29. Take your learning a step further by testing your critical thinking skills on this scientific problem solving exercise.

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Subjects in a recent study were shown an erotic movie while they were in each of three phases of recovery from aerobic exercise. Subjects first pedaled an exercise bicycle intensely enough to produce significant physical arousal. During each of the three recovery phases, the subjects were asked (1) whether they still felt physically aroused from the exercise, and (2) how sexually excited by the film they felt. The subjects' actual physical arousal (heart rate) was measured throughout the experiment. During the first two phases of recovery, all of the subjects still showed signs of actual physical arousal, although by the second phases, they said they no longer felt physically aroused from the exercise. By the third phase, the subjects no longer showed signs of physical arousal from the exercise. The subjects reported feeling significantly more sexually excited by the film during the second phase of exercise recovery than they did during the first and third phases.

1. How well would the James-Lange theory explain the results of this experiment? What variations in reported feelings of sexual excitement would this theory have predicted in the three phases of exercise recovery?

2. How well would the Cannon-Bard theory explain the results of this experiment? What variations in reported feelings of sexual excitement would this theory have predicted in the three phases of exercise recovery?

3. How well would Schachter's two-factor theory explain the results of this experiment? What variations in reported feelings of sexual excitement would this theory have predicted in the three phases of exercise recovery?

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Janet and Sheila have been good friends since meeting in their introductory psychology class freshman year. Although they are about the same height and age, their weights differ. Janet, whose parents are both obese, has always been between 0 and 25 percent above normal. Acquaintances assume she is lazy and gluttonous, but Janet's friends know that she is neither. Sheila's weight is normal, as are her parents'.

As a final project in their health psychology class, Janet and Sheila decided to make themselves the subjects of an experiment. For a month, they ate the same total number of calories per day, spread across several small, healthy meals that were low in fat and included whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. They also added a brisk, 30-minute walk to their daily routines. At the end of the month, Janet and Sheila weighed themselves for the first time since the experiment began. Although Janet was pleased to find that she had lost some weight, Sheila had lost more. When they presented their findings to the class, several students speculated that perhaps Janet simply hadn't employed the willpower that Sheila had, and that was why Sheila lost more weight.

What factors in Janet's background might have contributed to her obesity?

What factors in Sheila's background might have contributed to her being of normal weight?

Why did Sheila lose more weight than Janet even though they consumed the same number of calories, the same types of food, and did the same amount of exercise?