Final answer:
The Cannon-Bard theory of emotion suggests that emotions and physiological arousal occur simultaneously but are independent, allowing for emotions to be experienced without the initiation of the sympathetic nervous system.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion, you could experience an emotion without activating the sympathetic nervous system. This theory posits that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously but independently. Unlike the James-Lange theory, which suggests that emotions result from physiological arousal, the Cannon-Bard theory maintains that we feel emotions in response to a stimulus at the same time as our body initiates a physiological response, such as the fight or flight reaction, yet the two processes are said to be separate from each other.