Motivation: Psychology and Facial Feedback Hypothesis Essay

Submitted By Vatopballa
Words: 356
Pages: 2

Very often, emotion is the driving force behind mankind’s motivation, whether it is positive or negative. In 1992, psychologists Dr. Carlson and Dr. Hatfield defined emotions as states of feeling with physiological, cognitive, and behavioral components. There are many theories about emotions stretching back to at least as far as Ancient Greece in the works of Plato and Aristotle (Handel, 2011). The later evolved theories tended to be shaped by the advances from empirical research. Theories are no mutually exclusive and many researchers have determined it more useful to incorporate multiple theories in their works. The James-Lange theory, for example, is one of the most respected hypotheses relating to the origin and nature of emotions and is one of the earliest. The James-Lange theory states that “within human beings, there is a response to experiences in the world and that the autonomic nervous system creates physiological events such as muscular tension, a rise in heart rate, perspiration, and dryness of the mouth” (Ellsworth, 2005). Other theories include that of Charles Darwin, who believed that emotional expressions are learned behaviors that eventually become innate in a species because of its survival value. For example, if one animal is able to recognize fear in another animal rather than anger, it allows appropriate survival action be exercised. Finally, there is the facial feedback hypothesis which states that the face has influence over an emotional experience. For example, if someone is forced to smile to make the appearance of being happy at