Emotion Involves Much Bodily Activity

Strong emotions such as fear and anger have been found to have as their physical signs a great variety of external and internal bodily activities. The following classification includes the symptoms commonly mentioned and shows their contradictory nature as well as their variety.

1. Expression of the Face:

a. Brows contracted, brows raised, or brows level.

b. Eyes narrowed, eyes wide and glaring, or eyes fixed with glance cold and steady.

c. Mouth closed with lips thin and jaws set, mouth open, mouth open slightly with lips curled or twisted.

d. Nostrils distended.

e. Face flushed, pale or of blotchy appearance.

f. Perspiration on forehead and upper lip.

2. Vocal-motor Reactions:

a. Nasal and gutteral sounds, cries, screaming.

b. Cursing, sarcasm, insults, words of distress, etc.

c. Voice loud, hoarse, husky, low.

3. Cardio-respiratory, and Vaso-motor Reactions:

a. Very marked chest movements, deep and rapid breathing, catching of the breath.

b. Increased strength and rate of heart beat.

c. Blood vessels of face, neck, and arms distended, face flushed or pale.

4. Skeletal Posture and Movement:

a. Body erect and rigid, slightly crouched and bent forward (anger) or withdrawing (fear), trembling, erection of hair, running toward object (anger) or away from object (fear).

b. Hands clenched or claw-like, emphatic gestures of attack or avoidance, kicking, etc.

5. Internal Changes: Checking of digestion, increased rate of heartbeat, higher blood pressure, increased secretion of adrenalin, increased secretion of blood sugar, increase in clotting qualities of the blood, increased sensitivity of muscles to nerve impulses.

The bodily changes during a state of joy differ only slightly from those outlined above, the chief points of difference being in the external appearance and skeletal activity.

Grief and sorrow are states of depressed rather than increased physical activity; skeletal muscles are generally relaxed. Such movement as occurs is weak and slow. The relaxation of facial muscles permits the corners of the mouth and the eyelids to droop. Organic activities during grief and sorrow have not been extensively studied, but it seems probable that digestion is impaired, blood pressure is lowered and the energy-regulating mechanisms generally are working at a low level.

Examination of this list of bodily changes during emotion shows a coöperation between visceral and skeletal systems. The visceral changes are of such a nature as either to increase (anger, fear, joy) or decrease (grief, sorrow) the energy output of the body. The strong emotions represent relatively great changes in energy output while the mild emotions represent relatively slight changes of this nature. Skeletal activity is vigorous or weak according to the amount of energy output permitted by the visceral activity; its specific form is determined by the inherited or learned reaction patterns of the individual. It can be classified as being generally of a positive (approach) or negative (avoidance) type.