Emotion is a very complex subject that has been discussed and researched for over 100 years. There are several definitions of emotion based upon the various theories that have developed over the course of that time period. However, a working definition of emotion that can be used is that emotions are the cognitive aspect of feeling or the value judgment placed on a particular experience.
Emotions have a physiological basis as was studied by Cannon who gave the first descriptions of bodily changes during simpler emotions and found that the thalamus is the center of emotion. The adrenal gland and adrenaline, acting along with the autonomic nervous system, produce the physiological changes within our bodies which we then label as emotions. (deCatanzaro 6) Papez identified the limbic system as being a critical part of many emotions. He argued that "emotions influence consciousness, and hence the cortex, and in turn higher cognitive functions influence emotions." (deCatanzaro 81) We......

Join Now to view the rest of this term paper!
Members: Login to view this research paper.

Title: Emotion
Approximate Word Count: 783
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

With the Term Papers Lab Membership Pass, you get instant access to every essay on this site, including this essay on Emotion, for as long as you remain a member.

Other essays sites charge almost $100 for a single term paper. At Term Papers Lab, you can get instant access to over 100,000 research papers for as little as $29.95!