A musician must make music, an
artist must paint, a poet must
write, if he is to be ultimately at
peace with himself.
What a man can be, he must be.
-Abraham Maslow
Can you tell me what Maslow is describing?
1908-1970
key name
Abraham MASLOW
•  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - our most basic needs
must be met before we can be our best self
1917-1998
key name
David McCLELLAND
•  Achievement Motivation
– demonstrated that people with a
high need for achievement
choose moderate to difficult tasks
1898-1971
1871-1945
key name
Walter CANNON &
Philip BARD
•  We experience the physical
(heart racing) and the emotional
("I feel excited") at the SAME
TIME
1922-1997
key name
Stanley SCHACTER
•  Two factor theory of emotion
– - we experience the physical
(heart racing) and give it a
cognitive label ("this is scary")
and this produces our emotions
1903-1989
key name
Konrad LORENZ
•  Asserted that aggressive impulses,
are to a degree, innate.
Theories of Emotion
•  Does your heart pound
because you are afraid...
or are you afraid because you
feel your heart pounding?
3 Major Theories of Emotion
•  James-Lange
•  Cannon-Bard
•  Schacter - Two Factor (also referred to as SchacterSinger)
James-Lange
Theory of Emotion
A Physiological Response causes the Emotion
Sight of
oncoming
car
(perception of
stimulus)
Pounding
heart
(arousal)
Fear
(emotion)
Support for James-Lange
•  Subjects report
feeling more sad
when viewing scenes
of war, sickness, and
starvation if their “sad
face” muscles are
activated.
•  They also find comic
strips funnier if their
“happy face” muscles
are activated.
This is called the facial
feedback effect
Criticism of James-Lange
Sight of
oncoming
car
(perception of
stimulus)
Sight of
Your secret crush
Pounding
heart
(arousal)
Pounding
heart
(arousal)
Fear
(emotion)
LOVE
(emotion)
Cannon-Bard
Theory of Emotion
Sight of
oncoming
car
(perception of
stimulus)
Pounding
heart
(arousal)
•  The Physiological
Response and the
Emotion are
experienced at the SAME
TIME
Fear
(emotion)
Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion
•  Says JamesLange theory is
full of crap.
•  The
physiological
change and the
emotion occur
simultaneously.
•  They believed it
was the
thalamus that
helped this
happen.
Think – Two cannons firing at the same 3me. Physiological change (heart rate, breathing)
Emotion
Schachter’s Two Factor
Theory of Emotion
Pounding
heart
(arousal)
Sight of
oncoming
car
(perception of
stimulus)
Cognitive
label
“I’m afraid”
•  We experience
the
Fear
(emotion)
Physiological
Response and
give it a
Cognitive
Label and this
produces our
emotions
If you are in a falling vehicle heading toward the ground at 60 mph, your autonomic reac3on would include heart racing and screaming. But if your cogni3ve appraisal says you are on a rollercoaster, then you have the emo3on of “fun.” Reviewing the three theories
Emotion occurs at the same time as arousal
Emotion follows (lags behind) arousal
Arousal + Cognitive label à Emotion
Experiencing Emotion
•  Does money buy happiness?
Average
per-person
after-tax income
in 1995 dollars
$20,000
$19,000
$18,000
100%
$17,000
$16,000
90%
$15,000
80%
$14,000
70%
$13,000
Personal income
$12,000
60%
$11,000
50%
$10,000
Percentage very happy 40%
$9,000
30%
$8,000
$7,000
20%
$6,000
10%
$5,000
0%
$4,000
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Year
Percentage
describing
themselves as
very happy
Experiencing Emotion
•  Adaptation-Level Phenomenon
–  tendency to form judgments relative to a “neutral” level
•  brightness of lights
•  volume of sound
•  level of income
–  defined by our prior experience
–  This is why winning the lottery would only make us happy
for a short while. Once the novelty of having all that money
wears off, we adapt to this new level of wealth (or
achievement, etc.)
•  Relative Deprivation pony example (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qb0vquRcys)
–  perception that one is worse off relative to those with
whom one compares oneself
Happiness is...
Researchers Have Found That
Happy People Tend to
However, Happiness Seems Not Much
Related to Other Factors, Such as
Have high self-esteem
(in individualistic countries)
Age
Be optimistic, outgoing, and agreeable
Gender (women are more often
depressed, but also more often joyful)
Have close friendships or a satisfying
marriage
Education levels
Have work and leisure that engage
their skills
Parenthood (having children or not)
Have a meaningful religious faith
Physical attractiveness
Sleep well and exercise
The Concept of Happiness
•  Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon:
you will be helpful more often if you are
in a good mood.
•  Subjective Well Being: most common
measurement of happiness, satisfaction,
and quality of life. Looks at physical as
well as economic indicators.
Emotion Application
Christine is holding her 8 month-old baby when
a fierce dog appears out of nowhere and, with
teeth bared, leaps for the baby’s face.
Christine immediately ducks for cover to protect
the baby, screams at the dog, and notices that
her heart is banging and that she’s broken out
in a cold sweat.
How would the James-Lange, CannonBard, and Two-Factor Theories explain
Christine’s reaction?