Which theory holds that physiological arousal and emotions are experienced simultaneously?

• A. Lazarus Theory
• B. Cannon-Bard Theory
• C. Schachter-Singer Theory
• D. James-Lange Theory

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is that emotional experience and physiological arousal can occur at the same moment. In Cannon-Bard theory, when a stimulus triggers emotion, the brain’s thalamus sends parallel signals: one path leads to the cortex to generate the conscious feeling of emotion, and another path triggers the autonomic nervous system to produce the bodily arousal. Because these two processes happen together, you experience the emotion and the physical changes simultaneously.

For example, encountering a sudden threat like a barking dog can make your heart race and your feeling of fear arise at the same time, not one after the other. This contrasts with theories that propose arousal must come first (you feel afraid because your body is aroused) or that arousal requires labeling or appraisal to become a specific emotion. Cannon-Bard emphasizes parallel processing in the brain that lets emotion and arousal co-occur.