Houston B K, Bloom L J, Burish T G, Cummings E M
J Pers. 1978 Jun;46(2):205-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1978.tb00175.x.
Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that the more stressful an experience is, the more positively it will be evaluated. Stressfulness was manipulated in the two studies by means of threat of shock, and both self-report and physiological measures of stress indicated that these manipulations were highly successful. In both studies subjects who were exposed to the more stressful situation evaluated their experience as significantly more worthwhile and somewhat more interesting than did subjects exposed to the less stressful situation. Furthermore, as expected, subjects did not like the high stress experience more than the low stress experience. Implications and qualifications of these findings are discussed.
经历的压力越大，对其评价就会越积极。在这两项研究中，通过电击威胁来操控压力程度，压力的自我报告和生理测量都表明这些操控非常成功。在两项研究中，与处于压力较小情境的受试者相比，处于压力较大情境的受试者认为他们的经历明显更有价值且稍有趣味。此外，正如预期的那样，受试者对高压力经历的喜爱并不超过低压力经历。讨论了这些发现的意义和局限性。
