Psychology : Theories of Emotion

THEORIES OF EMOTION:

James theory or emotion proposes the following sequences of events in emotional state

First we perceive the situation that will produce emotion. Second we react to this emotion. Third we notice our action. The perception of the reaction is the basis of the emotion as we feel and experience it.

The major objection to James Lange theory came from Cannon Who pointed out that changes do not seem to differ very much from one emotional state to another.

      The internal organs are relatively intensive structures not well supplied with nerves and internal changes occur too slowly to be a source of emotional feelings.

      Artificially inducing the bodily changes associated with an emotion injecting a person with adrenaline does not

produce the experience of the true emotion.

Emotion when sufficiently intense can seriously impair the processes that control organized behaviour.

The following diagram illustrate the relationship between the level of emotional arousal and the effectiveness of performance.

Emotional behaviour studies in infancy and early childhood by means of direct observation. Motion pictures and recording of children' s cries indicate that the infants' response to stimuli designated to arouse emotion are very diffuse and lacking in organization.

Emotional shocks and hurts suffered by individuals at an early age can handicap them as long as they live. Children sooner or later acquire the capacity for experiencing negative emotions such as anger, fear and also sorrow or grief to an intense degree.

This capacity develops, before the child is mature enough to use language, to formulate his experience in words.

For a time, the infants' expression of rage is poorly organized. Later his anger becomes more definitely directed at some thing or some body. Changes can likewise be noted in a child' s expression of fear and his reactions to pain.

These improvements in the young child' s ability to respond in specific ways to situations that arouse him, parallel the development of his mental and motor abilities.

As the child ' s intellectual and motor capacity matures, he acquires large variety of means and forms of expressions such as overt and direct to more graded covert and indirect.

The habit of concealing emotion may become especially burdensome under two conditions. If a person may mask intense feeling of anger that occurs when someone hunts his pride very sharply and then still harbouring his anger, may explode on another occasions because of a very trivial affront.

Again suppression of any show of emotion may be harmful if an individual for one reason or another has put a lid on any impulse to show affection and its awkward and even rude, when he happens to feel very affectionate toward some one and wishes that he could some how show it in a spontaneous way.

The most important factors in a child' s emotional development are the affection that he receives from his parents, peer group and society. This gives opportunity to develop wholesome affection for his fellow creatures.

The more genuine the parents love for the child, the more the child tends to feel free to love other people. More over he is likely to express all his emotions at ease.

All physiological healthy nurses are likely to feel some affection for patients in their charge or with whom they have a chance to associate even though the children are not their own.

Affection is important for an individual ' s emotional welfare promoting security. The unloved person may suffer in connection with the development of positive attitudes and concepts concerning his own worth.