Question

A tiger is chasing you. You run. You also feel afraid. According to the James-Lange theory of emotions, what is the order of events?

A) You become afraid, which makes you run; your running makes you more afraid, and you run faster; and so on.
B) First, you feel afraid; you run away because you are frightened.
C) First, you run away; you feel afraid because you are running.
D) None of the above

Answer 1

The James-Lange theory states that in the scenario of being chased by a tiger, you first run away and then feel afraid due to the physiological changes from running.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, our emotional experience is a result of physiological arousal. In the scenario where a tiger is chasing you, the order of events described by this theory would be as follows: (C) First, you run away; you feel afraid because you are running. You witness a threat (the tiger), and your body responds with physiological changes such as an increased heart rate and adrenaline rush to prepare for the flight response. Only after these physiological changes take place do you experience the emotion of fear. The emphasis in James-Lange's theory is that our emotions are a reflection of our body's actions in response to stimuli, not the other way around.