AFFECTIVE COMPUTING
Theories of Emotions
Theories of emotions can be split into two categories: physiological and cognitive. Physiological theories suggest that emotions are the result of the processes and functions within our body. Cognitive theories, however, argue that emotions are formed from thoughts and mental processes. Theories such as the James-Lange theory, Cannon-Bard theory and Schachter-Singer theory are all commonly known and discussed.
The James-Lange theory
The James-Lange theory originated from two theories William James (1884) and Carl Lange (1887). They came up with the idea separately but around the same time. Their theory suggest that emotions are caused by the physiological changes in our body when there is an external stimuli. It is when we detect these physiological changes, that we experience the emotion. For example, we feel fear because an external event causes our heart rate to increase.
The Cannon-Bard theory
The Cannon-Bard theory is suggested by Walter Cannon and Philip Bard. Cannon argued that physiological responses could be interpreted as more than one emotions. For example, heart rate increasing could mean anger or excited. This shows that there are more to physiological responses that the brain need to detect emotions. From the experiments they conducted, they concluded that emotions does not depend on the responses of the body but instead happen independently.
The Schachter-Singer theory
At around 1962, the Schachter-Singer theory is proposed by two psychologist, Stanly Schachter and Jerome Singer. Their theory is a combination of the James-Lange theory and Cannon-Bard theory where emotions are detected through the physiological changes and also the environment around the person. For example, heart rate increases along with being in danger can be interpreted as fear whereas heart rate increasing along with being with someone you love would be interpreted as excitement.
