1. James Lange
Theory Of
Emotions

2. James Lange Theory Of Emotion
Introduction:
Earliest theory of emotion .
American Psychologist
In 1980s James and Lange
Independently propose idea
that challenge common sense
about emotion

3. Commonsense tells us most of
us
Cry
Sad
Lash
Angry,
Tremble
Afraid

4. Exlpanation
o This
idea which came to known as
James Lange theory is that people
experience emotion because they
perceive their bodies psychological
response to external events.
o According to this theory people feel
sad because they cry, and likewise
they they feel happy because they
smile.

5. Definition:
 An
emotional event occur a
response in the autonomic
nervous system. This
response is detected by
central nervous system to
produce an emotional
experience.

6. Example

7. James-Lange Theory
The James-Lange theory of emotion
argues that an event causes
physiological arousal first and then
we interpret this arousal. Only after
our interpretation of the arousal can
we experience emotion. If the arousal
is not noticed or is not given any
thought, then we will not experience
any emotion based on this event.

8. James-Lange Theory
EXAMPLE:
You are walking down a dark alley late
at night. You hear footsteps behind
you and you begin to tremble, your
heart beats faster, and your breathing
deepens. You notice these
physiological changes and interpret
them as your body's preparation for a
fearful situation. You then experience
fear.

12. Critisims
James Lange theory was criticized on a
large scale.
o Since the theory inception, scientists have
found evidence that not all aspects of the
theory are relevant and true.
o The theory was criticized by Walter Cannon
and Phillip Bard who theorized that
psychological changes are caused by
emotions ,which is essentially opposite to the
James Lange theory known as Cannon Bard
theory of emotion.
o Cannon emphasized that the viscera can be
separated from central nervous system and
have no impact on emotion.


13. This contradicts the James Lange theory
because James believed that viscera is
the centre of emotion.
o Cannon examined research performed
by Sherrington who separated the spinal
cord and Vegas nerves from all
connection in the rest of the body, and
found that the experience of emotion did
not change, thus disproving the idea that
the viscera has a major impact on
emotion.
o

14. o Theory
faced some controversy
more recently, by scientists such
as Lisa Feldman Barrett and
James Gross, Barrett says
testing theory with electrical
stimulation there is not a one to
one response between behavior
and category.

15. Facial Feedback and Emotions
o Paul
Elman(1984), Carol
Izard(1971), and Sliven
Tomlinson(1981) hypothesized that
facial feedback from facial muscles
and facial skin contribute to our
feelings specific emotion states, such
as anger, happiness, fear, or sadness.
o James Laired and his colleagues
reported that subjects who held a
“smile” pose, later reported being in
batter mood than those who held a
“trown” pose.

16. When compared with control subjects
people who held a “smile” pose while
watching cartoons reported that the
cartoon were funnier and pleasant
scenes.
o Winton concluded that a number of
studies provide evidence that facial
feedback can influence one's general
mood.
o He added “there is very little evidence
that facial feedback actually causes a
specific emotion”
o

17. References
 An
approach to Psychology Vol 1 by
Rukhshanda Shahnaz
 Www.Sparknotes.com
 Cannon Walter The American Journal
of Psychology
 Feldman Barrett, Lisa (2012)
“Emotions are real” American
psychological association
 An approach to Psychology Vol 1 by
Rukhshanda Shahnaz.