Effect of Administering Suprarenal Extract. — The most striking effect is the marked rise in blood-pressure which is caused by the contraction of the peripheral arteries. The heart's action is also slowed. Adrenin seems to have a direct effect upon the sympathetic nerve endings in the unstriped muscular tissue, causing especially tonic contraction in the case of peripheral veins, and rhythmic contractions of the superior vena cava near the heart. Other unstriped muscular tissue, supplied by sym- pathetic fibers, is also affected: The spleen, the vagina, the uterus, vas deferens and the retractor penis are contracted, whereas there is inhibition in the intestines, the stomach, the oesophagus and the gall-bladder. A heavier flow of saliva results. The skeletal muscle has an increased excitability. The autacoid has been found to be able to defer the onset of fatigue in muscle and to assist in its recovery (page 221). It is thus seen that in this autacoid we have a direct influence upon the unstriped muscular tissue which is supplemental to, and possibly regulatory of, the nervous (autonomic sj^mpathetic) control. The muscles which the sympathetic contracts, adrenin contracts; those it inhibits, adrenin inhibits. The autacoid from the posterior pituitary contracts (stimulates) the smooth muscles directly without re- gard to what action the sympathetic may have.
Relation of the Adrenal Apparatus to the Other Glands.— There is a close relationship between the sex glands and the adrenal. During pregnancy the whole gland undergoes enlarge- 190 PSYCHOLOGY nient, especially the cortical portion. Th% secretion of bile is increased by the adrenin. Furthermore, the autacoid of the medulla rapidly converts the liver glycogen into sugar which passes into the blood (page 219 ).5 Removal of the suprarenals affects the pancreas, producing a flow of pancreatic juice. If adrenin is injected this flow is stopped.
THE PITUITARY APPARATUS.
It is only within recent years that the pituitary body (hypo- physis cerebri) has been satisfactorily investigated. It is a small organ, weighing less than half a gram. It lies at the base of the brain just posterior to the optic chiasma. It is connected with the floor of the third ventricle by a hollow stalk, the infundibu- lum. The whole structure is shown on the ventral surface of the brain (page 127). It is divided into an anterior portion and a posterior portion. The anterior part is richly supplied with blood-vessels. It is even more vascular than the adrenal. The two lobes have a different embryological history. The large anterior lobe is formed by invagination of the buccal ectoderm. It is a truly glandular structure. A part of the posterior lobe has the samel origin (pars intermedia). The other part of the posterior liobe (pars nervosa) is really an outgrowth from the floor of the third ventricle of the brain.
Function of the Pituitary Body. — When extracts from the posterior lobe are injected into the circulation, the heart rate is slowed and the blood-pressure raised, but the effects are less 8 It is thought that glycogen forms a temporary reserve supply of carbo- hydrate material which the body requires in large amounts;. It is sup- posed that during digestion the carbohydrate food is absorbed into the blood (portal system) as dextrose and galactose. If these passed directly through the liver unchanged, there would be an excess of sugar secreted by the kidneys, but it is1 assumed that as this blood rich in sugars passes through the liver, the excess of sugar is extracted by the liver cells. It isi dehydrated and exists there in the form of glycogen. Under the action of the nerves or of adrenin, the glycogen is reconverted into dextrose and is then carried by the blood to whatever point it may be needed. This conver- sion of the stored glycogen into sugar is known as glycogenolysis. We have therefore in the liver a large supply of food which can be easily converted and quickly utilized. The way it may be utilized in emotional stress where great muscular activity is called for will be described later.
ORGANS OF RESPONSE 191 marked than in the case of adreniii. These extracts seem to exer- cise a stimulating effect upon the involuntary muscles of the body; the intestine, bladder and uterus are all made to contract directly. It was pointed out on page 189 that adrenin may give either contraction or relaxation, depending upon the action the sympathetic autonomic has upon these fibers. The posterior lobe extract produces contraction in all cases. This excites other glands, the kidneys, mammary glands, and apparently acceler- ates the process of sugar conversion in the liver.
The anterior lobe extract produces no noticeable effect when first administered.
Removal of the whole pituitary body produces death in a few days. There is a fall in temperature, an unsteady gait, rapid emaciation and diarrhoea. Apparently this will happen when the anterior lobe alone is removed. Removal of the posterior lobe alone is not necessarily fatal. The animal shows greater tolerance for sugar; fat is increased. When the operation is made on young animals, there is an arrested development of the sex glands. Clinical observation shows that when the gland is overactive the chief effect noticeable. is gigantism. The growth of the skeleton is much greater. If the condition occurs in adults, there is a very great enlargement of the bones of the face and extremities (acromegaly). When there is a diminished secretion due to pathological conditions there is obes- ity and sexual infantilism. Gigantism is supposed to be due to an overactive anterior lobe; obesity and sexual infantilism to the lack of secretion of the posterior lobe. The anterior lobe would thus seem to furnish an autacoid which stimulates skeletal growth and the connective tissues, and in addition exercises a wide influence upon metabolism in general. The posterior lobe furnishes one or several autacoids which stimulate the plain muscle; excite the secretory activity of other glands; hasten the conversion of glycogen into sugar, and produce a regulatory action of the reproductive organs.
Other Autacoid Secreting Glands: The Pineal Gland. — This small organ is one of the brain structures. It is found on the posterior aspect of the brain stem just anterior to the cor- pora quadrigemina (Fig. 32, 14). It is a glandular structure in 192 PSYCHOLOGY man up to puberty. It then gradually disappears and becomes filled with a calcareous substance, the brain sand. In children, if the functions of this gland are disturbed, there is a rapid development of the reproductive organs, precocity and an in- creased growth of skeleton. It is thus supposed that the gland furnishes an inhibitory autacoid.
Sexual Glands. — Eecent work shows that the reproductive glands control the development of the so-called secondary sex characteristics by means of an internal secretion distributed through the blood. These secretions are, of course, not the secre- tions regularly supplied by the glands. The autacoid seems to be secreted by the cells of Leydig, which lie outside of the seminal tubule. If a young animal is castrated completely, sex stimuli do not affect it, and the secondary sex characteristic's do not develop, if the testes are removed from their normal position and transplanted to other regions, such animals develop nor- mally, and show all of the usual secondary characteristics. When these transplanted glands are examined, it is found that the sex elements are lacking, but that the cells of Leydig have increased in number. This work is quite extensive and the various results cannot even be summarized here. All of the experiments seem to indicate that the autacoids from the ovaries and testes have specific influence in guiding the development of sexual charac- teristics. There is some evidence to show that these autacoids have a significant role to play in the control of other glands.
The Pancreas. — Removal of the pancreas does not produce the immediate death of the animal. In all cases this operation is followed by the appearance of sugar in the urine, even if carbo- hydrate food is excluded from the diet. Emaciation and muscu- lar weakness appear. The glycosuria following the removal of the pancreas may be prevented if a portion of the pancreas is grafted somewhere else in the abdominal cavity, or even under the skin. There is thus an internal secretion from the pancreas which passes into the blood stream, which inhibits glycogenolysis (conversion of the glycogen into sugar) in some way.6 (The •In this discussion of the endocrine glands nothing has been said of the thymus. This is a gland appearing early in life, but disappearing with age. Very little is known of its separate functions.
ORGANS OF RESPONSE 193 autacoid is probably secreted by the so-called islands of Langer- hans which are scattered throughout the pancreas).
Concluding Statements on the Glands and Muscles. — In the present chapter, as in the preceding one, we have been dealing with parts of the organism and their functioning. It remains to call attention to the fact that only rarely do the various parts func- tion in an isolated way. Any stimulation strong enough to reach the motor side of the central nervous system brings about not only narrow reflex and associated activities (segmental reactions) but widespread changes in the organism as a whole. Even so simple an activity as putting on our clothes and lacing up our shoes in the morning involves a most complex series of adjust- ments of a motor and glandular kind such as the proper relations of action between extension and flexion, changes in autonomic activity such as are seen in the regulation of the pupil and in respiration and circulation. Our study of the glands has taught us that muscular activity cannot go on for any length of time without involving changes in those organs; sweat begins to form, sugar is released to serve as food for the muscles, adrenin is con- tributed to the blood stream, which not only neutralizes fatigue products but also acts upon the autonomic system in such a way as to increase the flow of blood to the muscular organs in operation. The thyroid glands secrete and affect not only other glands, either increasing their output or checking it, but also possibly all of the cells of the body as well. The eating of the simplest meal starts another widespread series of changes in the body as a whole, beginning the moment food enters the mouth and continuing until the products of digestion are absorbed and stored for future use and the waste products eliminated.
The material we have gathered in the last three chapters should emphasize the difference between physiology and psy- chology. The science of physiology deals with part reactions such as we have been studying, whereas psychology deals with the adjustments of the organism as a whole. We have entered into these physiological studies in order to get a better grasp upon what is meant by the whole organism. Our remaining studies -will deal almost exclusively with activities which require the cooperation of the body as a whole.
13 CHAPTER VI HEREDITARY MODES OF RESPONSE: EMOTIONS Introduction. — In the last three chapters we have been con- cerned with the details of sensory-motor adjustment. We turn next to man as a reacting organism, and specifically to some of the reactions which belong to his hereditary equipment. Human action as a whole can be divided into hereditary modes of.re- sponse (emotional and instinctive), and acquired modes of re- sponse (habit). Each of these two broad divisions is capable of many subdivisions. It is obvious both from, the standpoint of common-sense and of laboratory experimentation that the hered- itary and acquired forms of activity begin to overlap early in life. Emotional reactions become wholly separated from the stimuli that originally called -them out (transfer, page 211), and the instinctive positive reaction tendencies displayed by the child soon become overlaid with the organized habits of the adult. This process of masking or dovetailing of activities is a part of the general process of organization. The hereditary reaction mnrlpv qnH nnqvHmrl never be made absolute. Fortunately in most connections psy- chology is not called upon to draw a sharp distinction between hereditary and acquired reactions. In making laboratory studies, however, it is sometimes necessary for us to study the details of hereditary response. We find it simpler in such cases to over- emphasize for the time the definiteness of the separation. This is unquestionably a legitimate mode of procedure in science. Few biological problems permit of any other treatment. In order to accomplish this at all we have to adopt a genetic method. We have to start with the baby's advent (we would start before if it were not for possible injury to mother and child) and follow his development step by step, noting the first appearance of the hereditary forms of reaction, their course and effect upon the moulding of the child's whole personality; and the early be- ginnings of acquired modes of response. Undoubtedly learning HEREDITARY MODES OF RESPONSE: EMOTIONS 195 begins in utero (there is no reason to suppose that conditioned reflexes do not begin there), and probably several hereditary modes of action (particular types of reflexes) run their entire course in utero. But we are entering here upon a field which just at present is purely speculative.
What Is an Emotion? — Hard and fast definitions are not possible in the psychology of emotion, but formulations are pos- sible and sometimes help us to group our facts. A formulation which will fit a part of the emotional group of reactions may be stated as follows: An emotion is an hereditary " pattern-reac- tion" involving profound changes of the bodily mechanism as a whole, ~but particularly of the visceral and glandular systems* By pattern-reaction we mean that the separate details of response appear with some constancy, with some regularity and in approx- imately the same sequential order each time the exciting stimulus is presented. It is obvious that if this formulation is to fit the facts, the general condition of the organism must be such that the stimulus can produce its effect. A child alone in a house on a stormy night with only a dim candle burning may display the reaction of fear at the mournful hoot of an owl. If the parents are at hand and the room is well lighted, the stimulus may pass unreacted to. Stimulus then in this sense is used in a broad way to refer not only to the exciting object but also to the gen- eral setting (page 10). There is implied also the fact that the general state of the organism must be sensitive (capable of being stimulated) to this form of stimulus at the moment. This con- dition is very important. A young man may be extremely sen- sitive to the blandishments of every female he meets while in the unmarried state and may show considerable excitement and 1 Throughout the chapter we have introduced physiological concepts into the hehavior study of emotions. It is possible that we have given the impres- sion that we are writing a physiology of the emotions. Such is not the case. It is perfectly possible for a student of behavior entirely ignorant of the sympathetic nervous system and of the glands and smooth muscles, or even of the central nervous system as a whole, to write a thoroughly compre- hensive and accurate study of the emotions — the types, their Interrelations with habits, their r6le, etc. We have tried to connect emotional activity with physiological processes because it seems that such formulations are now practical and no longer purely speculative.
196 PSYCHOLOGY over-reaction on such occasions. In most cases, he becomes con- siderably less sensitive after being happily married. This for- mulation may seem somewhat roundabout— somewhat like saying that a stimulus is an emotional stimulus only when you get the pattern-reaction; but this is very nearly the case. Possibly we can illustrate most easily what we mean by choosing an example from animal life. When the naturalist comes suddenly upon a young sooty tern under four days of age, it lies stock still (it is capable of very rapid locomotion): It can be pushed about or rolled over without explicit forms of response appearing. The moment the intruder moves away, the fledgling may hop to its feet and dash away or give one of its instinctive cries. The pat- tern-reaction, that is, the explicit observable pattern, is very simple indeed — a death feint or posture. Such a type of response is quite common in the animal world. In order to bring about such a tremendous variation in behavior in an animal usually so active there must be a profound modification of the organic pro- cesses. We shall see later that the locus of the effect (the im- plicit side, page 198) is principally in the visceral system. Often, however, the skeletal musculature is involved in the pattern.
A serviceable way to mark off an emotional reaction from an instinctive reaction is to include in the formulation of emotion a factor which may be stated as follows: The shock of an emotional stimulus throws the organism for the moment at least into a chaotic state.2 When in the first shock of an emotional state, the subject makes few adjustments to objects in his environment. In contrast to this stand the instincts as we shall see farther on. The subject in an instinctive act usually does something: he * It is most interesting that with many psychologists and with a good many physiologists and neurologists the newer conceptions of experimental zoSlogy make slow progress. Experimental biologists and students of animal behavior have begun to put the emphasis upon accurate statements of what really happens in hereditary adjustments rather than to seek in them the exposition of the dogma that they exist because they are useful or serviceable. No one who has watched animals display their hereditary forms of activity from birth to the adult stage could hold that more than a few, considering the thousands which exist, fit such a philosophic and really vitalistic mould. The case of the human infant is not different.
HEREDITARY MODES OF RESPONSE: EMOTIONS 197 throws his hand up for defense, blinks his eyes or ducks his head; runs away; he bites, scratches, kicks and grasps whatever his hand touches. We may express our formulation in convenient terms somewhat as follows: when the adjustments called out by the stimulus are internal and confined to the subject's body, we have emotion, for example, blushing; when the stimulus leads to adjustment of the organism as a whole to objects, we have instinct, for example, defense responses, grasping, etc. Emotions seldom appear alone. The stimulus usually calls out emotional instinc- tive and habit factors simultaneously.
Additional Formulations. — The above formulation fits only the more stereotyped forms of emotional response as seen, for example, in the states popularly called blushing, anger, fear and shame. When we take into account the whole group of phe- nomena in which we see emotional manifestations in adults, a pronounced modification is necessary. Apparently the heredi- tary pattern as a whole, gets broken up. At any rate it largely disappears (the parts never wholly disappear) except under un- usual conditions, and there can ~be noted only a reinforcement or inhibition of the habit and instinctive (exaggerated and de- pressed reflexes, for example} activities taking place at the moment. We mean to imply here only the generally observed facts typified by such popular expressions as ' ' He is working at a low ebb to-day," "His tone is low," "He's a gloom"; in psychopathology when this phase is more marked, depressions are spoken of. The opposite picture is popularly portrayed by such expressions as "Jones is full of pep to-day," "he is excited," "happy," "he is working with a punch "; in psychopathology, the exaggerated type of this behavior is termed manic. It will be noted that these expressions refer to the activity level at which all of an individual's acts are accomplished, that is, they do not refer to the pattern type of emotion. Only in pathological cases, or in the case of normals in periods of a cataclysmic nature, such as war, earthquake, and the sudden death of loved ones, do we get a complete return to the original and more infantile type of emotional response.
Observation would seem to suggest the following formula- 198 PSYCHOLOGY tion: Organized activity (hereditary and acquired) may go on and usually does go on at a given level. We may call the most usual the normal level or level of equilibrium. It varies with different individuals and one can determine it even with respect to a single individual only after observing him for a considerable time. We may note further that an individual at one time may exhibit more energy, push or pep than normal, for example, dur- ing and immediately after a cold shower; we may call this the excited level. Again at times he works at a level lower than nor- mal, for example, when in trouble, after money losses or illness; we may call this the depressed level.
Without neurologizing too much, we may venture the assump- tion that in adults environmental factors have brought about the partial inhibition of the more external features of the prim- itive pattern types of emotion. The implicit, mainly glandular and smooth muscular side of the pattern, remains. The emo- tionally exciting object releases important internal secretions which, without initiating new (part) reactions, reinforce or in- hibit those actually in progress. This hypothesis would account for changes in level. Only in rare cases do we see mere changes in level. Usually when such changes occur, certain auxiliary or additional part reactions appear, such as we see in whistling while at work, keeping time with the feet, drumming on the table, biting the finger nails. These types of reaction are singled out and spoken of in some detail under the head Emotional Outlets The Genetic Study of Emotion in the Child. — Unfortunately for the subject of psychology, few experiments have been made upon the emotional life of the child under anything like as favorable conditions as obtain in the study of animals. Our obser- vations upon the child are similar to those which were made upon animals before Thorndike and Lloyd Morgan introduced the ex- perimental method. Until very recently, in spite of volumes written upon it, discussion has been of the armchair variety. The superstition that the human infant is too fragile for study is giv- ing way to a more sensible viewpoint. It has proven practicable in some laboratories to take infants from birth and to study them HEREDITARY MODES OF RESPONSE: EMOTIONS 199 from the same point of view that animals are studied, giving due consideration to those, factors in behavior which do not appear in animal response, But unfortunately this work is handicapped because there are no facilities in maternity wards for keeping the mother and child under close observation for years, a condi- tion which is indispensable for real systematic work.
Summary of Positive Results; Early Types of Emotional Reactions. — After observing a number of infants, especially dur- ing the first months of life, we suggest the following group of emotional reactions as belonging to the original and fundamental nature of man: fear, rage and love (using love in approximately the same sense that Freud uses sex).3 We use these terms which are current in psychology with a good deal of hesitation. The student is asked to find nothing in them which is not fully statable in terms of situation and response. Indeed, we should be willing to call them emotional reaction states X, Y and Z. They are far more easily observable in animals than in infants.
Fear. — What stimulus apart from all training will call out fear responses; what are these responses, and how early may they be called out? The principal situations which call out fear responses seem to be as follows: (1) To suddenly remove from the infant all means of support, as when one drops it from the hands to be caught by an assistant (in the experiment the child is held over a bed upon which has been placed a soft feather pillow); (2) by loud sounds; (3) occasionally when an infant is just falling asleep or is*just ready to waken, a sudden push or a slight shake is an adequate stimulus; (4) when an infant is just falling asleep, occasionally 'the sudden pulling of the blanket upon which it is lying will produce the fear responses. (2) and