Weeks 3 & 4

Physiology and sociality
Though I did not find physiological psychology the most interesting topic of psychology, I found the chapter on this area from our text intriguing.  The fact that the text is well-written, with real examples helps to make it easier to comprehend.  The information on dopamine in particular was incredibly interesting to me.  The amount of change that one neurotransmitter can cause in human behaviour is astounding.  Whether we choose to engage in any given behaviour has much to do with the levels of dopamine release involved.  The fact that it is not actually the release of the dopamine itself that causes the most pleasure also surprised me.  After watching a talk on how we make decisions, which i will link later, I also learnt that stimulus that produce a surprise hit of dopamine are also the strongest.  This has to do with a system where the brain learns to expect the release of dopamine when an individual engages in behaviours that lead to a reward.  This includes things like eating dinner leading to dessert afterwards.  So if someone were to skip their dinner and have ice-cream at lunch time, this would feel much more rewarding than the usual dessert.

The hormones listed in the textbook were also of interest to me.  Cortisol being a socially related threat hormone caught my eye, as I am also studying social psychology.  Though it is mentioned that there are other reasons for cortisol to be released, the main reason cited is when an individual is exposed to socially evaluative threats.  It is also mentioned that the hormone itself causes poor intellectual functioning, which seems to be counteractive to the reason it is released.  The idea that cortisol is released when someones social standing is challenged, yet makes them less able to defend themselves intellectual is quite amusing.

Another socially related note is that motivation is impossible to seperate from the social context involved.  There are so many factors involved in human motivation.  There social influences on how we eat, drink feel and many other things.  It has been found that having close friends or family that are obese, you are more likely to become obese.  This can be considered a social influence on eating habits.  An individual's peer group can also effect how they feel.  If there is a trend towards negative feelings in the group, then it is common for the individual to feel similarly, simply to fit in socially.

This week I watched a talk on the process of decision making.  I believe the topics covered are highly important in the areas of motivation and emotion, so I've provided a link.  This should be viewed by anyone with an interest in how humans function.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bigideas/stories/2010/08/31/2997480.htm


Needs are defined as any condition within an individual that is essential and neccesary for life.  There are three differing types of needs, physiological needs, psychological needs and social needs.

Physiological needs involve the biological systems of the body, such as the neural brain circuits and hormones.  When physiological needs remain unmet for too long a time they shall generate motivational states that govern consciousness.  For example, when the need for food goes without being satisfied for too long, the individual will constantly have food on their mind.

Psychological and social needs involve the processes of the central nervous system.  These needs are always present in the consciousness of an individual at some level.  They gain salience mostly where individuals believe that these needs can be fulfilled.  For example an individual is often thinking of spending time with their friends, but this need becomes more obvious to them when they are in a social place, such as a university campus.

Motivation itself is categorised in two different groups.  The first is deficiency motivation.  When the body realises that it is lacking in some way.  This activates in the individual a need to interact with the world to reduce the deficit.  Growth motivation refers to motivational states which energize and direct an individuals behaviour to advance development.

In drive theory, a psychological drive occurs due to a physiological need.  A psychological drive is the conscious manifestation of the underlying need, for example cognitively thinking that you are hungry.  Homeostasis is the name given to the optimal level of functioning for an individual.  This level is what the body is constantly trying to maintain, and what psychological drives strive to keep constant.  So when a drive for food occurs, it is due to there being a lack of nutrients, or some other factor within the body.  Negative feedback is what acts to stop a behaviour when the psychological need is fulfilled.  The signal to stop actually occurs long before the physiological need is fully replenished.  This is to allow the body to not over stimulate, such as eating too much.