In psychology.

The word emotion is a contraction of two words: exit and motion. The ancient Greeks believed that the smiles and the frowns associated with such states as happiness or sadness indicated that the soul was coming out of the body and revealing itself. It was making an “exit motion.” This became “e-motion” or simply “emotion.”

An emotion is, at the physiological level, a disruption in homeostatic base-

lines. There are changes in heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure. These

are fluctuations in arousal. At the psychological level, these physiological changes

are experienced as either greater excitement or increased calmness. Human beings

also experience these changes as either pleasant or unpleasant.

It is evident from the above that there are two basic psychological dimensions

to emotions: excitement-calm and pleasant-unpleasant. The pleasant-unpleasant

dimension of emotions is identified as hedonic tone. The concept of hedo-

nism, as presented by the philosopher Aristotle, was a motivational concept.

Hedonism is the point of view that we approach stimulus situations that are pleas-

ant and avoid situations that are unpleasant.

The two dimensions of emotions generate four categories of emotions: (1)

excitement-pleasant, (2) excitement-unpleasant, (3) calm-pleasant, and (4) calm-

unpleasant. All of the many words that we use to describe emotions can be read-

ily placed in one of these categories. Words such as happy, joy, and ecstasy belong

in category 1. Words such as anger, fear, and rage belong in category 2. Words such

as relaxed, blissful, and tranquil belong in category 3. Words such as sad, melancholy,

and depressed belong in category 4.

There are three aspects to all emotions: (1) cognitive, (2) physiological, and (3)

behavioral. The cognitive aspect of emotions refers to what one is thinking

when one feels an emotion. Thoughts such as “What a wonderful day,” “I hate

him,” and “I think we’re going to crash” are likely to either induce emotional

states or be associated with them.

The physiological aspect of emotions refers to the disruption of homeo-

static baselines. As already indicated, emotions are associated with either increased

or decreased arousal. Fear is associated with increased arousal. Depression is asso-

ciated with decreased arousal.

The behavioral aspect of emotions refers to what people do when they feel

an emotion, what actions they take. Fear might induce a person to run away, if pos-

sible, from the stimulus source that is causing fear. If a person can’t run, he or she

might shake and tremble. If the fear is being caused by a threat from a menacing per-

son, one might plead, turn over a purse or wallet, or beg for mercy. On the other

hand, an emotion such as depression might induce a particular person to sit in a chair

and mope. Another person in response to depression might go on an eating binge.

Theories of Emotion: Explaining the Process

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. Let’s 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 con-

quer fear is to whistle 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 the-

ory, 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 ten-

sion. All of this is involuntary. He is experiencing increased arousal. He asks him-

self, “What’s going on? Why is my pulse faster?” Let’s say he thinks, “I’m afraid.”

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 state—instead 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.