Together with Christine Branigan, I have tested these twin hypotheses in a straightforward laboratory experiment. We induced the specific emotions of joy, contentment, fear, and anger by showing research participants short, emotionally film clip as a neutral comparison condition. Immediately following each film clip, we measured the breadth of participants’ thought-action repertoires. We did this by asking them to step away from the specifics of the film and take a moment to imagine themselves being in a situation in which similar feelings would arise. Given this feeling, we asked them to list all the things they would like to do right then. Participants were given 20 blank lines that began with the phrase “ I would like to” in which to record their responses.