Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-k7p5g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-08T19:14:28.701Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 8 - Psychological Constructionist Theories

from Part II - Emotion Theories One by One

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2022

Agnes Moors
Affiliation:
KU Leuven, Belgium
Get access

Summary

This chapter discusses psychological constructionist theories (PCTs). PCTs reject the existence of affect programs as special-purpose mechanisms for the phenomena called emotions. PCTs come in a two-factor version, endorsed by Schachter (1964) and Barrett (2017b), and a multi-factor version, endorsed by Russell (2009). Two-factor PCTs propose that emotions result from the combination of (a) diffuse bodily feelings and (b) a construction process that binds these felt bodily responses to external stimuli and produces a labeled feeling. The multi-factor PCT proposes that the phenomena that people call emotions are composed of many components. The categorization of these components does not result in an emotion per se, but an emotional self-ascription. Two-factor PCTs can deliver discrete emotions. The multi-factor theory does not deliver discrete emotions, but can nevertheless make sense of them. Empirical research that tests two-factor PCTs is discussed.

Type
Chapter
Information
Demystifying Emotions
A Typology of Theories in Psychology and Philosophy
, pp. 245 - 266
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×