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emotion
Your brain creates a story to explain your physical reactions.
In a 1962 experiment, subjects were injected with adrenaline and told it was a vitamin, leading them to misinterpret their jittery nerves as happiness or anger depending on the social setting.
When the brain experiences unexplained physiological arousal, it scans the immediate environment for a cue to label the sensation. If a confederate acted euphoric, the subject reported feeling happy. If the confederate acted annoyed, the subject reported feeling angry.
The emotion you feel right now might be a guess based on your surroundings.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Schachter and Singer 1962
- What the check found
- The claim accurately reflects the design and intent of the 1962 Schachter and Singer study, though the scientific consensus on the Two-Factor Theory has evolved since its original publication.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.