Introduction to Psychology

(Axel Boer) #1

Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org


Although emotions might seem to you to be more frivolous or less important in comparison to
our more rational cognitive processes, both emotions and cognitions can help us make effective
decisions. In some cases we take action after rationally processing the costs and benefits of
different choices, but in other cases we rely on our emotions. Emotions become particularly
important in guiding decisions when the alternatives between many complex and conflicting
alternatives present us with a high degree of uncertainty and ambiguity, making a complete
cognitive analysis difficult. In these cases we often rely on our emotions to make decisions, and
these decisions may in many cases be more accurate than those produced by cognitive processing
(Damasio, 1994; Dijksterhuis, Bos, Nordgren, & van Baaren, 2006; Nordgren & Dijksterhuis,
2009; Wilson & Schooler, 1991). [5]


The Cannon-Bard and James-Lange Theories of Emotion

Recall for a moment a situation in which you have experienced an intense emotional response.
Perhaps you woke up in the middle of the night in a panic because you heard a noise that made
you think that someone had broken into your house or apartment. Or maybe you were calmly
cruising down a street in your neighborhood when another car suddenly pulled out in front of
you, forcing you to slam on your brakes to avoid an accident. I’m sure that you remember that
your emotional reaction was in large part physical. Perhaps you remember being flushed, your
heart pounding, feeling sick to your stomach, or having trouble breathing. You were
experiencing the physiological part of emotion—arousal—and I’m sure you have had similar
feelings in other situations, perhaps when you were in love, angry, embarrassed, frustrated, or
very sad.


If you think back to a strong emotional experience, you might wonder about the order of the
events that occurred. Certainly you experienced arousal, but did the arousal come before, after,
or along with the experience of the emotion? Psychologists have proposed three different
theories of emotion, which differ in terms of the hypothesized role of arousal in emotion (Figure
10.4 "Three Theories of Emotion").

Free download pdf