The Interplay between Emotion and Reason Essay

Identify which theory of emotion you think is the most valid. What makes this theory more valid to you than the others? Identify which theory of emotion you think is least valid. What makes this theory less valid? Your response should be at least 300 hundred words. The four major theories of emotion: James-Lange, Cannon-Bard Facial-feedback and Schechter’s two-factor; emphasize different sequences or aspects of the three elements of emotion cognitions, arousal and expression. The Cannon-Bard theory is most valid in my opinion, the theory holds that all emotions are physiologically similar and arousal, cognitions, and expression occur simultaneously. Arousal is not necessary in this theory. Both Cannon and Bard propose the Thalamus gland in the brain sends signals to the cerebral cortex and the ANS; in return the messages to the cortex produce the cognitive experience of emotion. In contrast, the Facial-feedback theory is the main culprit of our emotions, I do not agree with this theory; I believe facial expressions are a result of what we are feeling inside within our emotions. The face is what we can associate to a specific feeling or emotion. That is how we can tell when someone is feeling sad, or is afraid. I believe each theory holds a bit of truth, but to which one is completely right I s not possible. They are theories and they can be tested and tried and the most positive and negative reports concluded, but they can never be proven. Out of these four theories,

The four major theories of emotion are the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory, the Schacter-Singer theory, and the Lazarus theory. The James-Lange theory claims that an event first causes physiological arousal and also a physical response.  It is not until then that the person interprets the physical response as an emotion. The Cannon-Bard theory states that emotion -provoking stimuli are received by the senses and are then relayed simultaneously to the cerebral cortex, which provides the conscious mental experience of the emotion, and to the sympathetic nervous system, which produces the physiological state of arousal. The Schacter-Singer theory states that for an emotion to occur there must first be a physiological arousal, and second there must be an explanation for the arousal. The Lazarus theory is the theory that an emotion-provoking stimulus triggers a cognitive appraisal, which is followed by the emotion and physiological arousal. The most valid theory of emotion is the Cannon-Bard theory. He says that being afraid of something not only constitutes emotional fear, but it also brings about a rapid heartbeat. Concurring with the Cannon-Bard theory, we have a many different nerve systems within the human body that can be triggered simultaneously. This theory is more valid then the rest simply because of the adrenaline that is release into your body when excited or in the mist of eminent danger. The

Attempts to define “emotion” have proved to be rather difficult. Instead of searching for a comprehensive definition, Gross (2011) describes the three core features of emotions. First, emotions occur when an individual decides that a situation is relevant to his or her goals. Second, emotions are multi-faceted, and involve both subjective and physiological experiences, as well as behaviors. The third feature involves the authoritative nature of emotions. They have the powerful ability to interrupt ongoing processes, assert their priority over other activities, and force their way into awareness. For example, some traditions describe emotions as “disorganized interruptions of mental activity” (Salovey & Mayer, 1989). Emotions are such an

The human brain contains specific neurochemical systems that create feelings in us. Over many studies, scientists

Imagine you’re being chased by a thug down the street, what do you do? Would you be strong and face the thug or would you be a coward and let him attack you? Richard Wright, a young boy, was just walking down the street to buy some groceries, when a couple of thugs jumped him for his money(Complex Sentence). In Never Fall Down, The Rights to the Streets of Memphis, and Deep Survival, to survive, you need to show none of your emotions, be strong, and be adaptable.

3. What is the evolutionary view of emotion as originally proposed by Darwin? What is the adaptive value of emotion? What evidence suggests

For more than 26 years in neuroscience, Dr. Antonio Alcalá Malave has investigated the relationship of his patients with their emotions, which resulted in a tremendous affinity between diseases and distant memories of their ancestors. This discovery led to the book "The genetics of emotion: The origin of the disease," postulated that expressed from a scientific view that our body is genetically

However, instead of using vital survival arguments to explain how emotions are elicited, it uses a expansive notion of possible benefits or harms. Only limited by the central role given to cognition in the process of emotion, analysts in this field find it more difficult to distinguish emotions from non-emotions, (e.g. ideas, attitudes or

Reason is a quality that many people pride themselves on having. It is a quality that is very helpful to have for dealing with normal day-to-day issues. However, when dealing with situations of a higher magnitude, situations that have the capability to change our lives forever, it is not good to just have reason. Sometimes, a situation must make us cast aside reason and go with our instincts. Reason relies on knowledge, and no human being knows everything. Some say that is the definition of what it is to be human. Reason is relatively new in the span of humanity; instinct has gotten us as a race farther than reason ever will.

Researchers have debated about the phenomenon with emotions. Debates on this topic have and will continue to for many more years. Researchers have attempted to understand why one has emotions and came up with the five different theories. The first theory is the James-Lange theory, which argues that an event can cause physiological arousal first and, it can be interpret this as an arousal. Second theory is the Cannon-Bard theory that argues that all humans experience a physiological arousal and an emotional one at the same time. It still does not give any attention to the role of the thoughts or an outward

The discovery of intense emotions has the power to create urgency for individuals, which result in sudden and sometimes irrational decisions.

Chapter 2 is centered on the early attempts to identify the brain’s components of emotions. Key researchers that are discussed are a Cornell neuroanatomist, James Papez, and aforementioned physician and neuroscientist Paul MacLean, who worked at Yale and the National Institutes of Mental Health. Together, this pair of researchers conducted seminal medial temporal lobe lesion experiments. The resulting idea was that the emotional brain is composed of a set of interconnected structures in the core of the brain. MacLean dubbed these structures as the “limbic system”. The function of the limbic system and it relationship to emotion was widely debated by many researchers.

In the next paragraphs I will consider some theories, factors and evidence on cognitive controlling of emotion in terms of

For many people, they live their lives based on emotions. Emotions of happiness, love, success, and many more, could possibly be the most satisfying feelings. Except we commonly experience unpleasant emotions. There are emotions of anger, hatred, sadness, and disgrace. A very important question in the understanding of the human mind and highly related to cognitive science, is how do these emotions affect human cognition and the impact on our abilities to be rational? To tackle this question, we need to understand what emotions are, but not solely in the manner we are all familiar with, we need to understand them from a cognitive nature involving our physiology, psychology, and environment. Cognition, according to the Oxford definition

When talking about emotion it seems a fairly simple topic and immediately "feeling" words come to mind; sad, happy, and confused. These are basic emotions and easy to understand. What isn't so simple about emotions is their process and how they form and work. Emotions are reactions to sensory information like sight, smell, taste, touch and sound (Tracing Emotion’s Pathways 94). However, it is not that simple; an emotional reaction or response is made aware of and understood by a part of the brain called the sensory cortex. These emotional responses or reactions to sensory stimuli are processed by a part of the brain called the amygdala (What’s An Emotion). The amygdala is a huge asset to the cognitive factors of emotions because in processing emotions you become able to understand, recognize, and control them. So then how do emotions evoke a physiological reaction such as tearing up when one feels sad, laughing with joy, and trembling with fear? These physiological reactions that one may experience come from the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is, “a collection of fibers that extend throughout