People and Emotions - Essay Example

People and Emotions How do people know what emotion are they feeling? Is there an exact explanation as to how a person would know that he is experiencing an emotion? In this module, it will be put into notion that a person experiences an emotion due to a stimulus. Furthermore, it will be explained as to which of the theories of emotion properly applies in explaining such events in a person’s life. Could emotion be used as an influential factor in gaining alliances or rivals? There have been a couple of theories that were presented and accepted in the discipline of psychology. Could it be possible that the same effect may be experienced by the same person yet explained differently? How can an intangible entity affect unions and society so vast that it can build or destroy human relationships? Centuries apart, can a theory or an opinion of Adam Smith be complementing the idea of any or none of the accepted theories of emotions? The paper is aimed to explore the definitions and effects of emotions of people in terms of existence in the society and human interactions. To be able to achieve the said goal, a research had been undertaken regarding concepts and views that can explain the effects of emotions on human interactions. Emotion is something that a person feels even at the very first second he was born. There are instances that a person experiences extreme emotions which are indescribable through words. Emotion is often so strong that it can build or ruin relationships. Adam Smith once declared that emotion is the building thread that weaves the society together. Yet it is also the same thing that can tear society apart. Adam Smith stated in his The Theory of Moral Sentiments that: As we have no immediate experience of what other men feel, we can form no idea of the manner in which they are affected, but by conceiving what we ourselves should feel in the like situation. Though our brother is upon the rack, as long as we ourselves are at our ease, our senses will never inform us beyond our own person, and it is by the imagination only that we can form any conception of what are his sensations (1). In the book The Cultural Politics of Emotion, Sara Ahmed agreed with Smith’s idea that a person’s emotion might be the core of relationship with other people. Ahmed then stated that a single person can make a simple opinion which can provoke the emotions of another person or a whole society. With the agreement on the thoughts of Ahmed and Smith, there are extreme evidences that though emotion is something which is intangible and unseen, it is a significant factor in alliances and rivalries (Ahmed, 1-2). Emotion can be used for or against a particular person or group when there are factions either agreeing or conflicting toward a certain opinion or subject. Still referring to the thoughts of Ahmed, a “you” can be a “we” when emotions are evoked. On the other hand, the “we” can also become a “you” upon disagreement over an opinion. Emotion is a big entity in a person’s relationship either with the family or the society. The author also stated that the softest touch can be of a determining national character (Ahmed, 1-5). Psychologists are using the 3 theories of emotion to explain emotional experiences that people experiences. These theories are 1) James-Lange theory, 2) Cannon-Bard theory, and 3) Schachter’s Two-Factor theory. The theories were used as an effort to justify how an emotion is felt by a certain person. However, could these theories be enough to justify that the emotion is truly what unites or divides a society (Weiten, 323-4)? How are these theories related to the idea agreed upon by Smith and Ahmed? James-Lange Theory stated that “the perception of automatic arousal leads to the conscious experience of fear.” The theory further explained that the “different patterns of automatic activation lead to the experience of different emotion (Weiten, 323-4).” In this theory, it is being concluded that the end emotion is the cause of a stimuli arousing the brain. The model can be further illustrated as: On the other hand, the Cannon-Bard theory proposes that “emotion occurs when the thalamus sends signals simultaneously to the cortex (creating the conscious experience of emotion) and to the autonomic nervous system (creating visceral arousal).” The main argument is that the emotion before being expressed is still being processed by the brain. Therefore, this theory is contradicting the other as the arousal of the brain still undergoes a process before the end emotion will be felt by the person (Weiten 324). Cannon-Bard introduced another area of the brain which stimulates a person’s emotion. This should not be the case. Emotion is something felt and not thought of. There is no need for the conscious mind to be stimulated for it to process something just to make a person understand what the person is feeling. Another aspect about emotions is that there are times even the brain could not understand or explain what the person is feeling. Such feelings could be caused by extreme emotions (Weiten 324). Schachter’s Two-Factor theory, which is the third theory, stated that emotion is relying on 2 factors. These factors are 1) “autonomic arousal” and 2) “cognitive interpretation of that arousal.” Though this theory seem to be more complicated than the previous 2, Schachter’s Two-Factor somewhat resembles the Cannon-Bard theory where the effect of the stimuli is still being processed and analysed by the brain before resulting to the end emotion (Weiten, 324). Smith’s thoughts somewhat resembles the James-Lange Theory that emotions are the results of a stimuli. Emotion is the initial reaction of a person once a statement has been said or an event has happened and the person can relate to the particular situation. At this point, Ahmed does not agree with Smith. Ahmed stated that once a stimulus has been thoroughly examined by a person, the emotions being expressed are much more intense and justified why such reaction has been made (Ahmed, 24-5). Ahmed then justifies the previous statement that the emotions are due to the judgements of the statements or the events that have been conducted. The author stated that: The reduction of judgements about what is bad or wrong to experiences of hurt, pain or suffering would be deeply problematic. For the claim would allow violence to be sustained in the event that the other claim would allow violence to be sustained in the event that the other claimed not to suffer, or that I claimed the other did not suffer (193). The statement that the Ahmed specified somewhat rejects the James-Lange Theory and the thoughts of Smith as a whole as Ahmed supports the ideas that before an emotion is expressed there is still a need for an analysis of the stimuli present. The author supports the indication of the need to analyse the existing factors before the body will able to express an appropriate emotion. It is somewhat unnatural for such since there are instances where an emotion is expressed instantly upon contact with the stimuli. There are emotions being expressed instantly as a result of intense situation. A person does not need to process the idea of somebody has been killed or died just to be able to express the emotion of grief or sorrow. There is no need to process an emotion when a mother gives birth to her child especially if it is the first-born. Smith’s statement and the James-Lange Theory deals more with pure emotions that are expressed at the very instant when an event is happening. There is no need to process what is present just to be able to have an emotion which is appropriate to the event. Ahmed’s thoughts are more inclined towards getting the sympathy of people who have already experiencing an emotion. It is sympathy that is actually being referred to when analysis is needed towards certain stimuli or events. An emotion should be purely felt by a person at the instance of the incident and not after a certain timeframe after the event has happened. It is not a secret that emotions are present in every second of a person’s life. However sympathy is something being used to further gained alliances or rivalries. Smith’s idea deals with pure emotions which are felt at the very moment. It is something pure, immediate and unbiased. Sympathy is something gradual and could be biased as there are external factors which can affect the end emotion towards certain opinions. If it is purely the emotion of a person that a study would want to give focus on, it should be the James-Lange Theory that psychologists need to consider. When an emotion is stricken by thoughts as to what could or could not be therefore, it is not pure anymore. As ideas are mingled with emotions, sometimes sympathy is being felt instead of emotion. Sympathy is now the one that weaves the society together or keep it apart. It is not emotion anymore which has been stated by Smith. If emotion is the true thread that binds a society, it should not be lined by thoughts which can affect whether the emotion being felt is true or false depending on the ideas being presented. Emotion is being felt and not what is felt after thinking. Emotion is the instant reaction of a person towards particular events or statements. It is something that is though started in the brain should not be influenced by the thoughts being presented to the brain. Realization comes when the pure intense emotion passes. Sympathy is felt when ideas are entered into the brain to make an alliance or rivalry as proposed by Ahmed though sympathy was not the term applied by the author. Emotion is felt at the very moment. One does not need to think to say that he felt joy or sorrow. There is no need to think when a person says that he is in grief. It is different when a person says that he felt something and when he thought of something. Emotion is felt, not thought. Works Cited: Ahmed, Sara. The Cultural Politics of Emotion. New York, NY: Edinburgh Press. 2004. Smith, Adam. The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Empire Books. 2011. Weiten, Wayne. Psychology: Themes and Variations. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 2011. Read More