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Chapter 10

Emotions and Motivations Captain Sullenberger Conquers His Emotions

He was 3,000 feet up in the air when the sudden loss of power in his airplane put his life, as well as the lives of 150

other passengers and crew members, in his hands. Both of the engines on flight 1539 had shut down, and his options

for a safe landing were limited.

Sully kept flying the plane and alerted the control tower to the situation:

This is Cactus 1539…hit birds. We lost thrust in both engines. We’re turning back towards La Guardia.

When the tower gave him the compass setting and runway for a possible landing, Sullenberger‟s extensive experience

allowed him to give a calm response:

I’m not sure if we can make any runway…Anything in New Jersey?

Captain Sullenberger was not just any pilot in a crisis, but a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot with 40 years of flight

experience. He had served as a flight instructor and the Airline Pilots Association safety chairman. Training had

quickened his mental processes in assessing the threat, allowing him to maintain what tower operators later called an

“eerie calm.” He knew the capabilities of his plane.

When the tower suggested a runway in New Jersey, Sullenberger calmly replied:

We’re unable. We may end up in the Hudson.

The last communication from Captain Sullenberger to the tower advised of the eventual outcome:

We’re going to be in the Hudson.

He calmly set the plane down on the water. Passengers reported that the landing was like landing on a rough runway.

The crew kept the passengers calm as women, children, and then the rest of the passengers were evacuated onto the

boats of the rescue personnel that had quickly arrived. Captain Sullenberger then calmly walked the aisle of the plane

to be sure that everyone was out before joining the 150 other rescued survivors (Levin, 2009; National Transportation

Safety Board, 2009). [1]

Some called it “grace under pressure,” and others the “miracle on the Hudson.” But psychologists see it as the

ultimate in emotion regulation—the ability to control and productively use one‟s emotions.

The topic of this chapter is affect, defined as the experience of feeling or emotion. Affect is an

essential part of the study of psychology because it plays such an important role in everyday life.

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As we will see, affect guides behavior, helps us make decisions, and has a major impact on our

mental and physical health.

The two fundamental components of affect are emotions and motivation. Both of these words

have the same underlying Latin root, meaning ―to move.‖ In contrast to cognitive processes that

are calm, collected, and frequently rational, emotions and motivations involve arousal, or our

experiences of the bodily responses created by the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous

system (ANS). Because they involve arousal, emotions and motivations are ―hot‖—they

―charge,‖ ―drive,‖ or ―move‖ our behavior.

When we experience emotions or strong motivations, we feel the experiences. When we become

aroused, the sympathetic nervous system provides us with energy to respond to our environment.

The liver puts extra sugar into the bloodstream, the heart pumps more blood, our pupils dilate to

help us see better, respiration increases, and we begin to perspire to cool the body. The stress

hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine are released. We experience these responses as

arousal.

An emotion is a mental and physiological feeling state that directs our attention and guides our

behavior. Whether it is the thrill of a roller-coaster ride that elicits an unexpected scream, the

flush of embarrassment that follows a public mistake, or the horror of a potential plane crash that

creates an exceptionally brilliant response in a pilot, emotions move our actions. Emotions

normally serve an adaptive role: We care for infants because of the love we feel for them, we

avoid making a left turn onto a crowded highway because we fear that a speeding truck may hit

us, and we are particularly nice to Mandy because we are feeling guilty that we didn’t go to her

party. But emotions may also be destructive, such as when a frustrating experience leads us to

lash out at others who do not deserve it.

Motivations are closely related to emotions. A motivation is a driving force that initiates and

directs behavior. Some motivations are biological, such as the motivation for food, water, and

sex. But there are a variety of other personal and social motivations that can influence behavior,

including the motivations for social approval and acceptance, the motivation to achieve, and the

motivation to take, or to avoid taking, risks (Morsella, Bargh, & Gollwitzer, 2009). [2]

In each

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case we follow our motivations because they are rewarding. As predicted by basic theories of

operant learning, motivations lead us to engage in particular behaviors because doing so makes

us feel good.

Motivations are often considered in psychology in terms of drives, which are internal states that

are activated when the physiological characteristics of the body are out of balance, and goals,

which are desired end states that we strive to attain. Motivation can thus be conceptualized as a

series of behavioral responses that lead us to attempt to reduce drives and to attain goals by

comparing our current state with a desired end state (Lawrence, Carver, & Scheier,

2002). [3]

Like a thermostat on an air conditioner, the body tries to maintain homeostasis, the

natural state of the body’s systems, with goals, drives, and arousal in balance. When a drive or

goal is aroused—for instance, when we are hungry—the thermostat turns on and we start to

behave in a way that attempts to reduce the drive or meet the goal (in this case to seek food). As

the body works toward the desired end state, the thermostat continues to check whether or not

the end state has been reached. Eventually, the need or goal is satisfied (we eat), and the relevant

behaviors are turned off. The body’s thermostat continues to check for homeostasis and is always

ready to react to future needs.

In addition to more basic motivations such as hunger, a variety of other personal and social

motivations can also be conceptualized in terms of drives or goals. When the goal of studying for

an exam is hindered because we take a day off from our schoolwork, we may work harder on our

studying on the next day to move us toward our goal. When we are dieting, we may be more

likely to have a big binge on a day when the scale says that we have met our prior day’s goals.

And when we are lonely, the motivation to be around other people is aroused and we try to

socialize. In many, if not most cases, our emotions and motivations operate out of our conscious

awareness to guide our behavior (Freud, 1922; Hassin, Bargh, & Zimerman, 2009; Williams,

Bargh, Nocera, & Gray, 2009). [4]

We begin this chapter by considering the role of affect on behavior, discussing the most

important psychological theories of emotions. Then we will consider how emotions influence our

mental and physical health. We will discuss how the experience of long-term stress causes

illness, and then turn to research onpositive thinking and what has been learned about the

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beneficial health effects of more positive emotions. Finally, we will review some of the most

important human motivations, including the behaviors of eating and sex. The importance of this

chapter is not only in helping you gain an understanding the principles of affect but also in

helping you discover the important roles that affect plays in our everyday lives, and particularly

in our mental and physical health. The study of the interface between affect and physical

health—that principle that ―everything that is physiological is also psychological‖—is a key

focus of the branch of psychology known as health psychology. The importance of this topic has

made health psychology one of the fastest growing fields in psychology.

[1] Levin, A. (2009, June 9). Experience averts tragedy in Hudson landing. USA Today. Retrieved

from http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-08-hudson_N.htm; National Transportation Safety Board. (2009, June 9).

Excerpts of Flight 1549 cockpit communications. USA Today. Retrieved fromhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-09-

hudson-cockpit-transcript_N.htm

[2] Morsella, E., Bargh, J. A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2009). Oxford handbook of human action. New York, NY: Oxford University

Press.

[3] Lawrence, J. W., Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2002). Velocity toward goal attainment in immediate experience as a

determinant of affect. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32(4), 788–802.

[4] Freud, S. (1922). The unconscious. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 56(3), 291; Hassin, R. R., Bargh, J. A., &

Zimerman, S. (2009). Automatic and flexible: The case of nonconscious goal pursuit. Social Cognition, 27(1), 20–36; Williams, L.

E., Bargh, J. A., Nocera, C. C., & Gray, J. R. (2009). The unconscious regulation of emotion: Nonconscious reappraisal goals

modulate emotional reactivity. Emotion, 9(6), 847–854.

10.1 The Experience of Emotion L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S

1. Explain the biological experience of emotion.

2. Summarize the psychological theories of emotion.

3. Give examples of the ways that emotion is communicated.

The most fundamental emotions, known as the basic emotions, are those ofanger, disgust, fear,

happiness, sadness, and surprise. The basic emotions have a long history in human evolution,

and they have developed in large part to help us make rapid judgments about stimuli and to

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quickly guide appropriate behavior (LeDoux, 2000). [1]

The basic emotions are determined in

large part by one of the oldest parts of our brain, the limbic system, including the amygdala, the

hypothalamus, and the thalamus. Because they are primarily evolutionarily determined, the basic

emotions are experienced and displayed in much the same way across cultures (Ekman, 1992;

Elfenbein & Ambady, 2002, 2003; Fridland, Ekman, & Oster, 1987), [2]

and people are quite

accurate at judging the facial expressions of people from different cultures. View Note 10.8

"Video Clip: The Basic Emotions" to see a demonstration of the basic emotions.

Video Clip: The Basic Emotions

Not all of our emotions come from the old parts of our brain; we also interpret our experiences to

create a more complex array of emotional experiences. For instance, the amygdala may sense

fear when it senses that the body is falling, but that fear may be interpreted completely

differently (perhaps even as ―excitement‖) when we are falling on a roller-coaster ride than when

we are falling from the sky in an airplane that has lost power. The cognitive interpretations that

accompany emotions—known as cognitive appraisal—allow us to experience a much larger and

more complex set of secondary emotions, as shown in Figure 10.2 "The Secondary Emotions".

Although they are in large part cognitive, our experiences of the secondary emotions are

determined in part by arousal (on the vertical axis of Figure 10.2 "The Secondary Emotions")

and in part by their valence—that is, whether they are pleasant or unpleasant feelings (on the

horizontal axis of Figure 10.2 "The Secondary Emotions")

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Figure 10.2 The Secondary Emotions

The secondary emotions are those that have a major cognitive component. They are determined by both their level

of arousal (low to high) and their valence (pleasant to unpleasant).

Source: Adapted from Russell, J. A. (1980). A circumplex model of affect.Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 39, 1161–1178.

When you succeed in reaching an important goal, you might spend some time enjoying your

secondary emotions, perhaps the experience of joy, satisfaction, and contentment. But when your

close friend wins a prize that you thought you had deserved, you might also experience a variety

of secondary emotions (in this case, the negative ones)—for instance, feeling angry, sad,

resentful, and ashamed. You might mull over the event for weeks or even months, experiencing

these negative emotions each time you think about it (Martin & Tesser, 2006). [3]

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The distinction between the primary and the secondary emotions is paralleled by two brain

pathways: a fast pathway and a slow pathway (Damasio, 2000; LeDoux, 2000; Ochsner, Bunge,

Gross, & Gabrielli, 2002). [4]

The thalamus acts as the major gatekeeper in this process (Figure

10.3 "Slow and Fast Emotional Pathways"). Our response to the basic emotion of fear, for

instance, is primarily determined by the fast pathway through the limbic system. When a car

pulls out in front of us on the highway, the thalamus activates and sends an immediate message

to the amygdala. We quickly move our foot to the brake pedal. Secondary emotions are more

determined by the slow pathway through the frontal lobes in the cortex. When we stew in

jealousy over the loss of a partner to a rival or recollect on our win in the big tennis match, the

process is more complex. Information moves from the thalamus to the frontal lobes for cognitive

analysis and integration, and then from there to the amygdala. We experience the arousal of

emotion, but it is accompanied by a more complex cognitive appraisal, producing more refined

emotions and behavioral responses.

Figure 10.3 Slow and Fast Emotional Pathways

There are two emotional pathways in the brain (one slow and one fast), both of which are controlled by the

thalamus.

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Although emotions might seem to you to be more frivolous or less important in comparison to

our more rational cognitive processes, both emotions and cognitions can help us make effective

decisions. In some cases we take action after rationally processing the costs and benefits of

different choices, but in other cases we rely on our emotions. Emotions become particularly

important in guiding decisions when the alternatives between many complex and conflicting

alternatives present us with a high degree of uncertainty and ambiguity, making a complete

cognitive analysis difficult. In these cases we often rely on our emotions to make decisions, and

these decisions may in many cases be more accurate than those produced by cognitive processing

(Damasio, 1994; Dijksterhuis, Bos, Nordgren, & van Baaren, 2006; Nordgren & Dijksterhuis,

2009; Wilson & Schooler, 1991). [5]

The Cannon-Bard and James-Lange Theories of Emotion

Recall for a moment a situation in which you have experienced an intense emotional response.

Perhaps you woke up in the middle of the night in a panic because you heard a noise that made

you think that someone had broken into your house or apartment. Or maybe you were calmly

cruising down a street in your neighborhood when another car suddenly pulled out in front of

you, forcing you to slam on your brakes to avoid an accident. I’m sure that you remember that

your emotional reaction was in large part physical. Perhaps you remember being flushed, your

heart pounding, feeling sick to your stomach, or having trouble breathing. You were

experiencing the physiological part of emotion—arousal—and I’m sure you have had similar

feelings in other situations, perhaps when you were in love, angry, embarrassed, frustrated, or

very sad.

If you think back to a strong emotional experience, you might wonder about the order of the

events that occurred. Certainly you experienced arousal, but did the arousal come before, after,

or along with the experience of the emotion? Psychologists have proposed three different

theories of emotion, which differ in terms of the hypothesized role of arousal in emotion (Figure

10.4 "Three Theories of Emotion").

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Figure 10.4 Three Theories of Emotion

The Cannon-Bard theory proposes that emotions and arousal occur at the same time. The James-Lange theory

proposes the emotion is the result of arousal. Schachter and Singer’s two-factor model proposes that arousal and

cognition combine to create emotion.

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If your experiences are like mine, as you reflected on the arousal that you have experienced in

strong emotional situations, you probably thought something like, ―I was afraid and my heart

started beating like crazy.‖ At least some psychologists agree with this interpretation. According

to the theory of emotion proposed by Walter Cannon and Philip Bard, the experience of the

emotion (in this case, ―I’m afraid‖) occurs alongside our experience of the arousal (―my heart is

beating fast‖). According to the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion, the experience of an emotion is

accompanied by physiological arousal. Thus, according to this model of emotion, as we become

aware of danger, our heart rate also increases.

Although the idea that the experience of an emotion occurs alongside the accompanying arousal

seems intuitive to our everyday experiences, the psychologists William James and Carl Lange

had another idea about the role of arousal. According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, our

experience of an emotion is the result of the arousal that we experience. This approach proposes

that the arousal and the emotion are not independent, but rather that the emotion depends on the

arousal. The fear does not occur along with the racing heart but occurs because of the racing

heart. As William James put it, ―We feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid

because we tremble‖ (James, 1884, p. 190). [6]

A fundamental aspect of the James-Lange theory

is that different patterns of arousal may create different emotional experiences.

There is research evidence to support each of these theories. The operation of the fast emotional

pathway (Figure 10.3 "Slow and Fast Emotional Pathways") supports the idea that arousal and

emotions occur together. The emotional circuits in the limbic system are activated when an

emotional stimulus is experienced, and these circuits quickly create corresponding physical

reactions (LeDoux, 2000). [7]

The process happens so quickly that it may feel to us as if emotion

is simultaneous with our physical arousal.

On the other hand, and as predicted by the James-Lange theory, our experiences of emotion are

weaker without arousal. Patients who have spinal injuries that reduce their experience of arousal

also report decreases in emotional responses (Hohmann, 1966). [8]

There is also at least some

support for the idea that different emotions are produced by different patterns of arousal. People

who view fearful faces show more amygdala activation than those who watch angry or joyful

faces (Whalen et al., 2001; Witvliet & Vrana, 1995), [9]

we experience a red face and flushing

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when we are embarrassed but not when we experience other emotions (Leary, Britt, Cutlip, &

Templeton, 1992), [10]

and different hormones are released when we experience compassion than

when we experience other emotions (Oatley, Keltner, & Jenkins, 2006). [11]

The Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

Whereas the James-Lange theory proposes that each emotion has a different pattern of arousal,

the two-factor theory of emotion takes the opposite approach, arguing that the arousal that we

experience is basically the same in every emotion, and that all emotions (including the basic

emotions) are differentiated only by our cognitive appraisal of the source of the arousal. The

two-factor theory of emotion asserts that the experience of emotion is determined by the intensity

of the arousal we are experiencing, but that the cognitive appraisal of the situation determines

what the emotion will be. Because both arousal and appraisal are necessary, we can say that

emotions have two factors: an arousal factor and a cognitive factor (Schachter & Singer,

1962): [12]

emotion = arousal + cognition

In some cases it may be difficult for a person who is experiencing a high level of arousal to

accurately determine which emotion she is experiencing. That is, she may be certain that she is

feeling arousal, but the meaning of the arousal (the cognitive factor) may be less clear. Some

romantic relationships, for instance, have a very high level of arousal, and the partners

alternatively experience extreme highs and lows in the relationship. One day they are madly in

love with each other and the next they are in a huge fight. In situations that are accompanied by

high arousal, people may be unsure what emotion they are experiencing. In the high arousal

relationship, for instance, the partners may be uncertain whether the emotion they are feeling is

love, hate, or both at the same time (sound familiar?). The tendency for people to incorrectly

label the source of the arousal that they are experiencing is known as the

misattribution of arousal.

In one interesting field study by Dutton and Aron (1974), [13]

an attractive young woman

approached individual young men as they crossed a wobbly, long suspension walkway hanging

more than 200 feet above a river in British Columbia, Canada. The woman asked each man to

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help her fill out a class questionnaire. When he had finished, she wrote her name and phone

number on a piece of paper, and invited him to call if he wanted to hear more about the project.

More than half of the men who had been interviewed on the bridge later called the woman. In

contrast, men approached by the same woman on a low solid bridge, or who were interviewed on

the suspension bridge by men, called significantly less frequently. The idea of misattribution of

arousal can explain this result—the men were feeling arousal from the height of the bridge, but

they misattributed it as romantic or sexual attraction to the woman, making them more likely to

call her.

Research Focus: Misattributing Arousal

If you think a bit about your own experiences of different emotions, and if you consider the equation that suggests

that emotions are represented by both arousal and cognition, you might start to wonder how much was determined by

each. That is, do we know what emotion we are experiencing by monitoring our feelings (arousal) or by monitoring

our thoughts (cognition)? The bridge study you just read about might begin to provide you an answer: The men

seemed to be more influenced by their perceptions of how they should be feeling (their cognition) rather than by how

they actually were feeling (their arousal).

Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer (1962) [14]

directly tested this prediction of the two-factor theory of emotion in a

well-known experiment. Schachter and Singer believed that the cognitive part of the emotion was critical—in fact,

they believed that the arousal that we are experiencing could be interpreted as any emotion, provided we had the right

label for it. Thus they hypothesized that if an individual is experiencing arousal for which he has no immediate

explanation, he will “label” this state in terms of the cognitions that are created in his environment. On the other

hand, they argued that people who already have a clear label for their arousal would have no need to search for a

relevant label, and therefore should not experience an emotion.

In the research, male participants were told that they would be participating in a study on the effects of a new drug,

called “suproxin,” on vision. On the basis of this cover story, the men were injected with a shot of the

neurotransmitter epinephrine, a drug that normally creates feelings of tremors, flushing, and accelerated breathing in

people. The idea was to give all the participants the experience of arousal.

Then, according to random assignment to conditions, the men were told that the drug would make them feel certain

ways. The men in theepinephrine informed condition were told the truth about the effects of the drug—they were told

that they would likely experience tremors, their hands would start to shake, their hearts would start to pound, and

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their faces might get warm and flushed. The participants in the epinephrine-uninformed condition, however, were

told something untrue—that their feet would feel numb, that they would have an itching sensation over parts of their

body, and that they might get a slight headache. The idea was to make some of the men think that the arousal they

were experiencing was caused by the drug (the informed condition), whereas others would be unsure where the

arousal came from (the uninformed condition).

Then the men were left alone with a confederate who they thought had received the same injection. While they were

waiting for the experiment (which was supposedly about vision) to begin, the confederate behaved in a wild and crazy

(Schachter and Singer called it “euphoric”) manner. He wadded up spitballs, flew paper airplanes, and played with a

hula-hoop. He kept trying to get the participant to join in with his games. Then right before the vision experiment was

to begin, the participants were asked to indicate their current emotional states on a number of scales. One of the

emotions they were asked about was euphoria.

If you are following the story, you will realize what was expected: The men who had a label for their arousal

(the informed group) would not be experiencing much emotion because they already had a label available for their

arousal. The men in the misinformed group, on the other hand, were expected to be unsure about the source of the

arousal. They needed to find an explanation for their arousal, and the confederate provided one. As you can see

in Figure 10.6 "Results From Schachter and Singer, 1962" (left side), this is just what they found. The participants in

the misinformed condition were more likely to be experiencing euphoria (as measured by their behavioral responses

with the confederate) than were those in the informed condition.

Then Schachter and Singer conducted another part of the study, using new participants. Everything was exactly the

same except for the behavior of the confederate. Rather than being euphoric, he acted angry. He complained about

having to complete the questionnaire he had been asked to do, indicating that the questions were stupid and too

personal. He ended up tearing up the questionnaire that he was working on, yelling “I don‟t have to tell them that!”

Then he grabbed his books and stormed out of the room.

What do you think happened in this condition? The answer is the same thing: The misinformed participants

experienced more anger (again as measured by the participant‟s behaviors during the waiting period) than did the

informed participants. (Figure 10.6 "Results From Schachter and Singer, 1962", right side) The idea is that because

cognitions are such strong determinants of emotional states, the same state of physiological arousal could be labeled

in many different ways, depending entirely on the label provided by the social situation. As Schachter and Singer put

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it: “Given a state of physiological arousal for which an individual has no immediate explanation, he will „label‟ this

state and describe his feelings in terms of the cognitions available to him” (Schachter & Singer, 1962, p. 381). [15]

Figure 10.6Results From Schachter and Singer, 1962

Results of the study by Schachter and Singer (1962) support the two-factor theory of emotion. The participants who

did not have a clear label for their arousal took on the emotion of the confederate.

Source: Adapted from Schachter, S., & Singer, J. E. (1962). Cognitive, social and physiological determinants of

emotional state. Psychological Review, 69, 379–399.

Because it assumes that arousal is constant across emotions, the two-factor theory also predicts

that emotions may transfer or ―spill over‖ from one highly arousing event to another. My

university basketball team recently won the NCAA basketball championship, but after the final

victory some students rioted in the streets near the campus, lighting fires and burning cars. This

seems to be a very strange reaction to such a positive outcome for the university and the students,

but it can be explained through the spillover of the arousal caused by happiness to destructive

behaviors. The principle of excitation transfer refers to the phenomenon that occurs when people

who are already experiencing arousal from one event tend to also experience unrelated emotions

more strongly.

In sum, each of the three theories of emotion has something to support it. In terms of Cannon-

Bard, emotions and arousal generally are subjectively experienced together, and the spread is

very fast. In support of the James-Lange theory, there is at least some evidence that arousal is

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necessary for the experience of emotion, and that the patterns of arousal are different for

different emotions. And in line with the two-factor model, there is also evidence that we may

interpret the same patterns of arousal differently in different situations.

Communicating Emotion

In addition to experiencing emotions internally, we also express our emotions to others, and we

learn about the emotions of others by observing them. This communication process has evolved

over time, and is highly adaptive. One way that we perceive the emotions of others is through

theirnonverbal communication, that is, communication that does not involve words (Ambady &

Weisbuch, 2010; Anderson, 2007). [16]

Nonverbal communication includes our tone of voice,

gait, posture, touch, and facial expressions, and we can often accurately detect the emotions that

other people are experiencing through these channels. Table 10.1 "Some Common Nonverbal

Communicators" shows some of the important nonverbal behaviors that we use to express

emotion and some other information (particularly liking or disliking, and dominance or

submission).

Table 10.1 Some Common Nonverbal Communicators

Nonverbal cue Description Examples

Proxemics

Rules about the appropriate use of

personal space

Standing nearer to someone can expressing liking or

dominance.

Body appearance

Expressions based on alterations to

our body

Body building, breast augmentation, weight loss, piercings,

and tattoos are often used to appear more attractive to

others.

Body positioning

and movement

Expressions based on how our body

appears

A more ―open‖ body position can denote liking; a faster

walking speed can communicate dominance.

Gestures

Behaviors and signs made with our

hands or faces

The peace sign communicates liking; the ―finger‖

communicates disrespect.

Facial expressions

The variety of emotions that we

express, or attempt to hide, through

our face

Smiling or frowning and staring or avoiding looking at the

other can express liking or disliking, as well as dominance

or submission.

Paralanguage Clues to identity or emotions Pronunciation, accents, and dialect can be used to

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Nonverbal cue Description Examples

contained in our voices communicate identity and liking.

Just as there is no ―universal‖ spoken language, there is no universal nonverbal language. For

instance, in the United States and many Western cultures we express disrespect by showing the

middle finger (the ―finger‖ or the ―bird‖). But in Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the

―V‖ sign (made with back of the hand facing the recipient) serves a similar purpose. In countries

where Spanish, Portuguese, or French are spoken, a gesture in which a fist is raised and the arm

is slapped on the bicep is equivalent to the finger, and in Russia, Indonesia, Turkey, and China a

sign in which the hand and fingers are curled and the thumb is thrust between the middle and

index fingers is used for the same purpose.

The most important communicator of emotion is the face. The face contains 43 different muscles

that allow it to make more than 10,000 unique configurations and to express a wide variety of

emotions. For example, happiness is expressed by smiles, which are created by two of the major

muscles surrounding the mouth and the eyes, and anger is created by lowered brows and firmly

pressed lips.

In addition to helping us express our emotions, the face also helps us feel emotion.

The facial feedback hypothesis proposes that the movement of our facial muscles can trigger

corresponding emotions. Fritz Strack and his colleagues (1988) [17]

asked their research

participants to hold a pen in their teeth (mimicking the facial action of a smile) or between their

lips (similar to a frown), and then had them rate the funniness of a cartoon. They found that the

cartoons were rated as more amusing when the pen was held in the ―smiling‖ position—the

subjective experience of emotion was intensified by the action of the facial muscles.

These results, and others like them, show that our behaviors, including our facial expressions, are

influenced by, but also influence our affect. We may smile because we are happy, but we are also

happy because we are smiling. And we may stand up straight because we are proud, but we are

proud because we are standing up straight (Stepper & Strack, 1993). [18]

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K E Y T A K E A W A Y S

 Emotions are the normally adaptive mental and physiological feeling states that direct our attention and guide our

behavior.

 Emotional states are accompanied by arousal, our experiences of the bodily responses created by the sympathetic

division of the autonomic nervous system.

 Motivations are forces that guide behavior. They can be biological, such as hunger and thirst; personal, such as the

motivation for achievement; or social, such as the motivation for acceptance and belonging.

 The most fundamental emotions, known as the basic emotions, are those of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness,

and surprise.

 Cognitive appraisal allows us to also experience a variety of secondary emotions.

 According to the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion, the experience of an emotion is accompanied by physiological

arousal.

 According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, our experience of an emotion is the result of the arousal that we

experience.

 According to the two-factor theory of emotion, the experience of emotion is determined by the intensity of the

arousal we are experiencing, and the cognitive appraisal of the situation determines what the emotion will be.

 When people incorrectly label the source of the arousal that they are experiencing, we say that they have

misattributed their arousal.

 We express our emotions to others through nonverbal behaviors, and we learn about the emotions of others by

observing them.

E X E R C I S E S A N D C R I T I C A L T H I N K I N G

1. Consider the three theories of emotion that we have discussed and provide an example of a situation in which a

person might experience each of the three proposed patterns of arousal and emotion.

2. Describe a time when you used nonverbal behaviors to express your emotions or to detect the emotions of others.

What specific nonverbal techniques did you use to communicate?

[1] LeDoux, J. E. (2000). Emotion circuits in the brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 23, 155–184.

[2] Ekman, P. (1992). Are there basic emotions? Psychological Review, 99(3), 550–553; Elfenbein, H. A., & Ambady, N. (2002).

On the universality and cultural specificity of emotion recognition: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 203–23;

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Fridlund, A. J., Ekman, P., & Oster, H. (1987). Facial expressions of emotion. In A. Siegman & S. Feldstein (Eds.), Nonverbal

behavior and communication (2nd ed., pp. 143–223). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

[3] Martin, L. L., & Tesser, A. (2006). Extending the goal progress theory of rumination: Goal reevaluation and growth. In L. J.

Sanna & E. C. Chang (Eds.), Judgments over time: The interplay of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (pp. 145–162). New York,

NY: Oxford University Press.

[4] Damasio, A. (2000). The feeling of what happens: Body and emotion in the making of consciousness. New York, NY: Mariner

Books; LeDoux, J. E. (2000). Emotion circuits in the brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 23, 155–184; Ochsner, K. N., Bunge, S.

A., Gross, J. J., & Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2002). Rethinking feelings: An fMRI study of the cognitive regulation of emotion. Journal of

Cognitive Neuroscience, 14(8), 1215–1229.

[5] Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes’ error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain. New York, NY: Grosset/Putnam; Dijksterhuis,

A., Bos, M. W., Nordgren, L. F., & van Baaren, R. B. (2006). On making the right choice: The deliberation-without-attention

effect. Science, 311(5763), 1005–1007; Nordgren, L. F., & Dijksterhuis, A. P. (2009). The devil is in the deliberation: Thinking too

much reduces preference consistency. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(1), 39–46; Wilson, T. D., & Schooler, J. W. (1991).

Thinking too much: Introspection can reduce the quality of preferences and decisions. Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 60(2), 181–192.

[6] James, W. (1884). What is an emotion? Mind, 9(34), 188–205.

[7] LeDoux, J. E. (2000). Emotion circuits in the brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 23,155–184.

[8] Hohmann, G. W. (1966). Some effects of spinal cord lesions on experienced emotional feelings. Psychophysiology, 3(2), 143–

156.

[9] Whalen, P. J., Shin, L. M., McInerney, S. C., Fischer, H., Wright, C. I., & Rauch, S. L. (2001). A functional MRI study of human

amygdala responses to facial expressions of fear versus anger. Emotion, 1(1), 70–83; Witvliet, C. V., & Vrana, S. R. (1995).

Psychophysiological responses as indices of affective dimensions. Psychophysiology, 32(5), 436–443.

[10] Leary, M. R., Britt, T. W., Cutlip, W. D., & Templeton, J. L. (1992). Social blushing.Psychological Bulletin, 112(3), 446–460.

[11] Oatley, K., Keltner, D., & Jenkins, J. M. (2006). Understanding emotions (2nd ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell.

[12] Schachter, S., & Singer, J. (1962). Cognitive, social, and physiological determinants of emotional state. Psychological

Review, 69, 379–399.

[13] Dutton, D., & Aron, A. (1974). Some evidence for heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 510–517.

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[14] Schachter, S., & Singer, J. E. (1962). Cognitive, social and physiological determinants of emotional state. Psychological

Review, 69, 379–399.

[15] Schachter, S., & Singer, J. E. (1962). Cognitive, social and physiological determinants of emotional state. Psychological

Review, 69, 379–399.

[16] Ambady, N., & Weisbuch, M. (2010). Nonverbal behavior. In S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of social

psychology (5th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 464–497). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; Andersen, P. (2007). Nonverbal communication:

Forms and functions(2nd ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

[17] Strack, F., Martin, L., & Stepper, S. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile: A nonobtrusive test of

the facial feedback hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(5), 768–777. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.54.5.768

[18] Stepper, S., & Strack, F. (1993). Proprioceptive determinants of emotional and nonemotional feelings. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 64(2), 211–220.

10.2 Stress: The Unseen Killer L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S

1. Define stress and review the body’s physiological responses to it.

2. Summarize the negative health consequences of prolonged stress.

3. Explain the differences in how people respond to stress.

4. Review the methods that are successful in coping with stress.

Emotions matter because they influence our behavior. And there is no emotional experience that

has a more powerful influence on us than stress.Stress refers to the physiological responses that

occur when an organism fails to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats (Selye,

1956). [1]

Extreme negative events, such as being the victim of a terrorist attack, a natural disaster,

or a violent crime, may produce an extreme form of stress known

asposttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a medical syndrome that includes symptoms of anxiety,

sleeplessness, nightmares, and social withdrawal. PTSD is frequently experienced by soldiers

who return home from wars, with those who have experienced more extreme events during the

war also experiencing more PTSD.

When it is extreme or prolonged, stress can create substantial health problems. Survivors of

hurricane Katrina had three times the rate of heart attacks than the national average in the years

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following the disaster, and this is probably due to the stress that the hurricane created (American

Medical Association, 2009). [2]

And people in New York City who lived nearer to the site of the

9/11 terrorist attacks reported experiencing more stress in the year following it than those who

lived farther away (Pulcino et al., 2003). [3]

But stress is not unique to the experience of

extremely traumatic events. It can also occur, and have a variety of negative outcomes, in our

everyday lives.

The Negative Effects of Stress

The physiologist Hans Seyle (1907–1982) studied stress by examining how rats responded to

being exposed to stressors such as extreme cold, infection, shock, or excessive exercise (Seyle,

1936, 1974, 1982). [4]

Seyle found that regardless of the source of the stress, the rats experienced

the same series of physiological changes as they suffered the prolonged stress. Seyle created the

termgeneral adaptation syndrome to refer to the three distinct phases of physiological change

that occur in response to long-term stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion (Figure 10.8

"General Adaptation Syndrome").

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Figure 10.8 General Adaptation Syndrome

Hans Seyle’s research on the general adaptation syndrome documented the stages of prolonged exposure to stress.

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The experience of stress creates both an increase in general arousal in the sympathetic division of

the autonomic nervous system (ANS), as well as another, even more complex, system of

physiological changes through the HPA axis ((Reference None not found in Book)).

The HPA axis is a physiological response to stress involving interactions among the

hypothalamus, the pituitary, and the adrenal glands. The HPA response begins when the

hypothalamus secretes releasing hormones that direct the pituitary gland to release the hormone

ACTH. ACTH then directs the adrenal glands to secrete more hormones, including epinephrine,

norepinephrine, and cortisol, a stress hormone that releases sugars into the blood, helping

preparing the body to respond to threat (Rodrigues, LeDoux, & Sapolsky, 2009). [5]

Figure 10.9 HPA Axis

Stress activates the HPA axis. The result is the secretion of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol.

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The initial arousal that accompanies stress is normally quite adaptive because it helps us respond

to potentially dangerous events. The experience of prolonged stress, however, has a direct

negative influence on our physical health, because at the same time that stress increases activity

in the sympathetic division of the ANS, it also suppresses activity in the parasympathetic

division of the ANS. When stress is long-term, the HPA axis remains active and the adrenals

continue to produce cortisol. This increased cortisol production exhausts the stress mechanism,

leading to fatigue and depression.

The HPA reactions to persistent stress lead to a weakening of the immune system, making us

more susceptible to a variety of health problems including colds and other diseases (Cohen &

Herbert, 1996; Faulkner & Smith, 2009; Miller, Chen, & Cole, 2009; Uchino, Smith, Holt-

Lunstad, Campo, & Reblin, 2007). [6]

Stress also damages our DNA, making us less likely to be

able to repair wounds and respond to the genetic mutations that cause disease (Epel et al.,

2006). [7]

As a result, wounds heal more slowly when we are under stress, and we are more likely

to get cancer (Kiecolt-Glaser, McGuire, Robles, & Glaser, 2002; Wells, 2006). [8]

Chronic stress is also a major contributor to heart disease. Although heart disease is caused in

part by genetic factors, as well as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cigarette smoking, it

is also caused by stress (Krantz & McCeney, 2002). [9]

Long-term stress creates two opposite

effects on the coronary system. Stress increases cardiac output (i.e., the heart pumps more blood)

at the same time that it reduces the ability of the blood vessels to conduct blood through the

arteries, as the increase in levels of cortisol leads to a buildup of plaque on artery walls (Dekker

et al., 2008). [10]

The combination of increased blood flow and arterial constriction leads to

increased blood pressure (hypertension), which can damage the heart muscle, leading to heart

attack and death.

Stressors in Our Everyday Lives

The stressors for Seyle’s rats included electric shock and exposure to cold. Although these are

probably not on your top-10 list of most common stressors, the stress that you experience in your

everyday life can also be taxing. Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe (1967) [11]

developed a

measure of some everyday life events that might lead to stress, and you can assess your own

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likely stress level by completing the measure in Table 10.2 "The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale".

You might want to pay particular attention to this score, because it can predict the likelihood that

you will get sick. Rahe and colleagues (1970) [12]

asked 2,500 members of the military to

complete the rating scale and then assessed the health records of the soldiers over the following 6

months. The results were clear: The higher the scale score, the more likely the soldier was to end

up in the hospital.

Table 10.2 The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale

Life event Score

Death of spouse 100

Divorce 73

Marital separation from mate 65

Detention in jail, other institution 63

Death of a close family member 63

Major personal injury or illness 53

Marriage 50

Fired from work 47

Marital reconciliation 45

Retirement 45

Major change in the health or behavior of a family member 44

Pregnancy 40

Sexual difficulties 39

Gaining a new family member (e.g., through birth, adoption, oldster moving, etc.) 39

Major business readjustment (e.g., merger, reorganization, bankruptcy) 39

Major change in financial status 38

Death of close friend 37

Change to different line of work 36

Major change in the number of arguments with spouse 35

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Life event Score

Taking out a mortgage or loan for a major purchase 31

Foreclosure on a mortgage or loan 30

Major change in responsibilities at work 29

Son or daughter leaving home (e.g., marriage, attending college) 29

Trouble with in-laws 29

Outstanding personal achievement 28

Spouse beginning or ceasing to work outside the home 26

Beginning or ceasing formal schooling 26

Major change in living conditions 25

Revision of personal habits (dress, manners, associations, etc.) 24

Trouble with boss 23

Major change in working hours or conditions 20

Change in residence 20

Change to a new school 20

Major change in usual type and/or amount of recreation 19

Major change in church activities (a lot more or less than usual) 19

Major change in social activities (clubs, dancing, movies, visiting) 18

Taking out a mortgage or loan for a lesser purchase (e.g., for a car, television , freezer, etc.) 17

Major change in sleeping habits 16

Major change in the number of family get-togethers 15

Major change in eating habits 15

Vacation 13

Christmas season 12

Minor violations of the law (e.g., traffic tickets, etc.) 11

Total ______

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You can calculate your score on this scale by adding the total points across each of the events

that you have experienced over the past year. Then use Table 10.3 "Interpretation of Holmes and

Rahe Stress Scale" to determine your likelihood of getting ill.

Table 10.3 Interpretation of Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale

Number of life-change units Chance of developing a stress-related illness (%)

Less than 150 30

150–299 50

More than 300 80

Although some of the items on the Holmes and Rahe scale are more major, you can see that even

minor stressors add to the total score. Our everyday interactions with the environment that are

essentially negative, known asdaily hassles, can also create stress as well as poorer health

outcomes (Hutchinson & Williams, 2007). [13]

Events that may seem rather trivial altogether,

such as misplacing our keys, having to reboot our computer because it has frozen, being late for

an assignment, or getting cut off by another car in rush-hour traffic, can produce stress

(Fiksenbaum, Greenglass, & Eaton, 2006). [14]

Glaser (1985) [15]

found that medical students who

were tested during, rather than several weeks before, their school examination periods showed

lower immune system functioning. Other research has found that even more minor stressors,

such as having to do math problems during an experimental session, can compromise the

immune system (Cacioppo et al., 1998). [16]

Responses to Stress

Not all people experience and respond to stress in the same way, and these differences can be

important. The cardiologists Meyer Friedman and R. H. Rosenman (1974) [17]

were among the

first to study the link between stress and heart disease. In their research they noticed that even

though the partners in married couples often had similar lifestyles, diet, and exercise patterns, the

husbands nevertheless generally had more heart disease than did the wives. As they tried to

explain the difference, they focused on the personality characteristics of the partners, finding that

the husbands were more likely than the wives to respond to stressors with negative emotions and

hostility.

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Recent research has shown that the strongest predictor of a physiological stress response from

daily hassles is the amount of negative emotion that they evoke. People who experience strong

negative emotions as a result of everyday hassles, and who respond to stress with hostility

experience more negative health outcomes than do those who react in a less negative way

(McIntyre, Korn, & Matsuo, 2008; Suls & Bunde, 2005). [18]

Williams and his colleagues

(2001) [19]

found that people who scored high on measures of anger were three times more likely

to suffer from heart attacks in comparison to those who scored lower on anger.

On average, men are more likely than are women to respond to stress by activating the fight-or-

flight response, which is an emotional and behavioral reaction to stress that increases the

readiness for action. The arousal that men experience when they are stressed leads them to either

go on the attack, in an aggressive or revenging way, or else retreat as quickly as they can to

safety from the stressor. The fight-or-flight response allows men to control the source of the

stress if they think they can do so, or if that is not possible, it allows them to save face by leaving

the situation. The fight-or-flight response is triggered in men by the activation of the HPA axis.

Women, on the other hand, are less likely to take a fight-or-flight response to stress. Rather, they

are more likely to take a tend-and-befriend response (Taylor et al., 2000). [20]

The tend-and-

befriend response is a behavioral reaction to stress that involves activities designed to create

social networks that provide protection from threats. This approach is also self-protective

because it allows the individual to talk to others about her concerns, as well as to exchange

resources, such as child care. The tend-and-befriend response is triggered in women by the

release of the hormone ocytocin, which promotes affiliation. Overall, the tend-and-befriend

response is healthier than the flight-or-flight response because it does not produce the elevated

levels of arousal related to the HPA, including the negative results that accompany increased

levels of cortisol. This may help explain why women, on average, have less heart disease and

live longer than men.

Managing Stress

No matter how healthy and happy we are in our everyday lives, there are going to be times when

we experience stress. But we do not need to throw up our hands in despair when things go

wrong; rather, we can use our personal and social resources to help us.

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Perhaps the most common approach to dealing with negative affect is to attempt to suppress,

avoid, or deny it. You probably know people who seem to be stressed, depressed, or anxious, but

they cannot or will not see it in themselves. Perhaps you tried to talk to them about it, to get them

to open up to you, but were rebuffed. They seem to act as if there is no problem at all, simply

moving on with life without admitting or even trying to deal with the negative feelings. Or

perhaps you have even taken a similar approach yourself. Have you ever had an important test to

study for or an important job interview coming up, and rather than planning and preparing for it,

you simply tried put it out of your mind entirely?

Research has found that ignoring stress is not a good approach for coping with it. For one,

ignoring our problems does not make them go away. If we experience so much stress that we get

sick, these events will be detrimental to our life even if we do not or cannot admit that they are

occurring. Suppressing our negative emotions is also not a very good option, at least in the long

run, because it tends to fail (Gross & Levenson, 1997). [21]

For one, if we know that we have that

big exam coming up, we have to focus on the exam itself to suppress it. We can’t really suppress

or deny our thoughts, because we actually have to recall and face the event to make the attempt

to not think about it. Doing so takes effort, and we get tired when we try to do it. Furthermore,

we may continually worry that our attempts to suppress will fail. Suppressing our emotions

might work out for a short while, but when we run out of energy the negative emotions may

shoot back up into consciousness, causing us to reexperience the negative feelings that we had

been trying to avoid.

Daniel Wegner and his colleagues (Wegner, Schneider, Carter, & White, 1987) [22]

directly tested

whether people would be able to effectively suppress a simple thought. He asked them

to not think about a white bear for 5 minutes but to ring a bell in case they did. (Try it yourself;

can you do it?) However, participants were unable to suppress the thought as instructed. The

white bear kept popping into mind, even when the participants were instructed to avoid thinking

about it. You might have had this experience when you were dieting or trying to study rather

than party; the chocolate bar in the kitchen cabinet and the fun time you were missing at the

party kept popping into mind, disrupting your work.

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Suppressing our negative thoughts does not work, and there is evidence that the opposite is true:

When we are faced with troubles, it is healthy to let out the negative thoughts and feelings by

expressing them, either to ourselves or to others. James Pennebaker and his colleagues

(Pennebaker, Colder, & Sharp, 1990; Watson & Pennebaker, 1989) [23]

have conducted many

correlational and experimental studies that demonstrate the advantages to our mental and

physical health of opening up versus suppressing our feelings. This research team has found that

simply talking about or writing about our emotions or our reactions to negative events provides

substantial health benefits. For instance, Pennebaker and Beall (1986) [24]

randomly assigned

students to write about either the most traumatic and stressful event of their lives or trivial topics.

Although the students who wrote about the traumas had higher blood pressure and more negative

moods immediately after they wrote their essays, they were also less likely to visit the student

health center for illnesses during the following six months. Other research studied individuals

whose spouses had died in the previous year, finding that the more they talked about the death

with others, the less likely they were to become ill during the subsequent year. Daily writing

about one’s emotional states has also been found to increase immune system functioning (Petrie,

Fontanilla, Thomas, Booth, & Pennebaker, 2004). [25]

Opening up probably helps in various ways. For one, expressing our problems to others allows

us to gain information, and possibly support, from them (remember the tend-and-befriend

response that is so effectively used to reduce stress by women). Writing or thinking about one’s

experiences also seems to help people make sense of these events and may give them a feeling of

control over their lives (Pennebaker & Stone, 2004). [26]

It is easier to respond to stress if we can interpret it in more positive ways. Kelsey et al.

(1999) [27]

found that some people interpret stress as a challenge (something that they feel that

they can, with effort, deal with), whereas others see the same stress as a threat (something that is

negative and fearful). People who viewed stress as a challenge had fewer physiological stress

responses than those who viewed it as a threat—they were able to frame and react to stress in

more positive ways.

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Emotion Regulation

Emotional responses such as the stress reaction are useful in warning us about potential danger

and in mobilizing our response to it, so it is a good thing that we have them. However, we also

need to learn how to control our emotions, to prevent them from letting our behavior get out of

control. The ability to successfully control our emotions is known as emotion regulation.

Emotion regulation has some important positive outcomes. Consider, for instance, research by

Walter Mischel and his colleagues. In their studies, they had 4- and 5-year-old children sit at a

table in front of a yummy snack, such as a chocolate chip cookie or a marshmallow. The children

were told that they could eat the snack right away if they wanted. However, they were also told

that if they could wait for just a couple of minutes, they’d be able to have two snacks—both the

one in front of them and another just like it. However, if they ate the one that was in front of

them before the time was up, they would not get a second.

Mischel found that some children were able to override the impulse to seek immediate

gratification to obtain a greater reward at a later time. Other children, of course, were not; they

just ate the first snack right away. Furthermore, the inability to delay gratification seemed to

occur in a spontaneous and emotional manner, without much thought. The children who could

not resist simply grabbed the cookie because it looked so yummy, without being able to stop

themselves (Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999; Strack & Deutsch, 2007). [28]

The ability to regulate our emotions has important consequences later in life. When Mischel

followed up on the children in his original study, he found that those who had been able to self-

regulate grew up to have some highly positive characteristics: They got better SAT scores, were

rated by their friends as more socially adept, and were found to cope with frustration and stress

better than those children who could not resist the tempting cookie at a young age. Thus effective

self-regulation can be recognized as an important key to success in life (Ayduk et al., 2000;

Eigsti et al., 2006; Mischel & Ayduk, 2004). [29]

Emotion regulation is influenced by body chemicals, particularly the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Preferences for small, immediate rewards over large but later rewards have been linked to low

levels of serotonin in animals (Bizot, Le Bihan, Peuch, Hamon, & Thiebot, 1999; Liu,

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Wilkinson, & Robbins, 2004), [30]

and low levels of serotonin are tied to violence and

impulsiveness in human suicides (Asberg, Traskman, & Thoren, 1976). [31]

Research Focus: Emotion Regulation Takes Effort

Emotion regulation is particularly difficult when we are tired, depressed, or anxious, and it is under these conditions

that we more easily let our emotions get the best of us (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000). [32]

If you are tired and worried

about an upcoming exam, you may find yourself getting angry and taking it out on your roommate, even though she

really hasn‟t done anything to deserve it and you don‟t really want to be angry at her. It is no secret that we are more

likely fail at our diets when we are under a lot of stress, or at night when we are tired.

Muraven, Tice, and Baumeister (1998) [33]

conducted a study to demonstrate that emotion regulation—that is, either

increasing or decreasing our emotional responses—takes work. They speculated that self-control was like a muscle; it

just gets tired when it is used too much. In their experiment they asked their participants to watch a short movie

about environmental disasters involving radioactive waste and their negative effects on wildlife. The scenes included

sick and dying animals and were very upsetting. According to random assignment to condition, one group

(the increase emotional response condition) was told to really get into the movie and to express their emotions, one

group was to hold back and decrease their emotional responses (the decrease emotional responsecondition), and the

third (control) group received no emotional regulation instructions.

Both before and after the movie, the experimenter asked the participants to engage in a measure of physical strength

by squeezing as hard as they could on a handgrip exerciser, a device used for strengthening hand muscles. The

experimenter put a piece of paper in the grip and timed how long the participants could hold the grip together before

the paper fell out. Figure 10.10 "Results From Muraven, Tice, and Baumeister, 1998" shows the results of this study. It

seems that emotion regulation does indeed take effort, because the participants who had been asked to control their

emotions showed significantly less ability to squeeze the handgrip after the movie than they had showed before it,

whereas the control group showed virtually no decrease. The emotion regulation during the movie seems to have

consumed resources, leaving the participants with less capacity to perform the handgrip task.

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Figure 10.10Results From Muraven, Tice, and Baumeister, 1998

Participants who were instructed to regulate their emotions, either by increasing or decreasing their emotional

responses to a move, had less energy left over to squeeze a handgrip in comparison to those who did not regulate

their emotions.

Source: Adapted from Muraven, M., Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1998). Self-control as a limited resource:

Regulatory depletion patterns. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 74(3), 774–789.

In other studies, people who had to resist the temptation to eat chocolates and cookies, who made important

decisions, or who were forced to conform to others all performed more poorly on subsequent tasks that took energy,

including giving up on tasks earlier and failing to resist temptation (Vohs & Heatherton, 2000). [34]

Can we improve our emotion regulation? It turns out that training in self-regulation—just like

physical training—can help. Students who practiced doing difficult tasks, such as exercising,

avoiding swearing, or maintaining good posture, were later found to perform better in laboratory

tests of emotion regulation such as maintaining a diet or completing a puzzle (Baumeister,

Gailliot, DeWall, & Oaten, 2006; Baumeister, Schmeichel, & Vohs, 2007; Oaten & Cheng,

2006). [35]

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K E Y T A K E A W A Y S

 Stress refers to the physiological responses that occur when an organism fails to respond appropriately to emotional

or physical threats.

 The general adaptation syndrome refers to the three distinct phases of physiological change that occur in response to

long-term stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

 Stress is normally adaptive because it helps us respond to potentially dangerous events by activating the sympathetic

division of the autonomic nervous system. But the experience of prolonged stress has a direct negative influence on

our physical health.

 Chronic stress is a major contributor to heart disease. It also decreases our ability to fight off colds and infections.

 Stressors can occur as a result of both major and minor everyday events.

 Men tend to respond to stress with the fight-or-flight response, whereas women are more likely to take a tend-and-

befriend response.

E X E R C I S E S A N D C R I T I C A L T H I N K I N G

1. Consider a time when you experienced stress, and how you responded to it. Do you now have a better understanding

of the dangers of stress? How will you change your coping mechanisms based on what you have learned?

2. Are you good at emotion regulation? Can you think of a time that your emotions got the better of you? How might

you make better use of your emotions?

[1] Selye, H. (1956). The stress of life. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

[2] American Medical Association. (2009). Three-fold heart attack increase in Hurricane Katrina survivors. Retrieved

from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/heart-attack-katrina-survivors.shtml

[3] Pulcino, T., Galea, S., Ahern, J., Resnick, H., Foley, M., & Vlahov, D. (2003). Posttraumatic stress in women after the

September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.Journal of Women’s Health, 12(8), 809–820.

[4] Seyle, Hans (1936). A syndrome produced by diverse nocuous agents. Nature, 138, 32. Retrieved

from http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/10/2/230a.pdf; Seyle, H. (1974). Forty years of stress research: Principal

remaining problems and misconceptions.Canadian Medical Association Journal, 115(1), 53–56; Seyle, H. (1982). The nature of

stress. Retrieved from http://www.icnr.com/articles/thenatureofstress.html

[5] Rodrigues, S. M., LeDoux, J. E., & Sapolsky, R. M. (2009). The influence of stress hormones on fear circuitry. Annual Review

of Neuroscience, 32, 289–313.

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[6] Cohen, S., & Herbert, T. B. (1996). Health psychology: Psychological factors and physical disease from the perspective of

human psychoneuroimmunology. Annual Review of Psychology, 47, 113–142; Faulkner, S., & Smith, A. (2009). A prospective

diary study of the role of psychological stress and negative mood in the recurrence of herpes simplex virus (HSV1). Stress and

Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 25(2), 179–187; Miller, G., Chen, E., & Cole, S. W.

(2009). Health psychology: Developing biologically plausible models linking the social world and physical health.Annual Review

of Psychology, 60, 501–524; Uchino, B. N., Smith, T. W., Holt-Lunstad, J., Campo, R., & Reblin, M. (2007). Stress and illness. In J.

T. Cacioppo, L. G. Tassinary, & G. G. Berntson (Eds.), Handbook of psychophysiology (3rd ed., pp. 608–632). New York, NY:

Cambridge University Press.

[7] Epel, E., Lin, J., Wilhelm, F., Wolkowitz, O., Cawthon, R., Adler, N.,…Blackburn, E. H. (2006). Cell aging in relation to stress

arousal and cardiovascular disease risk factors.Psychoneuroendocrinology, 31(3), 277–287.

[8] Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., McGuire, L., Robles, T. F., & Glaser, R. (2002). Psychoneuroimmunology: Psychological influences on

immune function and health.Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 70(3), 537–547; Wells, W. (2006). How chronic stress

exacerbates cancer. Journal of Cell Biology, 174(4), 476.

[9] Krantz, D. S., & McCeney, M. K. (2002). Effects of psychological and social factors on organic disease: A critical assessment of

research on coronary heart disease. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 341–369.

[10] Dekker, M., Koper, J., van Aken, M., Pols, H., Hofman, A., de Jong, F.,…Tiemeier, H. (2008). Salivary cortisol is related to

atherosclerosis of carotid arteries. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 93(10), 3741.

[11] Holmes, T. H., & Rahe, R. H. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213–218.

[12] Rahe, R. H., Mahan, J., Arthur, R. J., & Gunderson, E. K. E. (1970). The epidemiology of illness in naval environments: I.

Illness types, distribution, severities and relationships to life change. Military Medicine, 135, 443–452.

[13] Hutchinson, J. G., & Williams, P. G. (2007). Neuroticism, daily hassles, and depressive symptoms: An examination of

moderating and mediating effects. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(7), 1367–1378.

[14] Fiksenbaum, L. M., Greenglass, E. R., & Eaton, J. (2006). Perceived social support, hassles, and coping among the

elderly. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 25(1), 17–30.

[15] Glaser, R. (1985). Stress-related impairments in cellular immunity. Psychiatry Research, 16(3), 233–239.

[16] Cacioppo, J. T., Berntson, G. G., Malarkey, W. B., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Sheridan, J. F., Poehlmann, K. M.,…Glaser, R. (1998).

Autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immune responses to psychological stress: The reactivity hypothesis. In Annals of the New

York Academy of Sciences: Neuroimmunomodulation: Molecular aspects, integrative systems, and clinical advances (Vol. 840,

pp. 664–673). New York, NY: New York Academy of Sciences.

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[17] Friedman, M., & Rosenman, R. H. (1974). Type A behavior and your heart. New York, NY: Knopf.

[18] McIntyre, K., Korn, J., & Matsuo, H. (2008). Sweating the small stuff: How different types of hassles result in the experience

of stress. Stress & Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 24(5), 383–392.

doi:10.1002/smi.1190; Suls, J., & Bunde, J. (2005). Anger, anxiety, and depression as risk factors for cardiovascular disease: The

problems and implications of overlapping affective dispositions. Psychological Bulletin, 131(2), 260–300.

[19] Williams, R. B. (2001). Hostility: Effects on health and the potential for successful behavioral approaches to prevention and

treatment. In A. Baum, T. A. Revenson, & J. E. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of health psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates.

[20] Taylor, S. E., Klein, L. C., Lewis, B. P., Gruenewald, T. L., Gurung, R. A. R., & Updegraff, J. A. (2000). Biobehavioral responses

to stress in females: Tend-and-befriend, not fight-or-flight. Psychological Review, 107(3), 411–429.

[21] Gross, J. J., & Levenson, R. W. (1997). Hiding feelings: The acute effects of inhibiting negative and positive emotion. Journal

of Abnormal Psychology, 106(1), 95–103.

[22] Wegner, D. M., Schneider, D. J., Carter, S. R., & White, T. L. (1987). Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 53(1), 5–13.

[23] Pennebaker, J. W., Colder, M., & Sharp, L. K. (1990). Accelerating the coping process.Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 58(3), 528–537; Watson, D., & Pennebaker, J. W. (1989). Health complaints, stress, and distress: Exploring the

central role of negative affectivity. Psychological Review, 96(2), 234–254.

[24] Pennebaker, J. W., & Beall, S. K. (1986). Confronting a traumatic event: Toward an understanding of inhibition and

disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(3), 274–281.

[25] Petrie, K. J., Fontanilla, I., Thomas, M. G., Booth, R. J., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2004). Effect of written emotional expression

on immune function in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection: A randomized trial. Psychosomatic Medicine,

66(2), 272–275.

[26] Pennebaker, J. W., & Stone, L. D. (Eds.). (2004). Translating traumatic experiences into language: Implications for child

abuse and long-term health. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

[27] Kelsey, R. M., Blascovich, J., Tomaka, J., Leitten, C. L., Schneider, T. R., & Wiens, S. (1999). Cardiovascular reactivity and

adaptation to recurrent psychological stress: Effects of prior task exposure. Psychophysiology, 36(6), 818–831.

[28] Metcalfe, J., & Mischel, W. (1999). A hot/cool-system analysis of delay of gratification: Dynamics of

willpower. Psychological Review, 106(1), 3–19; Strack, F., & Deutsch, R. (2007). The role of impulse in social behavior. In A. W.

Kruglanski & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles (Vol. 2). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

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[29] Ayduk, O., Mendoza-Denton, R., Mischel, W., Downey, G., Peake, P. K., & Rodriguez, M. (2000). Regulating the

interpersonal self: Strategic self-regulation for coping with rejection sensitivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,

79(5), 776–792; Eigsti, I.-M., Zayas, V., Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., Ayduk, O., Dadlani, M. B.,…Casey, B. J. (2006). Predicting cognitive

control from preschool to late adolescence and young adulthood.Psychological Science, 17(6), 478–484; Mischel, W., & Ayduk,

O. (Eds.). (2004). Willpower in a cognitive-affective processing system: The dynamics of delay of gratification. New York, NY:

Guilford Press.

[30] Bizot, J.-C., Le Bihan, C., Peuch, A. J., Hamon, M., & Thiebot, M.-H. (1999). Serotonin and tolerance to delay of reward in

rats. Psychopharmacology, 146(4), 400–412; Liu, Y. P., Wilkinson, L. S., & Robbins, T. W. (2004). Effects of acute and chronic

buspirone on impulsive choice and efflux of 5-HT and dopamine in hippocampus, nucleus accumbens and prefrontal

cortex. Psychopharmacology, 173(1–2), 175–185.

[31] Asberg, M., Traskman, L., & Thoren, P. (1976). 5-HIAA in the cerebrospinal fluid: A biochemical suicide predictor? Archives

of General Psychiatry, 33(10), 1193–1197.

[32] Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a

muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 247–259.

[33] Muraven, M., Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1998). Self-control as a limited resource: Regulatory depletion

patterns. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 74(3), 774–789.

[34] Vohs, K. D., & Heatherton, T. F. (2000). Self-regulatory failure: A resource-depletion approach. Psychological Science, 11(3),

249–254.

[35] Baumeister, R. F., Gailliot, M., DeWall, C. N., & Oaten, M. (2006). Self-regulation and personality: How interventions

increase regulatory success, and how depletion moderates the effects of traits on behavior. Journal of Personality, 74(6), 1773–

1801; Baumeister, R. F., Schmeichel, B., & Vohs, K. D. (2007). Self-regulation and the executive function: The self as controlling

agent. In A. W. Kruglanski & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (Vol. 2). New York, NY: Guilford

Press; Oaten, M., & Cheng, K. (2006). Longitudinal gains in self-regulation from regular physical exercise.British Journal of

Health Psychology, 11(4), 717–733.

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10.3 Positive Emotions: The Power of Happiness L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S

1. Understand the important role of positive emotions and happiness in responding to stress.

2. Understand the factors that increase, and do not increase, happiness.

Although stress is an emotional response that can kill us, our emotions can also help us cope with

and protect ourselves from it. The stress of the Monday through Friday grind can be offset by the

fun that we can have on the weekend, and the concerns that we have about our upcoming

chemistry exam can be offset by a positive attitude toward school, life, and other people. Put

simply, the best antidote for stress is a happy one: Think positively, have fun, and enjoy the

company of others.

You have probably heard about the ―power of positive thinking‖—the idea that thinking

positively helps people meet their goals and keeps them healthy, happy, and able to effectively

cope with the negative events that occur to them. It turns out that positive thinking really works.

People who think positively about their future, who believe that they can control their outcomes,

and who are willing to open up and share with others are healthier people (Seligman, &

Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). [1]

The power of positive thinking comes in different forms, but they are all helpful. Some

researchers have focused on optimism, a general tendency to expect positive outcomes, finding

that optimists are happier and have less stress (Carver & Scheier, 2009). [2]

Others have

focused self-efficacy, the belief in our ability to carry out actions that produce desired outcomes.

People with high self-efficacy respond to environmental and other threats in an active,

constructive way—by getting information, talking to friends, and attempting to face and reduce

the difficulties they are experiencing. These people too are better able to ward off their stresses

in comparison to people with less self-efficacy (Thompson, 2009). [3]

Self-efficacy helps in part because it leads us to perceive that we can control the potential

stressors that may affect us. Workers who have control over their work environment (e.g., by

being able to move furniture and control distractions) experience less stress, as do patients in

nursing homes who are able to choose their everyday activities (Rodin, 1986). [4]

Glass, Reim,

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and Singer (1971) [5]

found that participants who believed that they could stop a loud noise

experienced less stress than those who did not think that they could, even though the people who

had the option never actually used it. The ability to control our outcomes may help explain why

animals and people who have higher status live longer (Sapolsky, 2005). [6]

Suzanne Kobasa and her colleagues (Kobasa, Maddi, & Kahn, 1982) [7]

have argued that the

tendency to be less affected by life’s stressors can be characterized as an individual difference

measure that has a relationship to both optimism and self-efficacy known as hardiness. Hardy

individuals are those who are more positive overall about potentially stressful life events, who

take more direct action to understand the causes of negative events, and who attempt to learn

from them what may be of value for the future. Hardy individuals use effective coping strategies,

and they take better care of themselves.

Taken together, these various coping skills, including optimism, self-efficacy, and hardiness,

have been shown to have a wide variety of positive effects on our health. Optimists make faster

recoveries from illnesses and surgeries (Carver et al., 2005). [8]

People with high self-efficacy

have been found to be better able to quit smoking and lose weight and are more likely to exercise

regularly (Cohen & Pressman, 2006). [9]

And hardy individuals seem to cope better with stress

and other negative life events (Dolbier, Smith, & Steinhardt, 2007). [10]

The positive effects of

positive thinking are particularly important when stress is high. Baker (2007) [11]

found that in

periods of low stress, positive thinking made little difference in responses to stress, but that

during stressful periods optimists were less likely to smoke on a day-to-day basis and to respond

to stress in more productive ways, such as by exercising.

It is possible to learn to think more positively, and doing so can be beneficial. Antoni et al.

(2001) [12]

found that pessimistic cancer patients who were given training in optimism reported

more optimistic outlooks after the training and were less fatigued after their treatments. And

Maddi, Kahn, and Maddi (1998) [13]

found that a ―hardiness training‖ program that included

focusing on ways to effectively cope with stress was effective in increasing satisfaction and

decreasing self-reported stress.

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The benefits of taking positive approaches to stress can last a lifetime. Christopher Peterson and

his colleagues (Peterson, Seligman, Yurko, Martin, & Friedman, 1998) [14]

found that the level of

optimism reported by people who had first been interviewed when they were in college during

the years between 1936 and 1940 predicted their health over the next 50 years. Students who had

a more positive outlook on life in college were less likely to have died up to 50 years later of all

causes, and they were particularly likely to have experienced fewer accidental and violent deaths,

in comparison to students who were less optimistic. Similar findings were found for older adults.

After controlling for loneliness, marital status, economic status, and other correlates of health,

Levy and Myers found that older adults with positive attitudes and higher self-efficacy had better

health and lived on average almost 8 years longer than their more negative peers (Levy & Myers,

2005; Levy, Slade, & Kasl, 2002). [15]

And Diener, Nickerson, Lucas, and Sandvik

(2002) [16]

found that people who had cheerier dispositions earlier in life had higher income

levels and less unemployment when they were assessed 19 years later.

Finding Happiness Through Our Connections With Others

Happiness is determined in part by genetic factors, such that some people are naturally happier

than others (Braungart, Plomin, DeFries, & Fulker, 1992; Lykken, 2000), [17]

but also in part by

the situations that we create for ourselves. Psychologists have studied hundreds of variables that

influence happiness, but there is one that is by far the most important. People who report that

they have positive social relationships with others—the perception ofsocial support—also report

being happier than those who report having less social support (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith,

1999; Diener, Tamir, & Scollon, 2006). [18]

Married people report being happier than unmarried

people (Pew, 2006), [19]

and people who are connected with and accepted by others suffer less

depression, higher self-esteem, and less social anxiety and jealousy than those who feel more

isolated and rejected (Leary, 1990). [20]

Social support also helps us better cope with stressors. Koopman, Hermanson, Diamond, Angell,

and Spiegel (1998) [21]

found that women who reported higher social support experienced less

depression when adjusting to a diagnosis of cancer, and Ashton et al. (2005) [22]

found a similar

buffering effect of social support for AIDS patients. People with social support are less

depressed overall, recover faster from negative events, and are less likely to commit suicide (Au,

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Lau, & Lee, 2009; Bertera, 2007; Compton, Thompson, & Kaslow, 2005; Skärsäter, Langius,

Ågren, Häagström, & Dencker, 2005). [23]

Social support buffers us against stress in several ways. For one, having people we can trust and

rely on helps us directly by allowing us to share favors when we need them. These are the direct

effects of social support. But having people around us also makes us feel good about ourselves.

These are the appreciation effects of social support. Gençöz and Özlale (2004) [24]

found that

students with more friends felt less stress and reported that their friends helped them, but they

also reported that having friends made them feel better about themselves. Again, you can see that

the tend-and-befriend response, so often used by women, is an important and effective way to

reduce stress.

What Makes Us Happy?

One difficulty that people face when trying to improve their happiness is that they may not

always know what will make them happy. As one example, many of us think that if we just had

more money we would be happier. While it is true that we do need money to afford food and

adequate shelter for ourselves and our families, after this minimum level of wealth is reached,

more money does not generally buy more happiness (Easterlin, 2005). [25]

For instance, as you

can see in , even though income and material success has improved dramatically in many

countries over the past decades, happiness has not. Despite tremendous economic growth in

France, Japan, and the United States between 1946 to 1990, there was no increase in reports of

well-being by the citizens of these countries. Americans today have about three times the buying

power they had in the 1950s, and yet overall happiness has not increased. The problem seems to

be that we never seem to have enough money to make us ―really‖ happy. Csikszentmihalyi

(1999) [26]

reported that people who earned $30,000 per year felt that they would be happier if

they made $50,000 per year, but that people who earned $100,000 per year said that they would

need $250,000 per year to make them happy.

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Figure 10.11 Income and Happiness

Although personal income keeps rising, happiness does not.

Source: Layard, R. (2005). Happiness: Lessons from a new science. New York, NY: Penguin.

These findings might lead us to conclude that we don’t always know what does or what might

make us happy, and this seems to be at least partially true. For instance, Jean Twenge and her

colleagues (Twenge, Campbell & Foster, 2003) [27]

have found in several studies that although

people with children frequently claim that having children makes them happy, couples who do

not have children actually report being happier than those who do.

Psychologists have found that people’s ability to predict their future emotional states is not very

accurate (Wilson & Gilbert, 2005). [28]

For one, people overestimate their emotional reactions to

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events. Although people think that positive and negative events that might occur to them will

make a huge difference in their lives, and although these changes do make at least some

difference in life satisfaction, they tend to be less influential than we think they are going to be.

Positive events tend to make us feel good, but their effects wear off pretty quickly, and the same

is true for negative events. For instance, Brickman, Coates, and Janoff-Bulman

(1978) [29]

interviewed people who had won more than $50,000 in a lottery and found that they

were not happier than they had been in the past, and were also not happier than a control group

of similar people who had not won the lottery. On the other hand, the researchers found that

individuals who were paralyzed as a result of accidents were not as unhappy as might be

expected.

How can this possibly be? There are several reasons. For one, people are resilient; they bring

their coping skills to play when negative events occur, and this makes them feel better. Secondly,

most people do not continually experience very positive, or very negative, affect over a long

period of time, but rather adapt to their current circumstances. Just as we enjoy the second

chocolate bar we eat less than we enjoy the first, as we experience more and more positive

outcomes in our daily lives we habituate to them and our life satisfaction returns to a more

moderate level (Small, Zatorre, Dagher, Evans, & Jones-Gotman, 2001). [30]

Another reason that we may mispredict our happiness is that our social comparisons change

when our own status changes as a result of new events. People who are wealthy compare

themselves to other wealthy people, people who are poor tend to compare with other poor

people, and people who are ill tend to compare with other ill people, When our comparisons

change, our happiness levels are correspondingly influenced. And when people are asked to

predict their future emotions, they may focus only on the positive or negative event they are

asked about, and forget about all the other things that won’t change. Wilson, Wheatley, Meyers,

Gilbert, and Axsom (2000) [31]

found that when people were asked to focus on all the more

regular things that they will still be doing in the future (working, going to church, socializing

with family and friends, and so forth), their predictions about how something really good or bad

would influence them were less extreme.

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If pleasure is fleeting, at least misery shares some of the same quality. We might think we can’t

be happy if something terrible, such as the loss of a partner or child, were to happen to us, but

after a period of adjustment most people find that happiness levels return to prior levels

(Bonnano et al., 2002). [32]

Health concerns tend to put a damper on our feeling of well-being,

and those with a serious disability or illness show slightly lowered mood levels. But even when

health is compromised, levels of misery are lower than most people expect (Lucas, 2007; Riis et

al., 2005). [33]

For instance, although disabled individuals have more concern about health,

safety, and acceptance in the community, they still experience overall positive happiness levels

(Marinić & Brkljačić, 2008). [34]

Taken together, it has been estimated that our wealth, health,

and life circumstances account for only 15% to 20% of life satisfaction scores (Argyle,

1999). [35]

Clearly the main ingredient in happiness lies beyond, or perhaps beneath, external

factors.

K E Y T A K E A W A Y S

 Positive thinking can be beneficial to our health.

 Optimism, self-efficacy, and hardiness all relate to positive health outcomes.

 Happiness is determined in part by genetic factors, but also by the experience of social support.

 People may not always know what will make them happy.

 Material wealth plays only a small role in determining happiness.

E X E R C I S E S A N D C R I T I C A L T H I N K I N G

1. Are you a happy person? Can you think of ways to increase your positive emotions?

2. Do you know what will make you happy? Do you believe that material wealth is not as important as you might have

thought it would be?

[1] Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction.American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14.

[2] Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2009). Optimism. In M. R. Leary & R. H. Hoyle (Eds.),Handbook of individual differences in

social behavior (pp. 330–342). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

[3] Thompson, S. C. (2009). The role of personal control in adaptive functioning. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Oxford

handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 271–278). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

[4] Rodin, J. (1986). Aging and health: Effects of the sense of control. Science, 233(4770), 1271–1276.

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[5] Glass, D. C., Reim, B., & Singer, J. E. (1971). Behavioral consequences of adaptation to controllable and uncontrollable

noise. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 7(2), 244–257.

[6] Sapolsky, R. M. (2005). The influence of social hierarchy on primate health. Science, 308(5722), 648–652.

[7] Kobasa, S. C., Maddi, S. R., & Kahn, S. (1982). Hardiness and health: A prospective study. Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 42(1), 168–177.

[8] Carver, C. S., Smith, R. G., Antoni, M. H., Petronis, V. M., Weiss, S., & Derhagopian, R. P. (2005). Optimistic personality and

psychosocial well-being during treatment predict psychosocial well-being among long-term survivors of breast cancer. Health

Psychology, 24(5), 508–516.

[9] Cohen, S., & Pressman, S. D. (2006). Positive affect and health. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(3), 122–125.

[10] Dolbier, C. L., Smith, S. E., & Steinhardt, M. A. (2007). Relationships of protective factors to stress and symptoms of

illness. American Journal of Health Behavior, 31(4), 423–433.

[11] Baker, S. R. (2007). Dispositional optimism and health status, symptoms, and behaviors: Assessing ideothetic relationships

using a prospective daily diary approach.Psychology and Health, 22(4), 431–455.

[12] Antoni, M. H., Lehman, J. M., Klibourn, K. M., Boyers, A. E., Culver, J. L., Alferi, S. M.,…Kilbourn, K. (2001). Cognitive-

behavioral stress management intervention decreases the prevalence of depression and enhances benefit finding among

women under treatment for early-stage breast cancer. Health Psychology, 20(1), 20–32.

[13] Maddi, S. R., Kahn, S., & Maddi, K. L. (1998). The effectiveness of hardiness training.Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice

and Research, 50(2), 78–86.

[14] Peterson, C., Seligman, M. E. P., Yurko, K. H., Martin, L. R., & Friedman, H. S. (1998). Catastrophizing and untimely

death. Psychological Science, 9(2), 127–130.

[15] Levy, B., & Myers, L. (2005). Relationship between respiratory mortality and self-perceptions of aging. Psychology & Health,

20(5), 553–564. doi:10.1080/14768320500066381; Levy, B., Slade, M., & Kasl, S. (2002). Longitudinal benefit of positive self-

perceptions of aging on functional health. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences, 57B(5),

P409. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database.

[16] Diener, E., Nickerson, C., Lucas, R., & Sandvik, E. (2002). Dispositional affect and job outcomes. Social Indicators Research,

59(3), 229. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database.

[17] Braungart, J. M., Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., & Fulker, D. W. (1992). Genetic influence on tester-rated infant temperament as

assessed by Bayley’s Infant Behavior Record: Nonadoptive and adoptive siblings and twins. Developmental Psychology, 28(1),

40–47; Lykken, D. T. (2000). Happiness: The nature and nurture of joy and contentment. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.

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[18] Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological

Bulletin, 125(2), 276–302; Diener, E., Tamir, M., & Scollon, C. N. (2006). Happiness, life satisfaction, and fulfillment: The social

psychology of subjective well-being. In P. A. M. VanLange (Ed.), Bridging social psychology: Benefits of transdisciplinary

approaches. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

[19] Pew Research Center (2006, February 13). Are we happy yet? Retrieved fromhttp://pewresearch.org/pubs/301/are-we-

happy-yet

[20] Leary, M. R. (1990). Responses to social exclusion: Social anxiety, jealousy, loneliness, depression, and low self-

esteem. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(2), 221–229.

[21] Koopman, C., Hermanson, K., Diamond, S., Angell, K., & Spiegel, D. (1998). Social support, life stress, pain and emotional

adjustment to advanced breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 7(2), 101–110.

[22] Ashton, E., Vosvick, M., Chesney, M., Gore-Felton, C., Koopman, C., O’Shea, K.,…Spiegel, D. (2005). Social support and

maladaptive coping as predictors of the change in physical health symptoms among persons living with HIV/AIDS. AIDS Patient

Care & STDs, 19(9), 587–598. doi:10.1089/apc.2005.19.587

[23] Au, A., Lau, S., & Lee, M. (2009). Suicide ideation and depression: The moderation effects of family cohesion and social self-

concept. Adolescence, 44(176), 851–868. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database; Bertera, E. (2007). The role of

positive and negative social exchanges between adolescents, their peers and family as predictors of suicide ideation. Child &

Adolescent Social Work Journal, 24(6), 523–538. doi:10.1007/s10560-007-0104-y; Compton, M., Thompson, N., & Kaslow, N.

(2005). Social environment factors associated with suicide attempt among low-income African Americans: The protective role

of family relationships and social support. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 40(3), 175–185. doi:10.1007/s00127-

005-0865-6; Skärsäter, I., Langius, A., Ågren, H., Häggström, L., & Dencker, K. (2005). Sense of coherence and social support in

relation to recovery in first-episode patients with major depression: A one-year prospective study. International Journal of

Mental Health Nursing, 14(4), 258–264. doi:10.1111/j.1440-0979.2005.00390.x

[24] Gençöz, T., & Özlale, Y. (2004). Direct and indirect effects of social support on psychological well-being. Social Behavior &

Personality: An International Journal, 32(5), 449–458.

[25] Easterlin, R. (2005). Feeding the illusion of growth and happiness: A reply to Hagerty and Veenhoven. Social Indicators

Research, 74(3), 429–443. doi:10.1007/s11205-004-6170-z

[26] Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). If we are so rich, why aren’t we happy? American Psychologist, 54(10), 821–827.

[27] Twenge, J. M., Campbell, W. K., & Foster, C. A. (2003). Parenthood and marital satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. Journal

of Marriage and Family, 65(3), 574–583.

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[28] Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2005). Affective forecasting: Knowing what to want.Current Directions in Psychological

Science, 14(3), 131–134.

[29] Brickman, P., Coates, D., & Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology, 36(8), 917–927.

[30] Small, D. M., Zatorre, R. J., Dagher, A., Evans, A. C., & Jones-Gotman, M. (2001). Changes in brain activity related to eating

chocolate: From pleasure to aversion. Brain, 124(9), 1720–1733.

[31] Wilson, T. D., Wheatley, T., Meyers, J. M., Gilbert, D. T., & Axsom, D. (2000). Focalism: A source of durability bias in

affective forecasting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(5), 821–836.

[32] Bonanno, G. A., Wortman, C. B., Lehman, D. R., Tweed, R. G., Haring, M., Sonnega, J.,…Nesse, R. M. (2002). Resilience to

loss and chronic grief: A prospective study from preloss to 18-months postloss. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,

83(5), 1150–1164.

[33] Lucas, R. (2007). Long-term disability is associated with lasting changes in subjective well-being: Evidence from two

nationally representative longitudinal studies. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 92(4), 717–730. Retrieved from

Academic Search Premier Database; Riis, J., Baron, J., Loewenstein, G., Jepson, C., Fagerlin, A., & Ubel, P. (2005). Ignorance of

hedonic adaptation to hemodialysis: A study using ecological momentary assessment. Journal of Experimental

Psychology/General, 134(1), 3–9. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.134.1.3

[34] Marinid, M., & Brkljačid, T. (2008). Love over gold—The correlation of happiness level with some life satisfaction factors

between persons with and without physical disability.Journal of Developmental & Physical Disabilities, 20(6), 527–540.

doi:10.1007/s10882-008-9115-7

[35] Argyle, M. (1999). Causes and correlates of happiness. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well being: The

foundations of hedonic psychology. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

10.4 Two Fundamental Human Motivations: Eating and Mating L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S

1. Understand the biological and social responses that underlie eating behavior.

2. Understand the psychological and physiological responses that underlie sexual behavior.

Eating: Healthy Choices Make Healthy Lives

Along with the need to drink fresh water, which humans can normally attain in all except the

most extreme situations, the need for food is the most fundamental and important human need.

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More than 1 in 10 U.S. households contain people who live without enough nourishing food, and

this lack of proper nourishment has profound effects on their abilities to create effective lives

(Hunger Notes, n.d.). [1]

When people are extremely hungry, their motivation to attain food

completely changes their behavior. Hungry people become listless and apathetic to save energy

and then become completely obsessed with food. Ancel Keys and his colleagues (Keys, Brožek,

Henschel, Mickelsen, & Taylor, 1950) [2]

found that volunteers who were placed on severely

reduced-calorie diets lost all interest in sex and social activities, becoming preoccupied with

food.

Like most interesting psychological phenomena, the simple behavior of eating has both

biological and social determinants (Figure 10.12 "Biological, Psychological, and Social-Cultural

Contributors to Eating"). Biologically, hunger is controlled by the interactions among complex

pathways in the nervous system and a variety of hormonal and chemical systems in the brain and

body. The stomach is of course important. We feel more hungry when our stomach is empty than

when it is full. But we can also feel hunger even without input from the stomach. Two areas of

the hypothalamus are known to be particularly important in eating. The lateral part of the

hypothalamus responds primarily to cues to start eating, whereas the ventromedial part of the

hypothalamus primarily responds to cues to stop eating. If the lateral part of the hypothalamus is

damaged, the animal will not eat even if food is present, whereas if the ventromedial part of the

hypothalamus is damaged, the animal will eat until it is obese (Wolf & Miller, 1964). [3]

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Figure 10.12 Biological, Psychological, and Social-Cultural Contributors to Eating

Hunger is also determined by hormone levels (Figure 10.13 "Eating Is Influenced by the

Appetite Hormones"). Glucose is the main sugar that the body uses for energy, and the brain

monitors blood glucose levels to determine hunger. Glucose levels in the bloodstream are

regulated by insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas gland. When insulin is low, glucose is

not taken up by body cells, and the body begins to use fat as an energy source. Eating and

appetite are also influenced by other hormones, including orexin, ghrelin, andleptin (Brennan &

Mantzoros, 2006; Nakazato et al., 2001). [4]

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Figure 10.13 Eating Is Influenced by the Appetite Hormones

Insulin, secreted by the pancreas, controls blood glucose; leptin, secreted by fat cells, monitors energy levels; orexin,

secreted by the hypothalamus, triggers hunger; ghrelin, secreted by an empty stomach, increases food intake.

Normally the interaction of the various systems that determine hunger creates a balance

or homeostasis in which we eat when we are hungry and stop eating when we feel full. But

homeostasis varies among people; some people simply weigh more than others, and there is little

they can do to change their fundamental weight. Weight is determined in large part by

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thebasal metabolic rate, the amount of energy expended while at rest. Each person’s basal

metabolic rate is different, due to his or her unique physical makeup and physical behavior. A

naturally occurring low metabolic rate, which is determined entirely by genetics, makes weight

management a very difficult undertaking for many people.

How we eat is also influenced by our environment. When researchers rigged clocks to move

faster, people got hungrier and ate more, as if they thought they must be hungry again because so

much time had passed since they last ate (Schachter, 1968). [5]

And if we forget that we have

already eaten, we are likely to eat again even if we are not actually hungry (Rozin, Dow,

Moscovitch, & Rajaram, 1998). [6]

Cultural norms about appropriate weights also influence eating behaviors. Current norms for

women in Western societies are based on a very thin body ideal, emphasized by television and

movie actresses, models, and even children’s dolls, such as the ever-popular Barbie. These

norms for excessive thinness are very difficult for most women to attain: Barbie’s measurements,

if translated to human proportions, would be about 36 in.-18 in.-33 in. at bust-waist-hips,

measurements that are attained by less than 1 in 100,000 women (Norton, Olds, Olive, & Dank,

1996). [7]

Many women idealize being thin and yet are unable to reach the standard that they

prefer.

Eating Disorders

In some cases, the desire to be thin can lead to eating disorders, which are estimated to affect

about 1 million males and 10 million females the United States alone (Hoek & van Hoeken,

2003; Patrick, 2002). [8]

Anorexia nervosais an eating disorder characterized by extremely low

body weight, distorted body image, and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Nine out of 10

sufferers are women. Anorexia begins with a severe weight loss diet and develops into a

preoccupation with food and dieting.

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging.

Bulimia nervosa begins after the dieter has broken a diet and gorged. Bulimia involves repeated

episodes of overeating, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise. It is

most common in women in their late teens or early 20s, and it is often accompanied by

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depression and anxiety, particularly around the time of the binging. The cycle in which the

person eats to feel better, but then after eating becomes concerned about weight gain and purges,

repeats itself over and over again, often with major psychological and physical results.

Eating disorders are in part heritable (Klump, Burt, McGue, & Iacono, 2007), [9]

and it is not

impossible that at least some have been selected through their evolutionary significance in

coping with food shortages (Guisinger, 2008). [10]

Eating disorders are also related psychological

causes, including low self-esteem, perfectionism, and the perception that one’s body weight is

too high (Vohs et al., 2001), [11]

as well as to cultural norms about body weight and eating

(Crandall, 1988). [12]

Because eating disorders can create profound negative health outcomes,

including death, people who suffer from them should seek treatment. This treatment is often

quite effective.

Obesity

Although some people eat too little, eating too much is also a major problem. Obesity is a

medical condition in which so much excess body fat has accumulated in the body that it begins to

have an adverse impact on health. In addition to causing people to be stereotyped and treated

less positively by others (Crandall, Merman, & Hebl, 2009), [13]

uncontrolled obesity leads to

health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, arthritis, Alzheimer’s

disease, and some types of cancer (Gustafson, Rothenberg, Blennow, Steen, & Skoog,

2003). [14]

Obesity also reduces life expectancy (Haslam & James, 2005). [15]

Obesity is determined by calculating the body mass index (BMI), a measurement that compares

one’s weight and height. People are defined as overweight when their BMI is greater than 25

kg/m 2 and as obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m

2 . If you know your height and weight, you

can go tohttp://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi to calculate your BMI.

Obesity is a leading cause of death worldwide. Its prevalence is rapidly increasing, and it is one

of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. Although obesity is caused in part

by genetics, it is increased by overeating and a lack of physical activity (Nestle & Jacobson,

2000; James, 2008). [16]

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There are really only two approaches to controlling weight: eat less and exercise more. Dieting is

difficult for anyone, but it is particularly difficult for people with slow basal metabolic rates, who

must cope with severe hunger to lose weight. Although most weight loss can be maintained for

about a year, very few people are able to maintain substantial weight loss through dieting alone

for more than three years (Miller, 1999). [17]

Substantial weight loss of more than 50 pounds is

typically seen only when weight loss surgery has been performed (Douketis, Macie, Thabane, &

Williamson, 2005). [18]

Weight loss surgery reduces stomach volume or bowel length, leading to

earlier satiation and reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food.

Although dieting alone does not produce a great deal of weight loss over time, its effects are

substantially improved when it is accompanied by more physical activity. People who exercise

regularly, and particularly those who combine exercise with dieting, are less likely to be obese

(Borer, 2008). [19]

Exercise not only improves our waistline but also makes us healthier overall.

Exercise increases cardiovascular capacity, lowers blood pressure, and helps improve diabetes,

joint flexibility, and muscle strength (American Heart Association, 1998). [20]

Exercise also

slows the cognitive impairments that are associated with aging (Kramer, Erickson, & Colcombe,

2006). [21]

Because the costs of exercise are immediate but the benefits are long-term, it may be difficult for

people who do not exercise to get started. It is important to make a regular schedule, to work

exercise into one’s daily activities, and to view exercise not as a cost but as an opportunity to

improve oneself (Schomer & Drake, 2001). [22]

Exercising is more fun when it is done in groups,

so team exercise is recommended (Kirchhoff, Elliott, Schlichting, & Chin, 2008). [23]

A recent report found that only about one-half of Americans perform the 30 minutes of exercise

5 times a week that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests as the minimum

healthy amount (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). [24]

As for the other half of

Americans, they most likely are listening to the guidelines, but they are unable to stick to the

regimen. Almost half of the people who start an exercise regimen give it up by the 6-month mark

(American Heart Association, 1998). [25]

This is a problem, given that exercise has long-term

benefits only if it is continued.

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Sex: The Most Important Human Behavior

Perhaps the most important aspect of human experience is the process of reproduction. Without

it, none of us would be here. Successful reproduction in humans involves the coordination of a

wide variety of behaviors, including courtship, sex, household arrangements, parenting, and child

care.

The Experience of Sex

The sexual drive, with its reward of intense pleasure in orgasm, is highly motivating. The

biology of the sexual response was studied in detail by Masters and Johnson (1966), [26]

who

monitored or filmed more than 700 men and women while they masturbated or had intercourse.

Masters and Johnson found that the sexual response cycle—the biological sexual response in

humans—was very similar in men and women, and consisted of four stages:

Excitement. The genital areas become engorged with blood. Women’s breasts and nipples may

enlarge and the vagina expands and secretes lubricant.

Plateau. Breathing, pulse, and blood pressure increase as orgasm feels imminent. The penis

becomes fully enlarged. Vaginal secretions continue and the clitoris may retract.

Orgasm. Muscular contractions occur throughout the body, but particularly in the genitals. The

spasmodic ejaculations of sperm are similar to the spasmodic contractions of vaginal walls, and

the experience of orgasm is similar for men and women. The woman’s orgasm helps position the

uterus to draw sperm inward (Thornhill & Gangestad, 1995). [27]

Resolution. After orgasm the body gradually returns to its prearoused state. After one orgasm,

men typically experience a refractory period, in which they are incapable of reaching another

orgasm for several minutes, hours, or even longer. Women may achieve several orgasms before

entering the resolution stage.

The sexual response cycle and sexual desire are regulated by the sex hormonesestrogen in

women and testosterone in both women and in men. Although the hormones are secreted by the

ovaries and testes, it is the hypothalamus and the pituitary glands that control the process.

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Estrogen levels in women vary across the menstrual cycle, peaking during ovulation (Pillsworth,

Haselton, & Buss, 2004). [28]

Women are more interested in having sex during ovulation but can

experience high levels of sexual arousal throughout the menstrual cycle.

In men, testosterone is essential to maintain sexual desire and to sustain an erection, and

testosterone injections can increase sexual interest and performance (Aversa et al., 2000;

Jockenhövel et al., 2009). [29]

Testosterone is also important in the female sex cycle. Women who

are experiencing menopause may develop a loss of interest in sex, but this interest may be

rekindled through estrogen and testosterone replacement treatments (Meston & Frohlich,

2000). [30]

Although their biological determinants and experiences of sex are similar, men and women differ

substantially in their overall interest in sex, the frequency of their sexual activities, and the mates

they are most interested in. Men show a more consistent interest in sex, whereas the sexual

desires of women are more likely to vary over time (Baumeister, 2000). [31]

Men fantasize about

sex more often than women, and their fantasies are more physical and less intimate (Leitenberg

& Henning, 1995). [32]

Men are also more willing to have casual sex than are women, and their

standards for sex partners is lower (Petersen & Hyde, 2010; Saad, Eba, & Sejean, 2009). [33]

Gender differences in sexual interest probably occur in part as a result of the evolutionary

predispositions of men and women, and this interpretation is bolstered by the finding that gender

differences in sexual interest are observed cross-culturally (Buss, 1989). [34]

Evolutionarily,

women should be more selective than men in their choices of sex partners because they must

invest more time in bearing and nurturing their children than do men (most men do help out, of

course, but women simply do more [Buss & Kenrick, 1998]). [35]

Because they do not need to

invest a lot of time in child rearing, men may be evolutionarily predisposed to be more willing

and desiring of having sex with many different partners and may be less selective in their choice

of mates. Women, on the other hand, because they must invest substantial effort in raising each

child, should be more selective.

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The Many Varieties of Sexual Behavior

Sex researchers have found that sexual behavior varies widely, not only between men and

women but within each sex (Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948/1998; Kinsey,

1953/1998). [36]

About a quarter of women report having a low sexual desire, and about 1% of

people report feeling no sexual attraction whatsoever (Bogaert, 2004; Feldhaus-Dahir, 2009;

West et al., 2008). [37]

There are also people who experience hyperactive sexual drives. For about

3% to 6% of the population (mainly men), the sex drive is so strong that it dominates life

experience and may lead to hyperactive sexual desire disorder(Kingston & Firestone, 2008). [38]

There is also variety in sexual orientation, which is the direction of our sexual desire toward

people of the opposite sex, people of the same sex, or people of both sexes. The vast majority of

human beings have a heterosexual orientation—their sexual desire is focused toward members of

the opposite sex. A smaller minority is primarily homosexual (i.e., they have sexual desire for

members of their own sex). Between 3% and 4% of men are gay, and between 1% and 2% of

women are lesbian. Another 1% of the population reports being bisexual (having desires for both

sexes). The love and sexual lives of homosexuals are little different from those of heterosexuals,

except where their behaviors are constrained by cultural norms and local laws. As with

heterosexuals, some gays and lesbians are celibate, some are promiscuous, but most are in

committed, long-term relationships (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994). [39]

Although homosexuality has been practiced as long as records of human behavior have been

kept, and occurs in many animals at least as frequently as it does in humans, cultures

nevertheless vary substantially in their attitudes toward it. In Western societies such as the

United States and Europe, attitudes are becoming progressively more tolerant of homosexuality,

but it remains unacceptable in many other parts of the world. The American Psychiatric

Association no longer considers homosexuality to be a ―mental illness,‖ although it did so until

1973. Because prejudice against gays and lesbians can lead to experiences of ostracism,

depression, and even suicide (Kulkin, Chauvin, & Percle, 2000), [40]

these improved attitudes can

benefit the everyday lives of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.

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Whether sexual orientation is driven more by nature or by nurture has received a great deal of

research attention, and research has found that sexual orientation is primarily biological

(Mustanski, Chivers, & Bailey, 2002). [41]

Areas of the hypothalamus are different in homosexual

men, as well as in animals with homosexual tendencies, than they are in heterosexual members

of the species, and these differences are in directions such that gay men are more similar to

women than are straight men (Gladue, 1994; Lasco, Jordan, Edgar, Petito, & Byrne, 2002;

Rahman & Wilson, 2003). [42]

Twin studies also support the idea that there is a genetic

component to sexual orientation. Among male identical twins, 52% of those with a gay brother

also reported homosexuality, whereas the rate in fraternal twins was just 22% (Bailey et al.,

1999; Pillard & Bailey, 1998). [43]

There is also evidence that sexual orientation is influenced by

exposure and responses to sex hormones (Hershberger & Segal, 2004; Williams & Pepitone,

2000). [44]

Psychology in Everyday Life: Regulating Emotions to Improve Our Health

Although smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, using recreational drugs, engaging in unsafe sex, and eating too much

may produce enjoyable positive emotions in the short term, they are some of the leading causes of negative health

outcomes and even death in the long term (Mokdad, Marks, Stroup, & Gerberding, 2004). [45]

To avoid these negative

outcomes, we must use our cognitive resources to plan, guide, and restrain our behaviors. And we (like Captain

Sullenberger) can also use our emotion regulation skills to help us do better.

Even in an age where the addictive and detrimental health effects of cigarette smoking are well understood, more than

60% of children try smoking before they are 18 years old, and more than half who have smoked have tried and failed

to quit (Fryar, Merino, Hirsch, & Porter, 2009). [46]

Although smoking is depicted in movies as sexy and alluring, it is

highly addictive and probably the most dangerous thing we can do to our body. Poor diet and physical inactivity

combine to make up the second greatest threat to our health. But we can improve our diet by eating more natural and

less processed food, and by monitoring our food intake. And we can start and maintain an exercise program. Exercise

keeps us happier, improves fitness, and leads to better health and lower mortality (Fogelholm, 2010; Galper, Trivedi,

Barlow, Dunn, & Kampert, 2006; Hassmén, Koivula, & Uutela, 2000). [47]

And exercise also has a variety of positive

influences on our cognitive processes, including academic performance (Hillman, Erickson, & Kramer, 2008). [48]

Alcohol abuse, and particularly binge drinking (i.e., having five or more drinks in one sitting), is often the norm

among high school and college students, but it has severe negative health consequences. Bingeing leads to deaths

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from car crashes, drowning, falls, gunshots, and alcohol poisoning (Valencia-Martín, Galán, & Rodríguez-Artalejo,

2008). [49]

Binge-drinking students are also more likely to be involved in other risky behaviors, such as smoking, drug

use, dating violence, or attempted suicide (Miller, Naimi, Brewer, & Jones, 2007). [50]

Binge drinking may also damage

neural pathways in the brain (McQueeny et al., 2009) [51]

and lead to lifelong alcohol abuse and dependency (Kim et

al., 2008). [52]

Illicit drug use has also been increasing and is linked to the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV,

hepatitis B, and hepatitis C (Monteiro, 2001). [53]

Some teens abstain from sex entirely, particularly those who are very religious, but most experiment with it. About

half of U.S. children under 18 report having had intercourse, a rate much higher than in other parts of the world.

Although sex is fun, it can also kill us if we are not careful. Sexual activity can lead to guilt about having engaged in

the act itself, and may also lead to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV

infection. Alcohol consumption also leads to risky sexual behavior. Sex partners who have been drinking are less

likely to practice safe sex and have an increased risk of STIs, including HIV infection (Hutton, McCaul, Santora, &

Erbelding 2008; Raj et al., 2009). [54]

It takes some work to improve and maintain our health and happiness, and our desire for the positive emotional

experiences that come from engaging in dangerous behaviors can get in the way of this work. But being aware of the

dangers, working to control our emotions, and using our resources to engage in healthy behaviors and avoid

unhealthy ones are the best things we can do for ourselves.

K E Y T A K E A W A Y S

 Biologically, hunger is controlled by the interactions among complex pathways in the nervous system and a variety of

hormonal and chemical systems in the brain and body.

 How we eat is also influenced by our environment, including social norms about appropriate body size.

 Homeostasis varies among people and is determined by the basal metabolic rate. Low metabolic rates, which are

determined entirely by genetics, make weight management a very difficult undertaking for many people.

 Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, affect more than 10 million people (mostly women)

in the United States alone.

 Obesity is a medical condition in which so much excess body fat has accumulated in the body that it begins to have an

adverse impact on health. Uncontrolled obesity leads to health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes,

sleep apnea, arthritis, and some types of cancer.

 The two approaches to controlling weight are to eat less and exercise more.

Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org 59

 Sex drive is regulated by the sex hormones estrogen in women and testosterone in both women and men.

 Although their biological determinants and experiences of sex are similar, men and women differ substantially in their

overall interest in sex, the frequency of their sexual activities, and the mates they are most interested in.

 Sexual behavior varies widely, not only between men and women but also within each sex.

 There is also variety in sexual orientation: toward people of the opposite sex, people of the same sex, or people of

both sexes. The determinants of sexual orientation are primarily biological.

 We can outwit stress, obesity, and other health risks through appropriate healthy action.

E X E R C I S E A N D C R I T I C A L T H I N K I N G

1. Consider your own eating and sex patterns. Are they healthy or unhealthy? What can you do to improve them?

[1] Hunger Notes. (n.d.). How many children are hungry in the United States? Retrieved

from http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/04/editorials/hungry_us_children.htm

[2] Keys, A., Brožek, J., Henschel, A., Mickelsen, O., & Taylor, H. L. (1950). The biology of human starvation (Vols. 1–

2). Oxford, England: University of Minnesota Press.

[3] Wolf, G., & Miller, N. E. (1964). Lateral hypothalamic lesions: Effects on drinking elicited by carbachol in

preoptic area and posterior hypothalamus. Science, 143(Whole No. 3606), 585–587.

[4] Brennan, A. M., & Mantzoros, C. S. (2006). Drug insight: The role of leptin in human physiology and

pathophysiology-emerging clinical applications. Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology Metabolism, 2(6), 318–27.

doi:10.1038/ncpendmet0196; Nakazato, M., Murakami, N., Date, Y., Kojima, M., Matsuo, H., Kangawa, K., &

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10.5 Chapter Summary

Affect guides behavior, helps us make decisions, and has a major impact on our mental and

physical health. Affect is guided by arousal—our experiences of the bodily responses created by

the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system.

Emotions are the mental and physiological feeling states that direct our attention and guide our

behavior. The most fundamental emotions, known as the basic emotions, are those of anger,

disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. A variety of secondary emotions are determined

by the process of cognitive appraisal. The distinction between the primary and the secondary

emotions is paralleled by two brain pathways: a fast pathway and a slow pathway.

There are three primary theories of emotion, each supported by research evidence. The Cannon-

Bard theory of emotion proposed that the experience of an emotion is accompanied by

physiological arousal. The James-Lange theory of emotion proposes that our experience of an

emotion is the result of the arousal that we experience. The two-factor theory of emotion asserts

that the experience of emotion is determined by the intensity of the arousal we are experiencing,

but that the cognitive appraisal of the situation determines what the emotion will be. When

people incorrectly label the source of the arousal that they are experiencing, we say that they

have misattributed their arousal.

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We communicate and perceive emotion in part through nonverbal communication and through

facial expressions. The facial feedback hypothesis proposes that we also experience emotion in

part through our own facial expressions.

Stress refers to the physiological responses that occur when an organism fails to respond

appropriately to emotional or physical threats. When it is extreme or prolonged, stress can create

substantial health problems.

The general adaptation syndrome describes the three phases of physiological change that occur

in response to long-term stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. Stress creates a long-term

negative effect on the body by activating the HPA axis, which produces the stress hormone

cortisol. The HPA reactions to persistent stress lead to a weakening of the immune system.

Chronic stress is also a major contributor to heart disease.

The stress that we experience in our everyday lives, including daily hassles, can be taxing.

People who experience strong negative emotions as a result of these hassles exhibit more

negative stress responses those who react in a less negative way.

On average, men are more likely than are women to respond to stress by activating the fight-or-

flight response, whereas women are more likely to respond using the tend-and-befriend response.

Attempting to ignore or suppress our stressors is not effective, in part because it is difficult to do.

It is healthier to let out the negative thoughts and feelings by expressing them, either to ourselves

or to others. It is easier to respond to stress if we can interpret it in more positive ways—for

instance, as a challenge rather than a threat.

The ability to successfully control our emotions is known as emotion regulation. Regulating

emotions takes effort, but the ability to do so can have important positive health outcomes.

The best antidote for stress is to think positively, have fun, and enjoy the company of others.

People who express optimism, self-efficacy, and hardiness cope better with stress and experience

better health overall. Happiness is determined in part by genetic factors such that some people

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are naturally happier than others, but it is also facilitated by social support—our positive social

relationships with others.

People do not often know what will make them happy. After a minimum level of wealth is

reached, more money does not generally buy more happiness. Although people think that

positive and negative events will make a huge difference in their lives, and although these

changes do make at least some difference in life satisfaction, they tend to be less influential than

we think they are going to be.

A motivation is a driving force that initiates and directs behavior. Motivations are often

considered in psychology in terms of drives and goals, with the goal of maintaining homeostasis.

Eating is a primary motivation determined by hormonal and social factors. Cultural norms about

appropriate weights influence eating behaviors. The desire to be thin can lead to eating disorders

including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

Uncontrolled obesity leads to health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, sleep

apnea, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and some types of cancer. It is a leading preventable cause

of death worldwide. The two approaches to controlling weight are eating less and exercising

more.

Sex is a fundamental motivation that involves the coordination of a wide variety of behaviors,

including courtship, sex, household arrangements, parenting, and child care. The sexual response

cycle is similar in men and women. The sex hormone testosterone is particularly important for

sex drive, in both men and women.

Sexual behavior varies widely, not only between men and women but within each sex.

The vast majority of human beings have a heterosexual orientation, but a smaller minority is

primarily homosexual or bisexual. The love and sexual lives of homosexuals and bisexual are

little different from those of heterosexuals, except where their behaviors are constrained by

cultural norms and local laws.