Perceptual Influences on Emotions
Today, most researchers think the physiological factors are less
important than perceptual and social factors in shaping emo-
tions. For these scholars, perception involves a lot more than
James’s idea of becoming aware of objective stimuli.
Perceptual View of Emotions
The perceptual view of emotions, which is also called appraisal theory,
asserts that subjective perceptions shape what external phenomena mean
to us. External objects and events, as well as physiological reactions, have
no intrinsic meaning. Instead, they gain meaning only as we attribute significance to them. In other words, events are neutral. It is only our interpretations that create meaning. We might interpret a cake as a symbol of celebration, a raised fist as a threat, and a knot in the stomach as anxiety. We act on the basis of our interpretation, not the actual cake, raised fist, or knot
in our stomach.
However, symbols are arbitrary, ambiguous,
and abstract so their meanings are not fixed or clear-cut. A cake might be a
symbol of freedom to a prisoner who knows there’s a file hidden in it, a
raised fist might be a symbol of power and ethnic pride as it was during the
Mohawk uprising, and a knot in the stomach might represent excitement
about receiving a major award.
The ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus observed that people are not
disturbed by things, but by the views we take of them. Our view of things
leads us to feel disturbed, pleased, sad, joyous, afraid, and so forth. In other
words, our perceptions filter our experiences, and it is the filtered experiences
that influence what we feel.
We respond differently to the same phenomenon, depending on the
meaning we attribute to it. For example, if you receive a low score on a test,
you might interpret it as evidence that you are not smart. This interpretation
could lead you to feel shame or disappointment or other unpleasant emotions. The emotion of shame might lead you to lower your head or act in
other ways that physically express your emotion. On the other hand, you
might interpret the low score as the result of a tricky or overly rigorous exam,
an interpretation that might lead you to feel anger at the teacher or resentment at the situation. Anger might lead you to stomp out of the room or
ball up the test and throw it in a trash can.
Anger is a very different feeling than shame. Which one you feel depends
on how you perceive the score and the meaning you attribute to it. In turn,
the emotion you feel shapes your physiological response—slouching away in
mortification or stomping belligerently out of the room.