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Chapter 1. Chapter

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Scientific American: Psychology

Infographic Activity 9.3: Theories of Emotion

Theories of Emotion

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Imagine you are swimming and you think you see a shark. Fear pierces your gut, sending your heart racing as you swim frantically to shore. Or is it actually your churning stomach and racing heart that cause you to feel so terrified? And what part, if any, do your thoughts play in this process? Psychologists have long debated the order in which events lead to emotion. Let’s compare four major theories, each proposing a different sequence of events.

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1.1 Quiz

1. While driving along the highway, Danielle is suddenly faced with an emergency as the car next to her swerves into her lane to avoid hitting a deer. She swerves to her left, narrowly avoiding another car, and then moves back into her own lane. Thankfully no cars collide and nobody is hurt .Which theory of emotions would suggest that Danielle is now feeling terrified because of the physiological changes that have just occurred in her body?

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B.
C.
D.

Correct.
Incorrect.

2. Which theory of how emotions occur would be best summarized by the sentence, “I am scared because I am shaking?”

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B.
C.
D.

Correct.
Incorrect.

3. When she walks into her hotel room, Vernita is not expecting there to be anyone already there. She is quickly started by the fact that a maid is still making the bed, and Vernita jumps in the air when she is frightened. According to the ________ theory of emotions, the bodily changes that Vernita experienced happen at the same time as her experiencing of the emotion of fear.

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B.
C.
D.

Correct.
Incorrect.

4. Orlando is sitting in a restaurant enjoying a night to himself, when he sees a very nice looking man at the next table. He finds himself attracted to this gentleman, and starts feeling a bit of rumbling in his belly. “I wonder why my belly is rumbling,” Orlando thinks. “Is it because the food I am eating is making me sick, or am I nervous at the idea of introducing myself to that man over there?” Orlando’s way of determining what he is feeling is consistent with the ________ theory of emotions.

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B.
C.
D.

Correct.
Incorrect.

5. Nelson has been invited to a new friend’s house for a night of poker, pizza, and movies. As he walks up to the front door, he hears the barking of a dog behind the front door. He thinks to himself, “that doesn’t sound like a big dog, so there isn’t any reason to be afraid of it,” and walks in the house when someone yells for him to come in. Nelson’s consideration of the stimulus in his environment is what is described by the ________ theory of emotions.

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B.
C.
D.

Correct.
Incorrect.