You have to be afraid, or at least that's what the James-Lange Theory says. The James-Lange theory was officially developed in 1922 by the two men. First, William James, in 1890, concluded that bodily reactions form the basis of the experience of emotions. Carl Lange came to the same conclusion around the same time and their individual theories were combined. The basis of their theory explains how bodily reactions and emotions coincide with each other. When you're being chased by a bear, it's logical to feel scared and have a pounding heart, but that physiological response can also indicate anger or being physically exhausted. According to James, the theory is common sense, as at first glance it seems, but psychologists disagree and deny the theory. Psychologists who disagree say that the James-Lange theory of emotion is backwards: You don't do something and then feel a feeling, instead you feel an emotion and then act on that feeling. After widespread disagreement spread, a new theory was created, which is the Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotions. At the time, the theory seemed correct and was widely believed, but shortly thereafter it was disproven and rejected