Cognitive Theories: Schachter-Singer Theory of Emotion

Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer proposed the two-factor theory of emotion, focusing on physiological arousal and cognitive labeling. According to them, when individuals experience physiological arousal, they seek external cues to label the emotion.

For example, feeling good after receiving a compliment might be labeled "happiness," while feeling bad after doing something wrong, such as cheating in an exam, might be labeled "guilt."

In an experiment, participants injected with epinephrine were either informed or uninformed about its arousal-causing effects. They were observed in the presence of another person displaying either euphoric or angry behavior.

The participants' interpretation of their arousal depended on the other person's behavior. They felt happy around a happy person and angry around an angry person.

This effect only occurred when participants were unaware of the actual cause of their arousal — the injection while awareness about the drug's effects didn't cause misattribution of emotional states.

This study illustrates that strong emotions are associated with physiological arousal, but the cognitive interpretation of this arousal ultimately shapes the emotion.