Emotional behaviour

When you read biopsychology (by James W Kalat), emotions to a certain extend seem to be reduced to mere chemical reactions in the brain. According to James-Lange Theory its our appraisal of the (cognitive aspect) -> our action (behavioral aspect) -> which eventually leads to an emotional feeling (affect).

Physiological arousal is also associated with emotions hence our perceptions of our body's actions contribute to our emotional feelings

*Interestingly, facial feedback can induce or strengten an emotional feeling. So there is some truth in smiling even when you are feeling blue.

Attack and Escape behaviours which involved emotions such as fear and anxiety and also the notion of violence. Research has proven the role of hormones (Testerone) and therefore males are more prone to violent behaviours especially in the age range of 18-25 (which is also the time in which testerone levels are highest in the male species- its the reproductive season). Important to note that Testosterone does not compel violent behaviour but rather is alters an individual's response to stimuli (tend to pay more attention to situations associated with agression and conflict)

*the idea of counting to 10 before you act to prevent violence (though you need to count for longer than that), our biological make up is such that after experiencing provocation, people are more aggresive than usual for the next few minutes (and not just towards the person who provoked them).

The chapter ended with the idea of stress. how short term stress increased immune system activity but prolonged stress is debilitating to the body. General misconception: symptoms such as fever and fatigue are what illness does to us, but in actual fact thery are strategies evovled to fight the illness (leukocytes produce cytokines which combats illness)

More importantly high cortisol levels <- result of stress can damage cells in the hippocampus hence impairs memory, I guess the smart thing to do is to learn a few effective stress coping strategies~! Also explains why students approaching exams tend to exhibit symptoms such as fever, fatigue and also can't remember what they studied due to the high cortisol levels. A tug of war between Eustress (good stress) and Distress (bad stress)!