Discuss the evidence for and against schachters theory of emotion - Essay Example

Interestingly, and significantly, some theories complement or reinforce each other, while some negate or refute each other. One of the most cited and discussed about theories on emotions is the Two-Factor Theory of Emotions which Stanley Schachter, together with Jerome Singer, proposed in 1962. It posits that emotion has two components or factors, the physiological arousal and cognition. In simpler terms, this means that our environment as well as our thought processes influence the kind of emotions we have in certain situations.

What the theory tells us is that our emotional response to any given situation is influenced by an interplay of factors. First, the environment arouses bodily response such as change in heartbeat, sweating, etc., and, sensing these bodily changes, the individual now appraises what emotion he/she is feeling in that particular situation. Appraisal would be based on past experiences of similar events. To further understand the theory, it would be helpful to picture this out: A man is left alone in a big house which is believed to be haunted.

He hears some noise upstairs. He suddenly feels his heartbeat quicken, his sweating becomes excessive. Realizing that he is alone in that house which is believed to be haunted, he now concludes it is scary and so he feels scared or frightened. Several experiments and further scrutiny by other scholars and psychologists to prove or refute the theory were conducted. There were some that supported or reinforced his theory, but there were also others that refuted it. Schachter and Singer themselves conducted experiments to prove the validity of their theory.

They conducted the “Suproxin” experiment among 184 male students of a university wherein they grouped the subjects into informed and uninformed groups in two emotional conditions, which were euphoria and anger. The environmental factors introduced were the adrenaline