EM.5: Case Study – Part 2: At the Movies – The Cannon-Bard Theory in Action

Approximate reading time: 3 minutes

Envision yourself settled comfortably in a movie theatre, absorbed in a high-tension chase scene. The Cannon-Bard theory presents a different sequence of emotional experiences than the James-Lange theory. It suggests that when you witness an emotionally charged event, your physiological arousal and emotional experience happen at the same time and independently of one another.

Here’s how the experience might play out according to the Cannon-Bard theory:

• Simultaneous Response: As the chase scene on the screen reaches its peak intensity, two things happen at once: your body responds with an increased heart rate, muscle tension, and rapid breathing, and you simultaneously experience the emotion of fear.
• Independence of Responses: The Cannon-Bard theory suggests that these two responses are independent of each other. Your feeling of fear doesn’t arise because you’ve noticed your heart racing; rather, both the physiological arousal and the emotional experience are triggered simultaneously by the suspenseful scene.
• Cerebral Processing: According to the theory, the thalamus in the brain plays a critical role. It receives the sensory information from the scene and then relays it simultaneously to the cortex (producing the conscious feeling of fear) and to the sympathetic nervous system (resulting in the physiological arousal).

In this cinema scenario, the Cannon-Bard theory would argue that you don’t feel scared because your heart is racing; instead, your heart is racing at the same time that you’re feeling scared, both reactions triggered by the thrilling chase scene you’re watching.

Opponents of the Cannon-Bard theory could point out that the theory does not explain the intricate relationship between our body’s physiological responses and our emotional experiences. For instance, it does not fully address how and why we sometimes see a lag between an event and our emotional reaction to it, or why we might feel emotions deeply even in the absence of intense physical reactions, such as a racing heart or sweating. After all, we may be sweating because the room is hot, not because we are having an emotional experience.

Despite these criticisms, it’s important to recognize the key insight offered by the Cannon-Bard theory: emotions are complex experiences. They are not simply a by-product of our physical reactions; rather, emotions and physical states often happen concurrently, enriching our understanding of how we experience feelings.