Encore singing Teenage Dream.  It’s Inception.

The Colts season is over….

Bob Sanders to go on IR apparently, a must-win 4 game schedule coming up, can’t play defense, Manning is terrible.  Guess I will have to find a new obsession… until next season.

The Two Factor Theory Is A Load of Horse (Colt) Poop

I was just listening to Tiffany and Teona study from their physio book when I heard something I found to be quite interesting.  What is it you ask?  Well, they were discussing the different theories of emotions, and when the physiological reactions occur in relation to emotion.  

Well, first I heard the “Cannon-bard” theory which states that emotion and physiological reaction are simultaneous.  I found this to have its flaws, because it seems to me that, logically, the physiological action must occur before the emotion can occur.  It turns out that this is the “james-lange” theory.  This seemed more accurate to me, because emotions are a result of a physiological reaction to stimuli, which occurs in the brain.  Hormones and neurotransmitters cause these emotions.  How could emotions be propagated without a physiological reaction, if this is the case?  

Well, according to the “Two Factor Theory”, the brain perceives an event, experiences some sort of “arousal”, reasons as to the source of the arousal, and then reacts with emotion.  It states that the processing done by the brain in an emotional reaction can serve as a template for future.  This seems like a far more complete theory.  Some of the experiments in this theory include a bridge experiment, where test subjects were sent to a bridge for a study to meet with an attractive woman.  One group was sent to an old, high, rickety bridge, and one group was sent to a regular, safe bridge.  The group sent to the more dangerous bridge experienced more of a lust for the woman than the other group did.  However, this lust they felt was most likely the arousal they experienced from being atop the bridge. 

This goes to say that the physiological reaction DOES cause the emotion, however, it is up to the brain to process the event at hand and determine what sort of emotion to feel.  In the instance of the bridge study, the males were most likely more aroused by the danger of the bridge than the beauty of the woman, but they processed the information in the manner that lead them to lust after the woman.

On a final note, if this holds true, then emotion is a cognitive act, interpreted as the brain wants it to be interpreted, although it IS interpreted at a subconscious level.  Most people do not think of emotions as a cognitive response, but rather coming from a deeper level.  How many times have you heard someone say that “[so and so] lost it, they couldn’t control their emotions!” Perhaps it is worth examining emotions as a subconscious and cognitive response, rather than a response that we cannot control.