2016SHSAT_English

51015202530354045Almost one hundred fifty years ago,Charles Darwin, the famous Britishnaturalist, proposed a startling new theoryabout the cause of human emotions. Facialexpressions, he argued, are more than thevisible signs of an emotion; to some extentthey actually cause the emotion. For example,a person’s smile reflects a feeling ofhappiness, but it also helps to produce thatfeeling. The theory that facial expressionscontributed to emotions was controversialand, at the time, impossible to prove.Eventually it lost favor, and for more thana century people’s facial expressions wereassumed to be the result, not the cause, oftheir feelings.Theories change, however. Within the lastfew decades, psychologists have been investigatingthe notion that we can put smilesin our hearts by first putting them on ourfaces. In a research study, volunteers wereasked to say words that placed their facialmuscles into either smiles or frowns. Thepurpose of the task was not explained.After the experiment, the volunteers whosaid words like “cheese” were measurablyhappier than those who said words like“few.”To explain these results, the researcherstheorized that there is a relationshipbetween facial expressions and the temperatureof the blood entering the brain.According to their theory, the muscle contractionsproduced by a facial expressionraise or lower the temperature of the bloodthat flows through the person’s face. Thechange in temperature is slight—less thanone degree Celsius. The blood vessels in theface connect to the carotid artery, whichleads to the hypothalamus, an area of thebrain believed to regulate emotions. Theresearchers theorized that warmer blood,which is associated with frowning or scowling,leads to feelings of unhappiness. Asmile, which is created by a different set ofmuscles, lowers the blood temperature andtends to produce a feeling of happiness.510152025303540455055606570In another study, volunteers were toldexactly which facial muscles to contract.For example, volunteers were told, “Raiseyour eyebrows, open your eyes wide, tuck inyour chin, and let your mouth relax” (thefacial expression associated with fear). Thevolunteers were not told which emotionthey were mimicking. As they produced themuscular movements of a particular emotionalexpression, they tended to experiencethat emotion. For example, while making afearful expression, they reported feelingmore fear than anger, sadness, or disgust.Acceptance of the research relating emotionsto facial expressions, especially theblood temperature theory, is far from universal.However, some psychologists hopethat the phenomenon may be useful intreating mild depression. They do agree,though, that facial expressions are notthe most important causes of emotion.Encouraging people to smile while theyare mourning, for example, would do little tolessen their grief.45. Which of the following best tells what thispassage is about?A. the theory that facial expressions maycontribute to emotionsB. the role of the hypothalamus in experiencingemotionsC. the use of facial expressions in a variety ofscientific researchD. the range of emotions felt by volunteers inexperimentsE. the potential uses of facial expressions intreating mild depressionCONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT PAGE 15055606570FORM B86