Arousal, Behavior, Stress, and Affects Worksheet

University of Phoenix Material

Arousal, Behavior, Stress, and Affect Worksheet

Using the text for this course, the University Library, the Internet, and/or other resources answer the following questions. Your response to each question should be at least 250 words in length.

1. What are the differences between physiological and psychological needs? Provide examples of each in your response. Physiological needs affect the body. Physiological needs are in the brain and body. Psychological needs have not material existence and are mental in nature. Physiological needs are maintenance of condition within the body. Psychological needs affect the mind. Psychological needs are air, food, water, shelter, sanitation, sleep and touch. Psychological needs are also autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Psychological needs have no material existence and are mental in nature. Physiological would when a person is thirsty they would get a drink. If the person is thirsty and decides to not drink the water then this need becomes psychological. “Marlow’s hierarchy of needs postulates that the needs of a person are organized into an ascending structure, going from the lower physiological needs to the needs of safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization,” (Deckers, 2005). The lower needs have to be addressed before the higher needs can be attended to. Psychological needs include the balance of food intake, water consumption, sleep, activities, and sexual needs. An example of the physiological counterpart to psychological need is the hypothesized hypothalamic control of sensations of hunger and satiety. The research entailing lesions in rates the hypothalamus controls the sensations of hunger and satiety through exercising control of adipose tissues deposited in the body.
2. What is the relationship between arousal and behavior? Does this relationship impact performance and affect? Arousal is the energy that develops in preparation of our behavior. Physiological arousal is the body changes during arousal. The brain arousal is the stages of sleep awake and alertness within get brain. Arousal is energy produced by within the interaction of external and internal stimuli and the energy from psychological and physiological needs. The arousal is the drive to satisfy both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations physiological and psychological arousal. Physiological arousal includes sweaty palms, increased muscle tension, increased breathing and heart rate. Psychological arousal includes anxiety, fearfulness, and tension. Yerkes-Dodson Law of arousal states that low arousal produces maximum performance on difficult task and high arousal produces maximal preface on easy task, Hulls drive theory states that arousal is predicated on the complexity of a task and correct or incorrect responses. Arousal can increase focus and attention because arousal energizes the person behavior having a direct effect on it. The relationship between arousal and behavior is a direct one as arousal impacts the performance and how a person will behave with the different amounts of arousal.
3. Assess the long-term and short-term effects of stress on the body, brain, and behavior.

Stress encompasses a dichotomous paradigm of distress and eustress. Distress entails that cross-section of stress where arousal is either too high or too low, manifesting itself as negative feelings, diseases, and maladaptive behaviors. On the other hand, eustress entails that part of stress which includes arousal that is not too high or too low, but is just right. Internal and external stimuli can become stressors when they are not moderated or coped with properly. A short-term reaction to extremely traumatic events would be acute stress disorder; whereas, a longer-term reaction would be posttraumatic stress disorder. Hans Selye theorized that the body arousal of stress operates within a structure of the general adaptation syndrome. GAS entails an alarm reaction phase, sympathetic nervous system arousal, stress hormones are released, and the immune system is repressed; a resistance stage, stress reaction become localized, hormone levels drop back to normal, and the stressor is successfully moderated using adaptation energy; an exhaustion stage, adaptation energy is exhausted, stress hormones rise in the bloodstream, and the stress becomes a source of stress itself. Behaviors that help moderate stress would include primary and secondary appraisal, or the subjective evaluation of the ability for life events to be either positive or negative, and coping, which involves dealing with life change demands and any associated distress. Psychosomatic symptoms such as headaches and hypertension can result from unmanaged stress that affects the subjective quality of life. The immune system is also affected by stress, reduced t-cell and natural killer cell production.

Reference: Deckers, L. (2005). Motivation: Biological, psychological, and environmental, Second Edition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.