Astrid was emotionally aroused by a TV horror movie. She became extremely angry when her younger brother momentarily blocked her view of the screen. When her movie viewing was interrupted by a phone call from her boyfriend, however, she experienced unusually intense romantic feelings. Astrid's different emotional reactions to her brother and her boyfriend are best explained by

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The two-factor theory suggests that emotions are composed of both physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation. In this case, Astrid's different emotional reactions to her brother and boyfriend can be explained by the fact that her cognitive interpretation of the situation was different in each case - she saw her brother as an obstacle to her enjoyment of the horror movie, while she saw her boyfriend's phone call as a positive and romantic interruption. The physiological arousal may have been similar in both situations (e.g. increased heart rate, sweating), but the cognitive interpretation determined whether the emotion was anger or joy.

Astrid Was Emotionally Aroused by a TV Horror Movie