Few weeks ago I got lost on campus and somehow I ended up in
this abandoned building. It was the creepiest and spookiest place I have even
been into… by myself. It looked more-less like this…
I don’t want to get into details but I had to walk through
the long hallway, and I must tell you, few times I have been more scared in my
life. I was in alert mode. I was watching over my shoulders every few seconds
to make sure nobody was following me because I could have sworn somebody was
going to murder me or at least rape me right then and there.
Physically, my heart was pounding its way out of my chest, my
legs were shaking more with each step, and my breathing became very rapid and
heavy.
But how did I end up feeling that way? There are few different
theories that explain how emotions are produced; however, what is the most
logical sequence of events? What happens first? I felt afraid (emotion), then I
got in that place (stimuli), then I my heart started to pound really fast
(action), and then I realized that place was creepy and possibly dangerous
(appraisal (cognition))? Or what?
Common sense told me that first I obviously got inside the
building, then I realized it was very creepy, then I felt afraid, and then I started
to express physical symptoms.
However, according to James-Lange theory of emotion I was
wrong. They proved through a series of experiments that emotions are actually
caused by physical arousal, and not the other way around. So the real sequence
of events goes: Event, Appraisal, Action, and Emotional feeling.
That is: I got into that place, I identified it as threatening,
I started to breath hard and my heart to beat fast, and then I identified it all
as fear.
Yes, it does sound odd, but it makes sense. Have you ever
heard that when you want to get in a better mood you can force a big awkward smile
for 20 seconds and then you will feel a bit happier? No? Well I have and it
actually works. No, it does not make you really happy in 20 seconds, but it
makes a small difference. No, I am not crazy, James did and experiment in which
he would deceive their participants to get them to smile while they rated comic
strips in the newspaper according to their level of amusement. The results were
that when people were forcing a smile they would rate the comics as funnier.
This theory therefore suggests that people who have no
muscle movements or perceivable changes in any organ should feel no emotions.
However, those people may still recognize the cognitive aspects of emotion. That
is, they can identify a situation as sad, or frightening, or any other emotion.
So, does your mind control your body… or your body controls
your mind?
