Arousal, Behavior, Stress, and Affect Worksheet

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

1. What are the differences between physiological and psychological needs? Provide examples of each in your response. According to Decker, 2010, physiological needs are those such as air, food, shelter, and clothing. These are needs of survival. He continues by stating that psychological needs are those of acceptance, love, and self-esteem. Maslow theory breaks down needs into hierarchy of physiological needs: physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization. He believed that one could not advance to the next level if the previous nee was not met. An example of this would be, if someone did not have his or her physiological need met of clothing, they may not a sense of safety, they may not have a sense of belongingness, their esteem may be low which can cause them to have a lack of self-actualization. I can envision a teenager having these problems; their clothes are what they tend to live for, to be accepted.

2. What is the relationship between arousal and behavior? Does this relationship impact performance and affect? Arousal and motivation go hand in hand, one senses must be aroused to do just about anything as with motivation. Deckers, 2010, stated that arousal “helps performance but too much arousal hinders it.” Ones behavior depends on the task at hand and the amount of arousal. Take for example when having a dead line to meet, many people work better when not in a crunch for time. Their arousal to get the work done is then on high and that is how stupid mistakes are made, compared to when if they were more aroused to do the work earlier in the week. Deckers, 2010, points out, that if ones drive or arousal is increased the chances of making wrong responses increases. This show that the relationship between arousal and behavior can impact ones performance. An example, when playing sports the players has the right level of arousal
to perform their best. According Chivers, 2007, “the level of arousal, can drastically affect an athlete’s performance, the level of arousal is often referred to as being in the zone, or optimal arousal.”

3. Assess the long-term and short-term effects of stress on the body, brain, and behavior. . When stressing the brain releases stress hormones, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glucocorticoid, Deckers, 2010, states that these “hormones can enlarge the adrenal glands, shrink the thymus gland and produce stomach ulcers.” Once stress levels are back to normal the stress hormones no longer released. However stomach ulcers are long-term effects of stress that can be treated with medications. Stressors also can cause high blood pressure, headaches and heart disease all three of these medical conditions if left on treated can be fatal. Deckers, 2010, continues to state that stress can also impact ones behavior by making him or her angry, anxious, or frustrated. MayoClinic, 2011, found that stress can also cause overeating or under eating, drug or alcohol abuse, tobacco use, and social withdrawal.

References

 Chivers, R. 2007. http://www.helium.com/items/236356-how-arousal-affects-performance

 Deckers, L. (2010). Motivation: Biological, psychological, and environmental (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

 Mayo Clinic, 2011. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-symptoms/SR00008_D