 A sophisticated defense of this view is found in philosopher Jesse Prinz's book "Gut Reactions", and psychologist James Laird's book "Feelings".Affective events theory

Affective events theory is a communication-based theory developed by Howard M. Weiss and Russell Cropanzano (1996), that looks at the causes, structures, and consequences of emotional experience (especially in work contexts).This theory suggests that emotions are influenced and caused by events which in turn influence attitudes and behaviors.