The Three Cognitive Theories Of Motivation

A human body naturally responds to ones environment given the situation. In the scenario in which a body feels fear the body will instantly respond by looking for safety. The three cognitive theories of emotions include; Cannon-bard, Schacter-Singer and James Lange theory. These three theories explain why the body physically and mentally responds to situations. These theories help in seeing that when in fear, the body will stimulate an arousal causing a behavioral act. The James Lange Theory focuses on a stimulus that leads to a physiological reaction. The stimulus would be the footsteps one hears behind them as they walk, which will alert the body. The first response will be an arousal, causing one to walk faster and be more alert. The body will respond by "fight or flight", causing one to feel physical changes such as increased heart rate, rapid breathing or a dry mouth. The second response may be distance themselves until the footsteps are nonexistent. This theory proposes that you will interpret your bodies reactions as a sign that you are frightened and need to respond.

The emotions will be evident when the thalamus sends a message to the brain after responding to the stimulus. The thalamus receives sensory information from our nervous system and sends it to our brain to produce a psychological response to the situation. Cannon theorized that when we react to a stimulus we will experience the emotion at the same time. While walking alone at night, the darkness and the footsteps will cause the body to produce a rapid heart rate and cause one to tremble. The body by showing a physiological reaction. This theory differs from the James Lange Theory because it argues that one's physiological responses occur first and are the reason for the emotions expressed by the persons