Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Experience emotion refers to the subjective feeling or state that individuals have when they are exposed to different stimuli or events, which can range from joy and excitement to fear and sadness.
This theory suggests that our emotions are a result of our physiological responses to external events. In other words, we first experience physical sensations in our bodies and then label those sensations as specific emotions.
According to this theory, our emotional response occurs simultaneously with our physiological reactions. It proposes that both our bodily changes and subjective emotional experiences happen at the same time.
Two-Factor Theory (Schachter-Singer Theory): This theory posits that emotion is determined by a combination of both physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal. It emphasizes the importance of cognitive appraisal in labeling an emotion based on bodily sensations.