We all live through moments of happiness and unhappiness, each varying in intensity. Which experience, would you say, can be the stronger of the two?
Before you answer, let’s clarify first what “strength of an emotion” means. In accordance with the definition of happiness in a previous post, I propose that one “happy moment” is of equal strength to one “unhappy moment” if we would be indifferent to re-living both of them (if offered as a “package”), i.e. the positive moment exactly compensates the experience from the negative one.
With this in mind, I believe most people would say that being in a state of maximum unhappiness (which would most likely be a state of severe pain) can considerably outweigh maximum states of happiness (be it sexual pleasure, feelings of success, etc.) of same duration. Do you agree?
Evolutionary Perspective
We may also try to explain this subjective assessment from a more “objective” and evolutionary perspective. As both pleasure and pain are nature’s tools to motivate us to do what is best for our (genes’) reproduction, the question is: Does nature steer us more by telling us what not to do (punishment), or by actively rewarding us for what nature understands as positive actions or happenings?
This post does not aim to provide a comprehensive answer, but rather seeks to look at the intensity of the emotions, and the question: Which can be stronger? And here a phenomenon comes into play which may be regarded as one of the most unfortunate for humanity (and for any other species capable of feeling pleasure and pain): Negative happenings can be much worse for reproduction than positive ones can be beneficial.
For example, the act most clearly directed at reproduction, having sex, is only one “shot” 
at reproduction. On the other hand, negative events which may lead to death (i.e. getting wounded) pose a potential threat to all our future reproduction efforts. In this light, it would be logical for nature to develop stronger punishment mechanisms than those for reward.1
Of course, nature may also reward us (i.e. positive emotion) for avoiding negative events. For example, if we build a house and feel protected from weather and enemies, it may give us a feeling of security, which is a good feeling. However, as we are primarily concerned with the intensity of emotions here, I believe these positive emotions cannot reach the same level of intensity compared to those where nature is very “sure” they have a direct negative impact on our reproduction chances.
The Uneven Happiness Scale
The implication on the “happiness scale” put forward in the mentioned earlier post would be that the positive part of the scale (“happiness”) is shorter than the negative (“unhappiness”). For example, if we assume for a minute that a moment of maximum pain can be compensated by 5 moments of maximum joy, the scale would look like this:
Does this mean that on average we are more unhappy than happy? Not necessarily, as we may be longer positivitive than negative states (the scale only reflects one moment of a set duration). However, it’s true this scale does not make the picture look more positive…
Is this thinking correct?
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1) Another way to demonstrate the potentially higher strength of the negative emotions may be by combining the “good” and the “bad” experiences, and seeing which is stronger. Taking the example from above, if we get stabbed in the back (“bad”) while having sex (“good”) to me there is no question as to what emotion the mind focuses on… unless the sex is really good (just kidding).
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Your rather jokingly assumed choice between (good) sex and death comes actually true for some species of male spiders (latrodectus spiders), or the male mantis religiosa. Since the male is risking his life or at least a severe injury, it would make more sense not to reproduce at all, than taking these risks. However, after surviving the (first) injury inflicted by the female, the chances for a successful reproduction rises by about 50 % the second time. Of course nobody has ever asked a male argiope- oder cyrtophora- spider whether it’s worth it…
Dear Nick,
concerning the balance between good and bad moments, the psychologist John Gottmann worked out the formula that it takes 5 positive remarks to outweigh one negative remark. Whether or not this is also applicable to human life in general would be worth a discussion. See also: http://www.accomplishlife.com/articles/55/1/The-Magic-Ratio-of-Positive-and-Negative-Moments/Page1.html
Perhaps this will provide you with more information.
Dear Nick,
I can’t understand why, but I seem to disagree about the very assumptions that you take for granted (such as the fact that one should be happy to earn more than one neighbours, or that one should have as many sources of happiness as possible). Similarly, I am pretty sure that most people would be happy to relive a moment of intense physical pain and of major happiness such as giving birth. On the other hand, I, for one, would not like to re-live a moment of intense psychical pain, such as the loss of a dear person.
Hi Elisa,
thank you for your comment.
I didnt mean to say that one should be happy to earn more than one neighbours. This is only an observation I made (many people feel that way), and with the article I try to explain it. The hypothesis is that our tendency to compare ourselves to others has its roots in reproduction. It’s just a hypothesis, but without a hypothesis we dont have anything to discuss
Regarding your second point: there is no contradiction if we keep in mind how we define happiness (or how I do): happiness is if we want to re-live the moment. If you say you would like to re-live the experience of giving birth to a child (despite the physical pain) then it is happiness by definition.
Cheers,
Nick
Hi Nick, hi Elisa,
my question would be: how much of the (in this case Elisa’s) experienced happiness during childbirth is the result of biochemical processes and how much is due to cultural imprint? How much is actually experienced in the process and how much is only retrospective association? Since the hormonal reactions create exactly the personal ‘high’ you refererred to as ‘being on drugs’ Nick, this could be a rather one dimensional explanation for this kind of happiness, despite the pain and the wish to relive it. It would be interesting to know too, Elisa, whether having children was something you have always wanted. Whether your upbringing ensured, that you fullfil the traditional role model of a loving mother. Therefore the feeling of accomplishment, of having lived up to (your) expectations might result in exactly this feeling of complete happiness.
My third, again rather simplistic reason for thinking back to childbirth as something extremely positive, might be the fact that it marks the end of pregnancy and the beginning of new life. Nonregarding exhaustion and the end to a tiresome period, probably overshadowed by concern regarding the well- being of the fetus, it is the beginning of a new life. Therefore, ideally, all the expectations, hopes and optimistic feelings are still unchallenged by any infringement of reality.
What I think is worth investigating, is to what degree the brain transforms good or bad news, i.e. events into physical reactions and whether its impact is related to the speed of this transmission. What exactly makes you feel bad, after you’ve been told that a close relative of yours has just died? How is the news of this loss translated into you weeping over the fact that you will never see, nor speak to this person again? While physical pain is instantly transmitted, messages with disturbing content take some time ‘to sink in’ and sometimes cause a shock, fainting or other physical symptoms of distress. Therefore, I would differentiate between those events which one can intellectually grasp instantly and those, which only slowly result in major distress. In my opinion, if you take childbirth as an example of a major life changing event, it cannot be traced back to one or two factors which result in the momentary feeling of happiness.
[...] previous post argued that unhappiness can be the much stronger emotion compared to unhappiness. If this view is [...]