| Theory | Explanation of Emotions | Example |
|---|
| James-Lange | Our awareness of our specific bodily responses to emotion-arousing stimuli | We observe our heart racing after a threat and then feel afraid. |
| Cannon-Bard | Bodily responses + simultaneous subjective experience | Our heart races at the same time that we feel afraid. |
| Schachter-Singer | Two factors: general arousal + a conscious cognitive label | We may label our arousal as fear or excitement, depending on context. |
| Zajonc; LeDoux | Instant, before cognitive appraisal | We automatically feel startled by a sound in the forest before labeling it as a threat. |
| Lazarus | Appraisal (“Is it dangerous or not?”)—sometimes without our awareness—defines emotion | The sound is “just the wind.” |