Final answer:
Emotions are defined as subjective mental states often accompanied by distinct behaviors and involuntary physiological responses, consisting of subjective experience, emotional expression, cognitive appraisal, and physiological changes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Psychologists currently define emotions as subjective mental states that are usually accompanied by distinctive behaviors and an involuntary physiological response. To understand this, let's explore the various components of emotions. An emotion often starts with a subjective experience, such as thinking about something that makes us feel a certain way.
This is accompanied by emotional expression through nonverbal and verbal behaviors. Furthermore, there is a cognitive appraisal process where we assess the impact of the situation on ourselves. Lastly, emotions involve a physiological response, like changes in heart rate or sweating.
Theorists have proposed different explanation models for these experiences. For instance, the James-Lange theory suggests that emotions are a result of physiological arousal, the Cannon-Bard theory posits that physiological response and emotional experience occur simultaneously but independent of each other, and the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory emphasizes that physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal together contribute to the emotional experience.
Essentially, these models reflect the complex interplay between our physiological states, our cognitive processes, and our subjective experiences when we encounter emotion-inducing stimuli.