Arousal and Behavior Concepts

Arousal Definition

  • Arousal: Mobilization or activation of energy during preparation or actual behavior.
    • Involves action of the brain and body.
    • High arousal leads to a state of readiness for engaging in adaptive behavior.

Arousal and Behavior

  • Arousal influences behavior in three main ways:
    1. Vigor of behavior: Level of energy displayed in actions.
    2. Persistence of behavior: Duration an individual can maintain action.
    3. Effectiveness of behavior: Quality and success of actions.
  • Levels of Arousal:
    • Moderate Arousal: Facilitates vigorous and sustained action.
    • High Arousal: Leads to frenzied, disorganized behavior, often unsustainable.
    • Low Arousal: Results in feeble and brief actions.

Sources of Arousal

Categories of Arousal Sources:

  1. Internal:
    • Deprivation states (e.g., hunger, thirst).
    • Effects of drugs or hormones.
  2. External:
    • Stimuli like food, pain, touch.

Arousal: Specific vs. General

  • Two classes of arousal:
    1. Stimulus Specific Arousal: Directly linked to specific stimuli (e.g., touch).
    2. Generalized Arousal State: A broad level of arousal that applies to multiple stimuli (e.g., central excitatory state).
  • Interaction between types:
    • Stimulus specific arousal can lead to generalized arousal, highlighting how stimulus properties affect general arousal.

Reticular Activating System (RAS)

  • Studied by Fuster (1958) using rhesus monkeys:
    • Experimental Group: Underwent RAS stimulation—improved discrimination abilities between objects presented rapidly.
    • Control Group: No RAS stimulation—slower in learning.

Measuring Cortical Arousal

Techniques:

  1. Positron Emission Tomography (PET):
    • Measures active positrons attached to glucose in the brain.
    • Higher activity indicated by higher glucose consumption.
  2. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI):
    • Detects energy waves from hydrogen atoms that arise from brain oxygen usage.
    • Maps regions of brain activity.
  3. Electroencephalogram (EEG):
    • Amplifies and detects electrical impulses along neural pathways.
    • Indicates brain activity in the cortex provided by:
      • Decreased wave height.
      • Increased wave frequency.
    • Based on electrical impulses and measures overall brain activity.

Psychological Arousal

  • Reflects how subjects feel their level of arousal.

Types:

  1. Energetic Arousal:
    • Ranges from tiredness to liveliness; correlated with positive affect and optimism.
  2. Tense Arousal:
    • Ranges from calmness to anxiety; correlated with negative affect.

Optimal Arousal Theory

  • Proposed by Hebb (1955): A U-shaped function representing the relationship between arousal and performance.
  • Performance is contingent on varying levels of arousal according to individual needs.

Factors Affecting Optimal Arousal:

  1. Task Difficulty:
    • Yerkes-Dodson Law (1908):
      • Higher arousal benefits easy task performance.
      • Lower arousal is better for difficult tasks.
  2. Time of Day:
    • Optimal performance occurs from 12 PM to 2 PM due to peak working memory efficiency.
  3. Personality Factors:
    • Introverts vs. Extroverts:
      • Introverts show greater physiological activation at lower levels of stimulation, indicating they become overstimulated more easily.
      • Extroverts seek more stimulation and perform better at higher levels of arousal.

Geen Study (1984)

  • Investigated the impact of noise levels on introverts and extroverts during a learning task.
    • Participants selected their preferred noise levels, with introverts generally preferring lower levels compared to extroverts.
  • Physiology measured using skin resistance responses (SRR) and heart rate to assess arousal levels.
  • Findings indicated introverts' preference for less intense environments supports their lower optimal arousal levels.

Cognitive Anxiety and Optimal Arousal

Definitions of Anxiety in Sports Psychology:

  1. Cognitive Anxiety: Negative thoughts or concerns about performance (e.g., fear of failure).
  2. Somatic Anxiety: Self-reported physiological symptoms of arousal (e.g., a racing heart).
  • Optimal performance occurs when both types of anxiety are within the personal optimal functioning zone.

Davis and Cox Study (2002)

  • Explored cognitive and somatic anxiety among swimmers.
    • Findings showed that cognitive anxiety levels within the optimal zone correlated with better performance, but somatic anxiety results were inconclusive.

Theoretical Explanations for Optimal Arousal Theory

  1. Hull-Spence Drive Theory (Spence et al., 1956):
    • Arousal serves to magnify correct responses, enhancing performance on easy tasks while potentially hindering performance on difficult ones.
  2. Cue Utilization Hypothesis (Easterbrook, 1959):
    • Arousal shapes attention by limiting the cues available for processing; high arousal may reduce the number of cues attended to, altering task focus.