea why they are experiencing it, they must decide why their body is responding this way. The cognitive appraisal is usually immediate and based on the environment. The person has to decide what to think about what is happening, even if the appraisal turns out to be wrong. Alice suddenly feels goosebumps on her arm, and she thinks it’s because the movie theater is cold. This cognitive appraisal could be correct, but it could also be wrong. Alice is watching a scary movie, and goosebumps can form either due to the cold, or because of the scenes in the movie. Idea 2When a person experiences a bodily response to something and they know why they are experiencing it, the cognitive appraisal has already happened. The bodily response and cognitive appraisal happen simultaneously. JC is walking to school when he starts to shiver. He’s not wearing a jacket and it’s the middle of winter, so JC knows that he’s cold because of the weather. Idea 3When a person is faced with something they experienced in the past, their past experience will usually determine how their body responds, what they think about what is happening, and how they feel about it this time. Eli is at the amusement park with his friends when someone says they should go on the rollercoaster next. Eli starts to sweat because rollercoasters have made him feel really nervous and scared in the past. His memory of the past informs his cognitive appraisal that the rollercoaster will be unpleasant and scary. Schachter's and Singer's theory is all about the cause-and-effect relationship between physiological responses, cognitive appraisals, and emotion. Basically, our physiological responses happen automatically without our input. Based on what we are experiencing in our bodies, we mentally decide why our body is responding like that. Based on how we think about what is happening in our body, we experience emotions that go along with our cognitive appraisal. The Schachter-Singer Theory ExperimentThe very first experiment that Schacter and Singer conducted about their theory was a study using a hormone called epinephrine. Epinephrine is both a hormone and a type of medication. The medication version is often used to treat severe allergic reactions (i.e., Epi-Pens). In this experiment, Schacter and Singer gathered a group of volunteers who were told they would be taking a medication that would help improve eyesight. The medication was epinephrine, and Schachter and Singer chose to use it because it naturally induces physiological responses like increased blood pressure, pulse, and sweating. By inducing a physiological response, the researchers could monitor how a participant's cognitive appraisal of the bodily response determined what emotions they felt as a result. The researchers separated the participants into four separate groups: Epinephrine Informed, Epinephrine Misinformed, Epinephrine Ignorant, and a control group.
Notice how the cognitive appraisals were an assumption in Schachter's and Singer's study. The participants didn't need to be told to form a cognitive appraisal; it happened automatically. Even the participants in the control group who just received a placebo still thought about what was happening in a certain way, which in turn influenced their emotions! The Schachter-Singer and Cannon-Bard TheoriesAnother important theory of emotion is the Cannon-Bard theory. Walter Cannon and Phillip Bard's theory is all about how we experience both emotional and physiological responses at the same time. The two experiences are strongly connected to each other, even apart from our thoughts. In other words, our feelings and biological reactions occur at the same time, and we don't have to decide what to think about our bodily responses before knowing what to feel. Nancy is walking to the bus stop when a gust of wind blows her dress up. She feels embarrassed and blushes simultaneously. Nancy's embarrassed response is instinctual and doesn't require a cognitive appraisal. What if Nancy had experienced amusement and laughed rather than feeling embarrassed? What determines which emotion you feel in a given situation? Schachter and Singer held that it's how you think about the event that makes all the difference. This includes how you think about the event based on past experiences. Maybe one of Nancy's friends told her to hang onto her dress today because it's windy. As soon as the wind rushes by her, Nancy remembers what her friend said and laughs. Her perspective changes her reaction to the event! How do you think about things that happen to you? If you changed your perspective, would your feelings change as well? Hannah Grace is opening the door to her home when she notices that the lights she left on are now off. She becomes tense (physiological response) because things are not as she left them. She thinks to herself, "Maybe someone broke in." All of a sudden, the lights turn on and her friends yell “Surprise!” Hannah Grace's negative appraisal quickly changes to a positive one as her body relaxes. She recognizes that she is not in danger (cognitive appraisal). She feels happy and excited! Schachter-Singer Theory - Key Takeaways
What is the difference between JamesWhile the James-Lange theory proposes that emotion happens because of physiological arousal, the two-factor theory of emotion contends that there is a conscious appraisal of that physiological response that leads to the emotion.
What is Schachter and Singer's theory of emotion?Schachter and Singer's (1962) Two-Factor Theory of Emotion suggests that physiological arousal determines the strength of the emotion, while cognitive appraisal identifies the emotion label. So, in this theory, the “two-factor” represents physiological change and cognitive appraisal change.
What's the main difference between the JamesThe James-Lange theory asserts that emotions arise as a function of physiological arousal. The Cannon-Bard theory maintains that emotional experience occurs simultaneous to and independent of physiological arousal.
Which of the following is a way that the JamesWhich of the following is a way that the James-Lange theory of emotion differs from the Schachter-Singer theory of emotion? According to the James-Lange theory, emotions arise from physiological arousal; according to the Schachter-Singer theory, emotions include a cognitive factor and a physiological factor.
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