AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -In a famous 1962 study, Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer tested whether the same type of physiological activation (receiving a shot of adrenaline) could have different effects on people depending on the situational context.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Schachter and Singer experiment, published in 1962, is one of the famous and controversial in the history of psychology. Some test subjects were secretly injected with adrenaline, giving them a sudden, unexplained surge of arousal. Subjects experienced this surge differently depending on context.

Detailed explanation-3: -Schachter and Singer’s (1962) Two-Factor Theory of Emotion suggests that physiological arousal determines the strength of the emotion, while cognitive appraisal identifies the emotion label. So, in this theory, the “two-factor” represents physiological change and cognitive appraisal change.

Detailed explanation-4: -Overall, Schachter and Singer’s (1962) study demonstrated that people can experience misattribution of arousal because their cognitive appraisals identified the wrong eliciting event (it’s the confederate, not the shot, that is causing my arousal!).

Detailed explanation-5: -What were the results of the Schachter and Singer study? In the euphoric situation, adrenaline ignorant and misinformed participants reported higher levels of happiness than those that were informed.