AP Psychology Practice Test 2025 - Free AP Psychology Practice Questions and Study Guide

The components of emotion include physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience, which are key elements that together shape our emotional responses.

Physiological arousal refers to the body's physical reaction to an emotion, such as increased heart rate, sweating, and other bodily changes that prepare us for actions like fight or flight. Expressive behaviors encompass the outward manifestations of emotions, including facial expressions, body language, and vocal tones that communicate how we are feeling to others. Finally, conscious experience involves our thoughts and feelings related to the emotion, which includes an awareness of what we are experiencing and the mental processing of those emotions.

This integrated approach is often represented by the James-Lange theory of emotion, which suggests that physiological responses are experienced as emotions and the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory, which emphasizes the role of cognitive appraisal. Together, these components provide a comprehensive understanding of how we experience and express emotions.