Page: Textbook - Chapter 11
Chapter 11. Emotions and Motivations
11. Emotions and Motivations
Grace under Pressure
On June 27, 2014, 13-year-old Gavin England saved his grandfather from drowning when their prawning boat took
on water and sank off the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island (CTV, 2014). Gavin’s grandfather Vern was not
a strong swimmer, and though both were wearing life jackets, they would not have survived for long in the cold
Pacific ocean waters 300 meters from shore.
Gavin recounted the event, explaining how he suffered sharp cuts to his bare feet when climbing the embankment
where he had dragged his grandfather. He attributed his ability to overcome the pain of the cuts to adrenalin. Upon
finding an old truck with keys in the ignition, and despite the high emotions he was experiencing, he then had the
wherewithal to learn to drive on the spot and make it up a three-kilometer hill to get help. Gavin explained that his
knowledge of driving a dirt bike served him well: “I knew that clutch in meant drive.” Vern described the young
boy as “tenacious” and calm throughout the event. He was giving his grandfather words of encouragement as he
pulled him to shore.
Stories such as Gavin’s are rare and unpredictable. We hope we will act with the same clear-headed tenacity in
emergency situations, but the heroic response is not assured. Gavin’s ability to abate panic, and recognize and
regulate his emotions was central to his actions in this emergency situation.
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. As we will see, affect guides
behaviour, 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 behaviour.
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.
American pilot Captain”Sully” Sullenberger (Figure 11.1, “Captain Sullenberger and His Plane on the Hudson
River”) was 915 metres up in the air when the sudden loss of power in his airplane put his life, as well as the lives of
150 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 toward La Guardia.”
When the tower gave him the compass setting and runway for a possible landing, Sullenberger’s extensive
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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 both as a flight instructor and the safety chairman for the Airline Pilots Association.
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.”
Figure 11.1 Captain Sullenberger and His Plane on the Hudson River. Imagine that you are on a
plane that you know is going to crash. What emotions would you experience, and how would you
respond to them? Would the rush of fear cause you to panic, or could you control your emotions
like Captain Sullenberger did, as he calmly calculated the heading, position, thrust, and elevation
of the plane, and then landed it on the Hudson River?
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 rescue boats 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).
Some called it “grace under pressure,” and others called it 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.
An emotion is a mental and physiological feeling state that directs our attention and guides our behaviour. 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 did not 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.
The Surrey School District in British Columbia has incorporated “emotional regulation” into the curriculum (Wells,
431 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
2013). In six schools, educators are piloting a program that helps teachers look for what may be stressing children,
making them unable to pay attention, lethargic, hyperactive, or out of control. The children may be impacted by too
much noise in the classroom, too little sleep, or too much junk food in their lunch. The teachers help the children
recognize what they need to do to make themselves calm and productive in class. The program ultimately places the
motivation for behavioural control within the hands of the children.
Motivations are closely related to emotions. A motivation is a driving force that initiates and directs behaviour.
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 behaviour, 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). In each case we follow our motivations because they are rewarding. As predicted by basic
theories of operant learning, motivations lead us to engage in particular behaviours 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 behavioural 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). 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
behaviours 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 behaviour (Freud, 1922; Hassin, Bargh, & Zimerman, 2009; Williams, Bargh, Nocera, & Gray, 2009).
We begin this chapter by considering the role of affect on behaviour, 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 on positive thinking and what has
been learned about the beneficial health effects of more positive emotions. Finally, we will review some of the most
important human motivations, including the behaviours 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.
References
CTV. (2014). Heroic act (video broadcast). Toronto, ON: CTV National News. Retrieved July 24, 2014, from
http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=389519
11. EMOTIONS AND MOTIVATIONS • 432
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.
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.
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.
Morsella, E., Bargh, J. A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2009). Oxford handbook of human action. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
National Transportation Safety Board. (2009, June 9). Excerpts of Flight 1549 cockpit communications. USA
Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-09-hudson-cockpit-transcript_N.htm.
Wells, K. (2013). Self-regulation technique helps students focus in class: Teachers try new approach to improving
students’ behaviour. CBC News Posted: Nov 30, 2013 Retrieved 2014 from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/selfregulation-
technique-helps-students-focus-in-class-1.2440688
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.
Image Attributions:
Figure 11.1: Sully Sullenberger by Ingrid Taylar (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taylar/435061088) used under
CC BY 2.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/); Plane crash into Hudson River by Greg L.,
(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plane_crash_into_Hudson_Rivercroped.jpg) used under CC BY 2.0
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en).
433 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
11.1 The Experience of Emotion
Learning Objectives
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 of anger, 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 quickly guide appropriate behaviour (LeDoux, 2000). 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; Fridland, Ekman, & Oster, 1987), and people are quite accurate at judging the facial expressions of people
from different cultures. View “Video Clip: The Basic Emotions,” to see a demonstration of the basic emotions.
Watch: “Recognize Basic Emotions” [YouTube]: http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=haW6E7qsW2c
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 11.2, “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 11.2, “The
Secondary Emotions”) and in part by their valence — that is, whether they are pleasant or unpleasant feelings (on
the horizontal axis of Figure 11.2, “The Secondary Emotions”),
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).
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, & Gabrieli, 2002). The thalamus acts
as the major gatekeeper in this process (Figure 11.3, “Slow and Fast Emotional Pathways”). Our response to the
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Figure 11.2 The Secondary Emotions. The secondary emotions are those that have a major
cognitive component. They are determined by both their level of arousal (mild to intense) and
their valence (pleasant to unpleasant). [Long Description]
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 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 behavioural
responses.
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).
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
435 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
Figure 11.3 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.
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 neighbourhood 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 11.4, “Three Theories of Emotion”).
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 the 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
11.1 THE EXPERIENCE OF EMOTION • 436
Figure 11.4 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.
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). 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
11.4, “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). 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). 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), we experience a red face and flushing when
we are embarrassed but not when we experience other emotions (Leary, Britt, Cutlip, & Templeton, 1992), and
437 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
different hormones are released when we experience compassion than when we experience other emotions (Oatley,
Keltner, & Jenkins, 2006).
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):
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 he or she is experiencing. That is, the person may be certain that he or 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.
The tendency for people to incorrectly label the source of the arousal that they are experiencing is known as the
misattribution of arousal.
Figure 11.5 Capilano Suspension Bridge. Arousal caused by the height of this bridge was
misattributed as attraction by the men who were interviewed by an attractive woman as they
crossed it.
In one interesting field study by Dutton and Aron (1974), 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
11.1 THE EXPERIENCE OF EMOTION • 438
Columbia (Figure 11.5, “Capilano Suspension Bridge”). The woman asked each man to 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 with 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) 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 experience 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 there is no immediate explanation, that individual will “label” this state in terms of the cognitions that
are created in his or her 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 the epinephrine informed condition were told the truth about the effects of
the drug — that they would likely experience tremors, their hands would start to shake, their hearts would
start to pound, and 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, they would have an
itching sensation over parts of their body, and 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 manner (Schachter and Singer called it a “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
439 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
(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 11.6 ,”Results from Schachter and Singer, 1962″ (left side), this is just what they
found. The participants in the misinformed condition were more likely to experience euphoria (as measured
by their behavioural 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 behaviour 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 behaviours during the waiting period) than
did the informed participants. (Figure 11.6, “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 labelled in many different ways, depending entirely on the label provided by the social
situation. As Schachter and Singer put 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).
Figure 11.6 Results 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.
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 a
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
behaviours. 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
11.1 THE EXPERIENCE OF EMOTION • 440
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 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 their nonverbal communication, that is,
communication, primarily of liking or disliking, that does not involve words (Ambady & Weisbuch, 2010; Andersen,
2007). 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 11.1, “Some
Common Nonverbal Communicators,” shows some of the important nonverbal behaviours that we use to express
emotion and some other information (particularly liking or disliking, and dominance or submission).
Table 11.1 Some Common Nonverbal Communicators.
[Skip Table]
Nonverbal cue Description Examples
Proxemics Rules about the appropriate use of
personal space Standing nearer to someone can express 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 Behaviours 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
contained in our voices
Pronunciation, accents, and dialect can be used to communicate
identity and liking.
Just as there is no universal spoken language, there is no universal nonverbal language. For instance, in Canada 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.
441 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
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) 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 behaviours, including our facial expressions, both influence and
are influenced by 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).
Key Takeaways
• Emotions are the normally adaptive mental and physiological feeling states that direct our
attention and guide our behaviour.
• 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 behaviour. 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 also allows us to 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 behaviours, and we learn about the
emotions of others by observing them.
11.1 THE EXPERIENCE OF EMOTION • 442
Exercises and Critical Thinking
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 behaviours to express your emotions or to detect the
emotions of others. What specific nonverbal techniques did you use to communicate?
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Image Attributions
Figure 11.2: Adapted from Russell, 1980.
Figure 11.5: Capilano suspension bridge by Goobiebilly (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Capilano_suspension_bridge_-g.jpg) used under CC-BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
deed.en).
Figure 11.6: Adapted from Schachter & Singer, 1962.
11.1 THE EXPERIENCE OF EMOTION • 444
Long Descriptions
Figure 11.2 long description: The Secondary Emotions
Level of Arousal Unpleasant Pleasant
Mild
• Miserable
• Sad
• Depressed
• Gloomy
• Bored
• Droopy
• Content
• Satisfied
• At ease
• Serene
• Calm
• Relaxed
• Sleepy
• Tired
Intense
• Alarmed
• Afraid
• Angry
• Intense
• Annoyed
• Frustrated
• Distressed
• Astonished
• Excited
• Amused
• Happy
• Delighted
• Glad Pleased
[Return to Figure 11.2]
445 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
11.2 Stress: The Unseen Killer
Learning Objectives
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 behaviour. 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). 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
as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a medical syndrome that includes symptoms of anxiety, sleeplessness,
nightmares, and social withdrawal. PTSD is frequently experienced by victims or witnesses of violence or abuse,
natural disasters, major accidents, or war.
When it is extreme or prolonged, stress can create substantial health problems. A study out of the University of
British Columbia found that emergency personnel such as doctors, nurses, paramedics, and firefighters experience
post-traumatic stress at twice the rate of the average population. In Canada, it is estimated that up to 10% of war
zone veterans — including war service veterans and peacekeeping forces — will experience post-traumatic stress
disorder (CMHA, 2014). 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). 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 Selye (1907-1982) studied stress by examining how rats responded to being exposed to
stressors such as extreme cold, infection, shock, or excessive exercise (Selye, 1936, 1974, 1982). Selye found that
regardless of the source of the stress, the rats experienced the same series of physiological changes as they suffered
the prolonged stress. Selye created the term general 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 11.7,
“General Adaptation Syndrome”).
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. The HPA axis is a physiological response to stress involving interactions among the (H) hypothalamus, the (P)
pituitary, and the (A) adrenal glands (Figure 11.8, “HPA Axis”). The HPA response begins when the hypothalamus
secretes releasing hormones that direct the pituitary gland to release the hormone ACTH. ACTH then directs the
446
Figure 11.7 General Adaptation Syndrome. Hans Selye’s research on the general adaptation
syndrome documented the stages of prolonged exposure to stress. [Long Description]
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).
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). Stress also damages our DNA,
447 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
Figure 11.8 HPA Axis. Stress activates the HPA axis. The result is the secretion of epinephrine,
norepinephrine, and cortisol.
making us less likely to be able to repair wounds and respond to the genetic mutations that cause disease (Epel et
al., 2006). 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).
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). 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). 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 Selye’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) developed a measure of some everyday life events that might lead to stress, and
you can assess your own likely stress level by completing the measure in Table 11.2, “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 examined the medical records of over 5,000 patients to determine whether stressful
events might cause illnesses. Patients were asked to tally a list of 43 life events based on a relative score. A positive
11.2 STRESS: THE UNSEEN KILLER • 448
correlation of 0.118 was found between their life events and their illnesses resulting in the Social Readjustment
Rating Scale (SRRS) (Rahe, Mahan, Arthur, & Gunderson, 1970). Rahe and colleagues (2000) went on to update
and revalidate the scale. Reliability testing, using Cronbach alpha correlations, was performed utilizing a sample of
1,772 individuals. The SRRS is commonly used today.
449 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
Table 11.2 The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale.
[Skip Table]
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 behaviour of a family member 44
Pregnancy 40
Sexual difficulties 39
Gaining a new family member (e.g., through birth, adoption, oldster moving) 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
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 university) 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
11.2 STRESS: THE UNSEEN KILLER • 450
[Skip Table]
Life event Score
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) 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) 11
Total ______
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 11.3, “Interpretation of Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale” to determine
your likelihood of getting ill.
Table 11.3 Interpretation of Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale.
[Skip Table]
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 as daily
hassles, can also create stress as well as poorer health outcomes (Hutchinson & Williams, 2007). 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). Glaser (1985) 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).
451 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
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) 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 the wives did.
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.
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). Williams and his
colleagues (2001) 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 women are to respond to stress by activating the fight-or-flight response,
which is an emotional and behavioural 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). The tend-and-befriend response is a behavioural 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 oxytocin, 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.
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
to 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
11.2 STRESS: THE UNSEEN KILLER • 452
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). 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) directly tested whether people
would be able to effectively suppress a simple thought. He asked them to not think about a white bear for five
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 you.
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) 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) 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 centre 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).
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).
It is easier to respond to stress if we can interpret it in more positive ways. Kelsey et al. (1999) 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 to be feared). 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.
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 behaviour get out of control. The ability to successfully control our emotions is
known as emotion regulation.
453 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
Emotion regulation has some important positive outcomes. Consider, for instance, research by Walter Mischel and
his colleagues. In their studies, they had four- and five-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).
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 university admission test 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).
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, Wilkinson, & Robbins, 2004), and low levels of serotonin are tied
to violence and impulsiveness in human suicides (Asberg, Traskman, & Thoren, 1976).
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). 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) 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 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 response condition), 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 11.9, “Research Results,” shows the results of this study.
11.2 STRESS: THE UNSEEN KILLER • 454
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.
Figure 11.9 Research Results. 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. Adapted from
Muraven, Tice, & Baumeister, 1998.
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).
Can we improve our emotion regulation? It turns out that training in self-regulation —just like physical training—
can help. Students who practised 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).
Key Takeaways
• 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.
455 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
• 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.
Exercises and Critical Thinking
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 when your emotions got the better
of you? How might you make better use of your emotions?
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Long Description
Figure 11.7 long description: Stages of Stress as identified by Hans Selye. Stage 1: General alarm reaction. The
first reaction to stress. The body releases stress hormones, including cortisol. Stage 2: Resistance. After a period of
chronic stress the body adapts to the ongoing threat and tries to return to normal functions. Glucose levels increase to
sustain energy, and blood pressure increases. Stage 3: Exhaustion. In this stage, the body has run out of its reserves
of energy and immunity. Blood sugar levels decrease, leading to decreased stress tolerance, progressive mental and
physical exhaustion, illness, and collapse. The body’s organs begin to fail, and eventually illness or death occurs.
[Return to Figure 11.7]
459 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
11.3 Positive Emotions: The Power of Happiness
Learning Objectives
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).
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). Others have focused on 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).
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). Glass, Reim, and Singer (1971) 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).
Suzanne Kobasa and her colleagues (Kobasa, Maddi, & Kahn, 1982) 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.
460
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). 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). And hardy individuals seem to cope
better with stress and other negative life events (Dolbier, Smith, & Steinhardt, 2007). The positive effects of positive
thinking are particularly important when stress is high. Baker (2007) 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 and colleagues (2001) 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) 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.
The benefits of taking positive approaches to stress can last a lifetime. Christopher Peterson and his colleagues
(Peterson, Seligman, Yurko, Martin, & Friedman, 1998) found that the level of optimism reported by people who
had first been interviewed when they were in university 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 university 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
eight years longer than their more negative peers (Levy & Myers, 2005; Levy, Slade, & Kasl, 2002). And Diener,
Nickerson, Lucas, and Sandvik (2002) 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), 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 of
social support — also report being happier than those who report having less social support (Diener, Suh, Lucas,
& Smith, 1999; Diener, Tamir, & Scollon, 2006). Married people report being happier than unmarried people (Pew,
2006), 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).
Social support also helps us better cope with stressors. Koopman, Hermanson, Diamond, Angell, and Spiegel
(1998) found that women who reported higher social support experienced less depression when adjusting to a
diagnosis of cancer, and Ashton and colleagues (2005) 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, Lau, & Lee, 2009; Bertera, 2007; Compton, Thompson, & Kaslow, 2005; Sk.rs.ter,
Langius, .gren, H.agstr.m, & Dencker, 2005).
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 favours 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. Gen..z and .zlale (2004) found that students with more friends felt less stress and reported that their
461 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
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). For instance, as
you can see in Figure 11.10, “Income and Happiness,” 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 Canada between 1946 and 1990, there was no increase in reports of well-being by the citizens
of these countries. People 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) 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.
Figure 11.10 Income and Happiness. Although personal income keeps rising, happiness does not.
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) 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). For one, people overestimate their emotional reactions to events. Although people think that positive
11.3 POSITIVE EMOTIONS: THE POWER OF HAPPINESS • 462
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) 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).
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) 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.
If pleasure is fleeting, at least misery shares some of the same quality. We might think we cannot 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). 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). 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). 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). Clearly the main ingredient in happiness lies beyond, or perhaps beneath, external factors.
Key Takeaways
• 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.
463 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
Exercises and Critical Thinking
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?
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Image Attributions
Figure 11.10: Layard, 2005.
11.3 POSITIVE EMOTIONS: THE POWER OF HAPPINESS • 466
11.4 Two Fundamental Human Motivations: Eating and Mating
Learning Objectives
1. Understand the biological and social responses that underlie eating behaviour.
2. Understand the psychological and physiological responses that underlie sexual behaviour.
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. More than one in 10
Canadian households contain people who live without enough nourishing food, and this lack of proper nourishment
has profound effects on their abilities to lead productive lives (Yarema, 2013). When people are extremely hungry,
their motivation to attain food completely changes their behaviour. 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) 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 behaviour of eating has both biological and social
determinants (Figure 11.11, “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).
Hunger is also determined by hormone levels (Figure 11.12, “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, and leptin (Brennan & Mantzoros,
2006; Nakazato et al., 2001).
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
467
Figure 11.11 Biological, Psychological, and Social-Cultural Contributors to Eating. [Long
Description]
simply weigh more than others, and there is little they can do to change their fundamental weight. Weight is
determined in large part by the basal 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 behaviour. 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). 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).
Cultural norms about appropriate weights also influence eating behaviours. 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 91 cm-46 cm-84 cm at
bust-waist-hips, measurements that are attained by less than one in 100,000 women (Norton, Olds, Olive, & Dank,
1996). 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% of people,
90% of them women (Hoek & van Hoeken, 2003; Palmer, 2008; Patrick, 2002). Anorexia nervosa is an eating
disorder characterized by extremely low body weight, distorted body image, and an obsessive fear of gaining
weight. Anorexia begins with a severe weight loss diet and develops into a preoccupation with food and dieting.
11.4 TWO FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN MOTIVATIONS: EATING AND MATING • 468
Figure 11.12 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.
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 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), and it is not impossible that at
least some have been selected through their evolutionary significance in coping with food shortages (Guisinger,
2008). Eating disorders are also related to psychological causes, including low self-esteem, perfectionism, and the
perception that one’s body weight is too high (Vohs et al., 2001), as well as to cultural norms about body weight and
eating (Crandall, 1988). 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), uncontrolled obesity leads to health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, sleep
469 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
apnea, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and some types of cancer (Gustafson, Rothenberg, Blennow, Steen, & Skoog,
2003). Obesity also reduces life expectancy (Haslam & James, 2005).
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/m2 and as obese when it is greater
than 30 kg/m2. If you know your height and weight, you can calculate your BMI (https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/
educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm)
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 (James, 2008; Nestle & Jacobson, 2000).
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). Substantial weight loss
of more than 50 pounds is typically seen only when weight loss surgery has been performed (Douketis, Macie,
Thabane, & Williamson, 2005). 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). 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). Exercise also slows the
cognitive impairments that are associated with aging (Kramer, Erickson, & Colcombe, 2006).
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). Exercising is more
fun when it is done in groups, so team exercise is recommended (Kirchhoff, Elliott, Schlichting, & Chin, 2008).
A recent report found that only about one-half of North Americans perform the 30 minutes of exercise five times a
week that the World Health Organization (2010) suggests as the minimum healthy amount. As for the other half of
North 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 six-month mark (American Heart Association,
1998; Colley, Garriguet, Janssen, Craig, Clarke, & Tremblay, 2011).
Statistics Canada (2010) also reports just 7% of young people between the ages of five and 17 meet the daily
recommended amount of physical activity. New international and proposed Canadian guidelines recommend adults
accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a week to obtain substantial health
benefits. The guidelines also suggest five- to 17-year-olds should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-tovigorous
physical activity daily. Statistics Canada says the guidelines for adults were achieved by 17% of men and
14% of women, while the youth guidelines were met by just 9% of boys and 4% of girls. This is a problem, given
that exercise has long-term benefits only if it is continued.
Sex: The Most Important Human Behaviour
Perhaps the most important aspect of human experience is the process of reproduction. Without it, none of us would
11.4 TWO FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN MOTIVATIONS: EATING AND MATING • 470
be here. Successful reproduction in humans involves the coordination of a wide variety of behaviours, 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), 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:
1. Excitement. The genital areas become engorged with blood. Women’s breasts and nipples may
enlarge and the vagina expands and secretes lubricant.
2. Plateau. Breathing, pulse, and blood pressure increase as orgasm feels imminent. The penis becomes
fully enlarged. Vaginal secretions continue and the clitoris may retract.
3. 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).
4. 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 hormones estrogen 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. Estrogen levels in women vary across the menstrual cycle, peaking
during ovulation (Pillsworth, Haselton, & Buss, 2004). 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; Jockenh.vel et al., 2009). 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).
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). Men fantasize about sex more often than women, and their fantasies are more physical and less
intimate (Leitenberg & Henning, 1995). 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).
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). 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 men do (most men do help
out, of course, but women simply do more [Buss & Kenrick, 1998]). Because they do not need to invest a lot of time
471 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
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.
The Many Varieties of Sexual Behaviour
Sex researchers have found that sexual behaviour varies widely, not only between men and women but within each
sex (Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948/1998; Kinsey, 1953/1998). 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). 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).
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 behaviours 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).
Although homosexuality has been practiced as long as records of human behaviour 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 Canada, 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
Canadian Psychological Association issued a policy statement in February 1982 endorsing the principle that there
be no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for (a) recruitment; (b) hiring; (c) salary; (d) promotion
rate; (e) fringe benefits; or (f) assignment of duties. 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), these improved
attitudes can benefit the everyday lives of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.
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). 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 straight men are (Gladue, 1994; Lasco, Jordan, Edgar, Petito, & Byrne, 2002; Rahman &
Wilson, 2003). 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). There is also evidence that sexual orientation is
influenced by exposure and responses to sex hormones (Hershberger & Segal, 2004; Williams & Pepitone, 2000).
Psychology in Everyday Life: Regulating Emotions to Improve Our Health
Although smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, using recreational drugs, engaging in unsafe sex, and eating
11.4 TWO FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN MOTIVATIONS: EATING AND MATING • 472
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). To avoid these negative outcomes, we must use our cognitive resources to plan, guide, and restrain
our behaviours. And we (like Gavin England) 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). 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; Hassm.n,
Koivula, & Uutela, 2000). And exercise also has a variety of positive influences on our cognitive processes,
including academic performance (Hillman, Erickson, & Kramer, 2008).
Alcohol abuse, and particularly binge drinking (i.e., having five or more drinks in one sitting), is often the
norm among high school and university students, but it has severe negative health consequences. Bingeing
leads to deaths from car crashes, drowning, falls, gunshots, and alcohol poisoning (Valencia-Mart.n, Gal.n,
& Rodr.guez-Artalejo, 2008). Binge-drinking students are also more likely to be involved in other risky
behaviours, such as smoking, drug use, dating violence, or attempted suicide (Miller, Naimi, Brewer, &
Jones, 2007). Binge drinking may also damage neural pathways in the brain (McQueeny et al., 2009) and
lead to lifelong alcohol abuse and dependency (Kim et al., 2008). 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).
Some teens abstain from sex entirely, particularly those who are very religious, but most experiment with it.
In Canada, 30% of 15- to 17-year-olds and 68% of 18- to 19-year-olds reported that they had had intercourse
(Rotermann, 2012). In sum, while less than half of Canadian teens report having intercourse before age 18,
more than two-thirds do so before age 20. When these data are added to data from previous cycles of the
Canadian Community Health Survey we can see that the percentages of Canadian young people in the 15-
to 17- and 18- to 19-year-old age groups who reported ever having sexual intercourse remained remarkably
stable from 1996/1997 to 2009/2010. 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 behaviour. Sex partners who have been drinking are less likely to practice safe sex, and they have
an increased risk of STIs, including HIV infection (Hutton, McCaul, Santora, & Erbelding 2008; Raj et al.,
2009).
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 behaviours 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
behaviours and avoid unhealthy ones are the best things we can do for ourselves.
473 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
Key Takeaways
• 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 about 1% of people
(90% women).
• 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.
• 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 behaviour 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.
Exercise and Critical Thinking
1. Consider your own eating and sex patterns. Are they healthy or unhealthy? What can you do to
improve them?
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Long Descriptions
Figure 11.11 long description: Biological, Psychological, and Social-Cultural Contributors to Eating Behaviour
Biological influences: Psychological influences: Social-cultural influences:
• hypothalamus sends cues to start or stop
eating
• the appetite hormones, insulim, leptin,
orexin, and ghrelin, control hunger and
eating
• individual differences in basal metabolic
rate
• sight and smell of food
• time elapsed since last meal
• individual differences in
self-esteem, mood,
perfectionism
• norms about
appropriate body
weight
• culturally
preferred and
available foods
[Return to Figure 11.11]
479 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
11.5 Chapter Summary
Affect guides behaviour, 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 behaviour. 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 proposes 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.
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 women are 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
480
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 are naturally happier than others, but it is also facilitated
by social support — our positive social relationships with others.
People often do not 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 behaviour. 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 behaviours. 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 behaviours, 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 behaviour 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 are primarily homosexual
or bisexual. The love and sexual lives of homosexuals and bisexuals are little different from those of heterosexuals,
except where their behaviours are constrained by cultural norms and local laws.
481 • INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - 1ST CANADIAN EDITION
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