Proposed independently by psychologist William James and physiologist Carl Lange, the James-Lange theory of emotion proposes that emotions occur as a result of phyiological reactions to events. According to this theory, you see an external stimulus that leads to a physiological reaction. Your emotional reaction is dependent upon how you interpret those physical reactions. For example, suppose you are walking in the woods and you see a grizzly bear. You begin to tremble and your heart begins to race. The James-Lange theory proposes that you will interpret your physical reactions and conclude that you are frightened ("I am trembling, therefore I am afraid.")
William James explained, "My thesis on the contrary is that the bodily changes follow directly the PERCEPTION of the exciting fact, and that our feeling of the same changes as they occur IS the emotion."
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Reference:
James, William. (1884). What is an emotion? Mind, 9, 188-205.
