Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

356 CHAPTER 8 Motivation and EmotionCommon sense says we lose ourfortune, are sorry and weep; we meet abear, are frightened and run; we areinsulted by a rival, are angry and strike.The hypothesis here to be defendedsays that this order of sequence isincorrect, that the one mental state isnot immediately induced by the other,that the bodily manifestations must firstbe interposed between, and that themore rational statement is that we feelsorry because we cry, angry because westrike, afraid because we tremble.—WILLIAM JAMES (1894)Your heart starts pounding as you break into a run. Reaching your car, you fumblewith the keys, then jump in and lock the doors. Your hands are trembling sobadly you can barely get the key into the ignition, but somehow you manage, andyou hit the accelerator, zooming out of the parking lot and onto a main street. Stillfeeling shaky, you ease off the accelerator pedal a bit, wipe your sweaty palms onyour jeans, and will yourself to calm down. After several minutes, you breathe asigh of relief.In this example, all three emotion components are clearly present. You experienceda subjective feeling that you labeled as “fear.” You experienced physicalarousal—trembling, sweating, pounding heart, and rapid breathing. And you expressedthe fear, both in your facial expression and by bolting into a run. Whatcaused this constellation of effects that you experienced as fear?The common sense view of emotion would suggest that you (1) recognized athreatening situation and (2) reacted by feeling fearful. This subjective experienceof fear (3) activated your sympathetic nervous system and (4) triggered fearful behavior.In one of the first psychological theories of emotion, William James (1884)disagreed with this common sense view, proposing a very different explanation ofemotion. Danish psychologist Carl Lange proposed a very similar theory at aboutthe same time (see James, 1894; Lange & James, 1922). Thus, this theory, illustratedin Figure 8.11, is known as the James–Lange theory of emotion.Consider our example again. According to the James–Lange theory, your heartdidn’t pound and you didn’t run because you were afraid. Rather, the James–Langetheory holds that you felt afraid because your heart pounded and you ran. Feedbackfrom your physiological arousal and from the muscles involved in your behaviorcaused your subjective feeling of fearfulness. Thus, James believed that emotion followsthis sequence: (1) We perceive a stimulus; (2) physiological and behavioralchanges occur, which (3) we experience as a particular emotion.The James–Lange theory stimulated a great deal of research, much of it consistingof attempts to disprove the theory. In 1927, the famous American physiologistWalter Cannon challenged the James–Lange theory. First, Cannon pointedout that body reactions are similar for many emotions, yet our subjective experienceof various emotions is very different. For example, both fear and rage are accompaniedby increased heart rate, but we have no difficulty distinguishing betweenthe two emotions.Second, Cannon (1927) argued that our emotional reaction to a stimulus isoften faster than our physiological reaction. Here’s an example to illustrate this1Stimulus:Shadowy figureof ammanin aparking lotat night3 Subjectiveexperience ofemotionHEY, WHAT’SYOUR HURRY?Figure 8.11 The James–Lange Theoryof Emotion According to William James,we don’t tremble and run because we areafraid, we are afraid because we trembleand run. James believed that body signalstrigger emotional experience. These signalsinclude physiological arousal andfeedback from the muscles involved in behavior.The James–Lange theory inspired agreat deal of research, but only limited aspectsof the theory have been supportedby research evidence.2 Physiologicaicalarousal andbh behavioraoralchanges1. I see a man by that parked car.2. I am trembling and running away.3. I am afraid!