Question: Emotion

Answer: A response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience.

Question: James-Lange Theory

Answer: The theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli.

Question: Cannon-Bard Theory

Answer: The theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion.

Question: Two-Factor Theory

Answer: The Schatchter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal.

Question: Polygraph

Answer: A machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion (such as perspiration and cardiovascular and breathing changes).

Question: Catharsis

Answer: Emotional release. In psychology, the catharsis hypothesis maintains that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.

Question: Feel-Good, Do-Good Phenomenon

Answer: People’s tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood.

Question: Subjective Well-Being

Answer: Self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people’s quality of life.

Question: Adaptation-Level Phenomenon

Answer: Our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.

Question: Relative Deprivation

Answer: The perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.