Which concept is associated with facial expressions influencing emotional experience?

Which concept is associated with facial expressions influencing emotional experience?

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

Answer: (C)

Facial expressions can feed back into our own emotional experience, meaning the way we move or hold our facial muscles can intensify or shape how we feel. Ekman’s work centers on facial expressions and how they convey and reflect emotion across people, linking expressive cues directly to our internal feelings. This makes him the best fit for the idea that facial expressions influence emotional experience. By contrast, James-Lange emphasizes bodily arousal as the driver of emotion, Cannon-Bard argues that emotion and arousal occur together but independently, and Schachter-Singer highlights how we label arousal with context. So Ekman is the most aligned with the notion that facial expressions themselves play a role in shaping how we experience emotions.

Facial expressions can feed back into our own emotional experience, meaning the way we move or hold our facial muscles can intensify or shape how we feel. Ekman’s work centers on facial expressions and how they convey and reflect emotion across people, linking expressive cues directly to our internal feelings. This makes him the best fit for the idea that facial expressions influence emotional experience. By contrast, James-Lange emphasizes bodily arousal as the driver of emotion, Cannon-Bard argues that emotion and arousal occur together but independently, and Schachter-Singer highlights how we label arousal with context. So Ekman is the most aligned with the notion that facial expressions themselves play a role in shaping how we experience emotions.