Exploring the Impact of Biological Factors on Emotional Responses

Exploring the Impact of Biological Factors on Emotional Responses

Our emotional states involve psychological appraisal, subjective experiences, and physiological arousal (LeDoux & Brown, 2017). These are the components of emotions and can be influenced by background, culture, and experiences. However, different individuals have different emotional reactions to similar situations. Subsequently, the aspects of emotions that I would love to learn more about are the theories of emotions.

Schachter-Singer’s theory is a cognitive theory. I believe it is the most accurate theory. This theory focuses on the role of cognition in emotions; it opines that individuals identify the emotions they experience by observing the environment and comparing themselves with others (Shaked & Clore, 2017). This theory draws on the James-Lange theory and the Cannon-Bard theory. Individuals infer emotions based on physiological responses, while the same physiological responses can result in different emotions (Feldman, 2019).

This theory has several strengths; for example, it considers the role of cognitive factors in explaining different emotions after physiological responses (Papanicolaou, 2021). It also combines the James-Lange theory and the Cannon-Bard theory. Finally, it considers the body’s physical mechanism (Papanicolaou, 2021). Nevertheless, this theory also has several limitations. For instance, emotions are sometimes expressed before thinking about them, and all emotional states follow the same pattern. In addition, it considers processes in the autonomic nervous system but ignores the central nervous system (Feldman, 2019). Finally, scientists have not replicated the results of the experiment (Feldman, 2019)

An example of a situation is when I was walking in the dark and saw a man lurking behind me. My heart was racing which indicated fear, meaning that my final reaction was fear. The question that captures what I want to learn about this emotion is? Why do people have different emotional reactions to similar situations? People respond differently due to cultural backgrounds, different beliefs about others, and the world’s perceptions.

References

Feldman, R. S. (2019). Essentials of understanding psychology.

LeDoux, J. E., & Brown, R. (2017). A higher-order theory of emotional consciousness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(10), E2016-E2025. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619316114

Papanicolaou, A. (2021). Schachter and Singer and the cognitive approach. Emotion, 47-68. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003210849-4

Shaked, A., & Clore, G. L. (2017). Breaking the world to make it whole again: Attribution in the construction of emotion. Emotion Review, 9(1), 27-35. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073916658250

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Understanding emotions is one of the most complex topics in psychology. There are so many different emotions, theories of emotions, and biological and situational factors that belie them.

Exploring the Impact of Biological Factors on Emotional Responses

In this assignment forum, you will choose one aspect of emotions you are most interested in learning more about.