BODILY CHANGES IN EMOTION 167 



5. The heart beat is greatly quickened. 



6. The digestive function is completely suspended, both 

 the secretion of the digestive juices and the muscular 

 movements of the alimentary tract being suppressed. 



All these bodily changes are recognized at once as char- 

 acteristic of such emotions as fright or anger. The 

 analysis of them reveals that without exception they are 

 associated with the preservation of the body in time of 

 immediate emergency. 



The erection of the hair, although of no importance 

 in man with his scanty equipment of hair, will be easily 

 recognized as a definite aid to self-preservation in such 

 animals as dogs or cats, in which their usual appearance 

 of mild friendliness is transformed into malignant feroc- 

 ity by the simple process of causing the hair to stand 

 on end. 



The dilation of the pupils probably contributes to the 

 acuteness of vision out of the corners of the eyes, and thus 

 is of assistance to fighting animals. The four other 

 bodily changes in the list all contribute to one end, 

 namely, the favoring of metabolism in the brain and in 

 the skeletal muscles at the expense of other parts of the 

 body. When the face turns pale it means that the blood 

 to which it owes its color has been diverted from the skin 

 to the brain and muscles. The suspension of the action 

 of the salivary glands and of the other digestive organs 

 enables the blood which would ordinarily be required for 

 their nourishment to be shifted to the brain and muscles. 

 The quickening of the heart-beat means greatly improved 

 circulation of the blood, which again benefits the brain 

 and muscles. When one recalls that in time of emer- 

 gency an alert brain and active muscles are vitally im- 

 portant to self-preservation, whereas digestive activity or 

 the ruddiness of the skin may be dispensed with for the 

 moment without harm, it is clear how these bodily 

 changes aid in self-preservation. 



