Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Theories of Emotion3591 Stimulus:2 Physiological Plus 3 Cognitive labelShadowy figure of arousalfor arousala man in a parkinglot at night4ConsciousemotionFigure 8.12 The Two-Factor Theory ofEmotion According to Stanley Schachterand Jerome Singer, emotional experiencerequires the interaction of two separatefactors: (1) physiological arousal and (2) acognitive label for that arousal.1. I see a man by that parked car.2. I am trembling.3. My trembling is caused by fear.4. I am afraid!The results partially supported their predictions. The subjects who were not informedtended to report feeling either happier or angrier than the informed subjects.Schachter and Singer’s theory inspired a flurry of research. The bottom line ofthose research efforts? The two-factor theory of emotion received little support(Reisenzein, 1983). Nevertheless, Schachter and Singer’s theory stimulated a newline of research on the importance of cognition in emotion.To help illustrate the final theory of emotion that we’ll consider, let’s go back tothe shadowy figure lurking in your college parking lot. Suppose that as the guycalled out to you, “Hey, what’s your hurry?” you recognized his voice as that of agood friend. Your emotional reaction, of course, would be very different. This simpleobservation is the basic premise of the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion.Developed by psychologists Craig Smith and Richard Lazarus (1988, 1993), thecognitive appraisal theory of emotion asserts that the most important aspect of anemotional experience is your cognitive interpretation, or appraisal, of the situationor stimulus. That is, emotions result from our appraisal of the personal meaning ofevents and experiences. Thus, the same situation might elicit very different emotionsin different people (Smith & Kirby, 2000; Smith & others, 2006).So, in the case of the shadowy figure in the parking lot, your relief that you werenot on the verge of being attacked by a mugger could quickly turn to another emotion.If it’s a good friend you hadn’t seen for a while, your relief might turn toAppraisal and Emotion: Score! Accordingto cognitive appraisal theory, how you cognitivelyappraise the personal significanceof an event will determine the emotionthat you experience. Go to any popularsports bar during a big playoff game andyou’ll see evidence of this viewpoint. Twofriends, each passionately rooting for a differentteam, will have very different emotionalresponses to the winning goal—eventhough the emotion-producing stimulus isexactly the same. Whether a sports fan experienceselation or dismay depends onwhat the event means to him personally.