166 NERVOUS CORRELATION 



experience emotions of one kind or another. One natur- 

 ally inquires, therefore, what is the biological significance 

 of emotion. In attempting to answer this question it is 

 necessary to note that the emotions fall naturally into 

 two opposing groups, (a) the agreeable, (b) the disagree- 

 able. If these two classes are analyzed it is found that 

 those of the first class are associated either with condi- 

 tions favorable to bodily well-being, or with racial per- 

 petuation; the second class of feelings are, on the other 

 hand, seen to be associated with conditions which are 

 inimical to bodily well-being. This is clearly seen if we 

 list the most important of the emotions of this class. 

 They are: fright, anger, emotions connected with pain, 

 emotions connected with hunger, emotions of worry or 

 anxiety. This does not exhaust the list of the disagree- 

 able emotions but covers those which are of primary 

 biological importance. In the next paragraph will be 

 shown how these emotions actually relate themselves to 

 self-preservation. 



Bodily Changes in Emotion. — For a long time it 

 has been known that every genuine emotion is accom- 

 panied by some sort of bodily change. Familiar illus- 

 trations are the shedding of tears in time of sorrow, the 

 blush of embarrassment, the smile of pleasure. If the 

 emotions have any biological significance it would be ex- 

 pected to be in connection with these bodily changes 

 which accompany them. To get at the meaning of the 

 emotions, the chief bodily changes accompanying the five 

 disagreeable emotions listed above are set down and their 

 significance briefly considered. Taking them in order 

 they are as follows: 



1. The hair stands on end. 



2. The pupils are dilated. 



3. The face is pale. 



4. The mouth is dry on account of suspension of the 

 action of the salivary glands. 



