Which theory claims that physiological arousal and emotion occur at the same time?

Which theory claims that physiological arousal and emotion occur at the same time?

• A. James-Lange theory
• B. Cannon-Bard theory
• C. Schachter-Singer theory
• D. LeDoux's theory

Answer: (B)

The Cannon-Bard theory says that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur at the same time. When you encounter something emotional, information is sent to the cortex to create the feeling, and at the same moment it triggers the autonomic nervous system to generate arousal. So you don’t first feel a racing heart and then label the emotion; the feeling and the bodily changes happen together. This contrasts with the James-Lange view, which would have the arousal come first and then the emotion is perceived from that arousal, and with the Schachter-Singer idea that arousal plus a cognitive interpretation of the situation creates the emotion. LeDoux’s perspective focuses on different neural pathways for fear processing, rather than the timing of arousal and emotion.

The Cannon-Bard theory says that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur at the same time. When you encounter something emotional, information is sent to the cortex to create the feeling, and at the same moment it triggers the autonomic nervous system to generate arousal. So you don’t first feel a racing heart and then label the emotion; the feeling and the bodily changes happen together. This contrasts with the James-Lange view, which would have the arousal come first and then the emotion is perceived from that arousal, and with the Schachter-Singer idea that arousal plus a cognitive interpretation of the situation creates the emotion. LeDoux’s perspective focuses on different neural pathways for fear processing, rather than the timing of arousal and emotion.