Lyons’ Causal-Value Theory: what is it and how does it explain emotions?

Lyons' Causal-Value Theory attempts to explain the nature and origins of emotion.

The author William Lyons proposed a new theory, different from those that were established until then, about emotion..

With this article we will know better the proposal that Lyons put on the table in order to give a coherent explanation to one of the most important psychological phenomena, such as human emotions, and its differences with other theories in this field.

Lyons' causal-value theory and the conflict of emotions.

The causal-value theory of Lyons is framed within the psychological cognitivist theories that try to offer an explanatory and predictive framework of human emotions.. Emotions have always been a very controversial topic, which has generated very diverse opinions in the different schools of psychology to try to establish the basis of this phenomenon.

This controversy could be generated by several factors. To begin with, it is a particularly complex subject. Moreover, emotions are a counterpoint to our most logical and analytical part, that of reason. That is why Lyons' causal-value theory is an attempt to provide a plausible explanation.

The great diversity of emotions, which any human being can experience at any given moment in his or her life, poses a series of enigmas for researchers to solve. For example, what is the function of these emotions in a being with such a developed reasoning as the human being. We could also ask ourselves what causes them.

Later we will see how Lyons' causal-valuational theory tries to accommodate this phenomenon. We should bear in mind that everything surrounding human affective phenomena is wrapped in an aura of complexity. Even if we stop to think about simply describing a particular feeling, we realize how complex it is to express in words what an emotion entails.

There is therefore a dichotomy in this regard: anyone knows what a given emotion consists of and has experienced it countless times in life, but at the same time it is a very difficult concept to define and even more difficult to explain.This has given rise to the creation of many different psychological models, among them Lyons' causal-value theory.

Not only is there a variety of models, but each of them uses a different system to study and explain emotions, based on methodologies as diverse as the individual's own introspection, the analysis of behavior in a given population sample or even neuroscientific studies that try to shed light on the brain mechanisms behind our feelings.

What is Lyons' causal-value theory?

The causal-value theory was put forward by the author William Lyons in his publication Emotionin the form of an essay in 1980. Lyons decided to create his own model due to his discrepancies with all the theories published to date, which he considered incomplete or unsatisfactory for such an important issue as explaining the why of emotions.

In his new approach, Lyons develops a system based on 6 points, which we will look at in detail below.

1. Emotion as a state

The first point established by Lyons' causal-valuational theory is that the study has to be made taking into account emotion as a state, that is, the emotional state of the individual.. This concept allows us to situate ourselves on the concrete fact and not to take as a reference the abstract conception of the emotion itself.

Therefore, the emotional state will allow us to analyze the concrete situation in which this has originated, what are the physiological manifestations that the individual has experienced as a result of this state, the causes that have occurred previously and that have been able to facilitate the deployment of this emotion in the person and any other variable that we want to analyze.

On the other side would be dispositional emotion, which would refer to a characteristic trait of the person or a predisposition to experience emotions or feelings of a certain type.. This type of emotion, according to Lyons' causal-valuational theory, is not useful to make predictions about possible reactions in the subject, since they could be generated by the dispositional emotion or not.

2. Associated physiological changes

When we focus on the emotion as a particular state of a specific moment, we can then evaluate the physiological changes that the individual is experiencing as a result of the emotion, since it is apparently simple to discern the physiological changes associated with the emotion.It is apparently easy to discern between his or her base state and the changes that have occurred as a result of experiencing the specific emotion we are analyzing.

Lyons' causal-valuational theory states that it is these changes that the individual observes in the organism that allow us to speak of an emotion as such. But not only that, but also that the changes are preceded by an appraisal that the subject makes of the situation that he is living through. This evaluation is also essential for us to establish the concept of emotion in the reaction that the individual has experienced.

Logically, emotions affect people very differently and can be experienced gradually. In fact, we may not even feel the physiological changes, but this does not detract from the validity of the emotion felt by the subject. For Lyons' causal-valuational theory, it is not essential that this succession between the individual's appraisal of the situation and the changes perceived in the body always occurs..

What is important in this sense is that this phenomenon occurs frequently, i.e., that most of the time we do find the physiological signals associated with the emotion, after the assessment made by the person.

3. Differences between emotions

In order to be able to speak of different emotions according to Lyons' causal-valuative theory, the key lies in the appraisal that the person has made of the situation experienced.. It is there and only there that we find the differentiating element, despite the fact that all the other questions adjacent to this whole procedure may be throwing clues, sometimes very valuable, about the meaning of the emotion.

Therefore, for Lyons, the subject's behavior derived from the lived experience, his or her gestures, especially facial gestures, verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as other signs, will offer the researcher some clues as to the type of specific emotion experienced by the subject in question, but it will only be the researcher's own assessment that will be the key to the correct classification. it will be only the assessment made by the subject himself that will be the key to a correct classification..

4. The importance of desire

Another of the keys that Lyons' causal-valuational theory brings to the table in order to identify emotions is the concept of desire. For Lyons, desire is a matter inherent to some emotions and is therefore a matter that is added to both valuation and physiological changes.The concept of desire is an inherent part of some emotions and is therefore an issue that is added to both the assessment and the physiological changes, in order to carry out a study that allows us to identify the emotional state experienced.

A very clear example would be with respect to the emotion of fear. When a person is experiencing an emotional state of fear, it is logical that unconsciously generates a desire, in this case the desire to flee, to get away from the threatening stimulus. But it could also happen with positive emotions such as love. In this case there is also desire, but in another direction, since the subject wants to get closer to the element that awakens such a good feeling.

For Lyons' causal-valuational theory, therefore, desire is indispensable to be able to affirm that this type of emotion is being experienced.. If we fail to find this element, there are only two possibilities: either the emotion has not occurred in the person or the individual has not been able to identify it correctly.

Likewise, if he/she says he/she feels it but in reality it is not so, we would be facing an error in the identification of the emotion, which may come from a mistake of the person himself/herself at the time of perceiving this desire or even from a lie, if he/she is affirming it knowing consciously that it is not so.

5. The guidance of behavior

We have already seen how Lyons' causal-value theory identifies emotions. But just as important are the behaviors that are generated as a result of the emotional state. What Lyons asserts is that we cannot establish rigid patterns of behavioral response to a given emotion, but that behaviors pass through a rational filter, guided by the desires generated by the emotional state.guided by the desires generated by the emotion and by the appraisal of the emotion.

6. Beyond valuation

Finally, Lyons' causal-valuational theory makes it clear that, although key importance is given to the concept of the person's valuation of emotion, we should not conclude from this that emotions are concepts that escape objectivity altogether.

Bibliographical references:

• Lyons, W. (1993). Emotion. Anthropos. Editorial del Hombre.
• Sartre, J.P., Acheroff, M. (1973). Outline of a theory of emotions. Weblioteca del Pensamiento.
• Vigotsky, L.S. (2004). Theory of emotions: historical-psychological study. Ediciones Akal.