Freberg, Laura. (2016). Discovering Behavioral Neuroscience: An introduction to biological psychology (4th ed). Cengage

Washington State University at Tri-Cities

Alma College

Physiological theories suggest that physical responses within the body are responsible for emotions.

Physiological Theories of Emotion

A polygraph, also known as a lie detector test, is a device that measures an individual's physiological arousal—such as heart rate, respiration, and sweating—while they answer a set of questions. The test operates on the assumption that dishonesty triggers strong emotional responses, which in turn produce noticeable physiological changes. A trained examiner analyzes the readings, looking for spikes in arousal associated with specific questions as potential indicators that the person may be lying.

Polygraph

Discovering Behavioral Neuroscience

The James-Lange theory posits that emotions are the consequence of physiological reactions to events. According to this model, an external stimulus leads to a bodily response, and the individual's emotional experience is their perception of these specific physical changes.

James-Lange Theory of Emotion

The Cannon-Bard theory of emotion proposes that physiological arousal and the subjective experience of emotion happen concurrently and are independent processes. This means that when a person encounters a stimulus, the brain triggers both the physical response and the emotional feeling at the same time, with neither one causing the other.

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

Imagine you are walking in the woods and encounter a large bear. Your heart begins to pound, your breathing quickens, and you start to tremble. According to theories that propose physical responses are responsible for emotions, which statement best explains the sequence of events leading to your feeling of fear?

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