Where do our emotions come from? From our thoughts? Or do they begin somewhere else - like in our bodies? This week we look at the work of James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, and Schachter and Singer. Also, I review two classic studies in the history of psychology: the Suproxin study and the Suspension Bridge study. This week the Good, the Bad and the Ugly….Betty of emotions. Oh yes, and what does the TV show Ugly Betty have to do with all this? Find out this week on The Psych Files.
Resources for this episode
-
Jonah Lehrer’s article from Seed Magazine about how Nintendo’s Wii video game creates strong emotions in players and brings some validation to the James Lange Theory of Emotions.
-
The Feelings Book: The Care & Keeping of Your Emotions (American Girl)
-
I referred to the January episode of the TV show Ugly Betty in which she was spraying herself with a perfume which was causing her to have unexplained heart racing, sweaty palms and heightened energy - the same kind of physiological arousal as in the Suproxin study. You can watch back episodes of Ugly Betty on the ABC website. There are commercials. If you want to get straight to the parts that are relevant to the Suproxin study, skip to 10:45 (the effects of the perfume is explained), 16:40 (she feels in love with her boyfriend), 22:15 (she’s angry at Gio) and 24:30 (can’t understand why she’s angry at Gio).
-
The "Suspension Bridge Study": Dutton, D. G. and Aron, A.P. (1974) Some Evidence for Heightened Sexual Attraction Under Conditions of High Anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 510-517.
-
The "Suproxin" study: Schachter, S. and Singer, J. (1962). Cognitive, Social, and Physiological Determinants of Emotional Stage. Physiological Review, 69, 379-399.
-
Question: did you figure out what the problem is with the Suspension Bridge Study??
Great episode! It reminded me of a Nancy Drew book I read when I was a kid. I don’t remember the exact storyline, but it involved a “haunted” house where people felt terror when they entered this one large room with a pipe organ. It turns out that the villain had rigged the pipe organ to constantly play a note that was below the range of human hearing, but that caused a rumbling people would feel. People then took that physiological response and interpreted it as fear. I can’t believe that part of the story has still stuck with me 20 years later!
Your sounds like the plot of a horror flick! Good connection to the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory though.
These podcasts are awesome. I thought I’d be stuck cramming just paper for my exam– actually hearing these arguments again helps a great deal more! Nice lecturing too, you make a good prof!
Thanks Isabel, I appreciate your comments. I hope these episodes help with your exams. Let me know if you have any suggestions for a topic.
Michael