The James-Lange vs. Cannon-Bard Theories

Theories of Emotion

My Preference

Emotions arise from the interplay of physiological activation, expressive behavior, and conscious experience. There are, however, two controversies over this interplay. The first, a chicken-and-egg debate, is old: Does your physiological arousal precede or follow your emotional experience? (Do we first notice our heart racing and our faster step, and then feel anxious dread? Or does our sense of fear come first, stirring our heart and legs to respond?) The second concerns the interplay of thinking and feeling: Does cognition always precede emotion? (Must we consciously appraise a threat before emotionally reacting?) These controversies highlight two basic dimensions of emotion: arousal and valence. The two theories I will be contrasting are the James-Lange and Cannon-Bard theories.

Evidence for James-Lange theory

I find the Cannon-Bard theory to be more plausible due to its multiple points negating the James-Lange theory, such as no alteration on emotional behavior occurs when the viscera is totally separated from the central nervous system or CNS. This was proven by the cats being alive after the viscera have been removed. In addition to the substantial evidence against the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory offers a more in depth perspective on emotion through its identification of roles played by different brain organisms. The CB theory also has support from more physiologists/psychologists in this time period than the JL theory.

Cannon-Bard Theory

"To feel cheerful," he advised, "sit up cheerfully, look around cheerfully, and act as if cheerfulness were already there." Recent findings concerning emotional effects of facial expressions are, as we will see, precisely what James might have predicted.

Criticism of Cannon-Bard theory

New evidence showed subtle physiological distinctions among the emotions, and the James-Lange theory again became plausible. James struggled with his own feelings of depression and grief, and in doing so he came to believe that we can control emotions by giving "through the outward emotions" of whatever emotion we want to experience.

Basis- Walter Cannon believed the James-Lange theory to be implausible. Cannon thought the body's responses were not distinct enough to evoke different emotions. Does a racing heart signal fear, anger, or love? Also, changes in heart rate, perspiration, and body temperature seemed too slow to trigger sudden emotion.

Cannon and Bard assumed that bodily responses have no influence on emotion, but other studies showed otherwise. In addition, Cannon and Bard used their studies on animal and case studies as evidence for their theory, which can be unreliable as it can be doubtful whether findings generated by these can be generalized to human behavior. Moreover, the theory over-estimated the function of the thalamus in emotional processes, as there are other parts of the brain that are involved in emotions.

Explanation- Cannon, and later another physiologist, Phillip Bard, concluded that physiological arousal and our emotional experience occur simultaneously to the brain's cortex, causing the subjective awareness of emotion, and to the sympathetic nervous system, causing the body's arousal. This Cannon-Bard Theory implies that your heart begins pounding as you experience fear; one does not cause the other.

Works Cited

*Textbook*

James-Lange Theory

http://www.psychologynoteshq.com/cannon-bard-theory-of-emotion/

http://www.psychologynoteshq.com/jameslangetheoryofemotion/

Criticism of James-Lange theory

https://explorable.com/cannon-bard-theory-of-emotion

Conclusion

A study done by Maranon, in 1924, found that physiological arousal is not enough to cause emotion. Only around two thirds of participants who were injected with adrenaline reported physical symptoms. In addition, there are studies that say that not all emotions, save for the strongest and most basic ones, have been found to occur with specific physiological changes.

Basis- According to James, "we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble."

Example- Recall a time when your car skidded on slick pavement. As it careened out of control you hit your brakes and regained control. Just after the fishtail ended, you noticed your racing heart and then, shaking with fright, you felt the whoosh of emotion. Your feeling of fear followed your body's response. James' idea, also proposed by Danish physiologist Carl Lange, is called the James-Lange Theory.

Most researchers agree with Cannon and Bard that our experienced emotions also involve cognition. Whether we fear the man behind us on a dark street depends entirely on whether we interpret his actions as threatening or friendly. With James and Lange we can say that our physical reactions are an important ingredient of emotion. And with Cannon and Bard we can say that there is more to the experience of emotion than reading our physiology.

Support for Cannon-Bard theory

There are studies that have concluded that physiological changes do not play an important role in the experience of emotions. Studies found that animals displayed normal emotional reactions even when their spinal cord had been removed, as in the case of dogs in the study done by Sherrington in 1900, and even when the nervous system of cats were severed, as in the case of Cannon’s study in 1927. Dana’s research in 1921 also showed the same results in which he studied an individual with spinal cord damage but who still demonstrated a range of emotions.

The James-Lange vs. Cannon-Bard Theories

2AB- Jaime lewis