Cannon-Bard Theory

A theory of emotion developed in 1927 by Walter Cannon and Philip Bard. This theory defends the view that emotion-eliciting stimuli or events trigger physiological arousal and the experience of emotion simultaneously and independently. The Cannon-Bard theory suggests that emotions originate in the thalamus, which is the part of the brain that sends messages from the sensory organs to the autonomic nervous system, cerebral cortex, and skeletal muscles, thus affecting arousal, conscious thought, and motor behavior. For example, if you hear a sudden loud noise while at home alone, you may simultaneously feel afraid and experience heart palpitations. Cannon stated that bodily [Page 60]sensations alone could not evoke emotions. In fact, individuals who are injected with hormones that energize the body report feeling aroused but do not report feeling any specific emotion. In addition, emotions are sometimes elicited by an external stimulus instantly, that is, before the physiological reactions have had enough time to be activated. Finally, physiological reactions have been observed to be too vague in isolation to allow one to differentiate among emotions. For example, both fear and anger may be associated with heart palpitations. The Cannon-Bard theory originates as an alternative to the James-Lange theory of emotion, which suggests that emotions follow the physiological reaction triggered by the emotion-eliciting stimulus. For more information, see Rolls (1999).