1. What are the differences between physiological and psychological needs? Provide examples of each in your response.
A need is an internal drive to do something for satisfaction or to attain a goal. It is distinguished into two categories called physiological needs and psychological needs. Every person has similar set of physiological and psychological needs since their birth up to their death.
Physiological needs are related to the maintenance of our physical being. These are the basic needs required by our human body to survive in this world. These needs make us age and remain part of the human cycle. If we do not fulfill our physiological needs then it becomes really difficult for our body to function.
Psychological needs are related our mental processes such emotions, feelings and thoughts. These needs are necessary to create strong connection with others because we live in a society together as a whole and not as a single individual. Psychological needs stabilize our mental health.
An example of physiological needs is food. We need to eat food to get energy that enables us to perform actions. Without food, there will be no energy and we will not be able to survive. Other examples are shelter, clothes
An example of psychological needs is friendship. Without making friends, it is very difficult to even pass a day alone. You need friends on every step of life to help you, guide you, motivate you and care for you when you need it the most. You start friendship with the people who are around you most of the time. Other examples are intimacy, self-esteem, content, etc.
2. What is the relationship between arousal and behavior? Does this relationship impact performance and affect?
Arousal is the name given to a human state in response to external or internal stimuli. Psychological arousal appears in the form of anxiety, fear and tension, physiological arousal appears in the form of fast heartbeat rate, sweaty palms, rapid breathing and muscle tension and brain arousal appears in the form of being alert, sleepy or awake. Whatever arousal state an individual is going through, he or she will behave accordingly. If the person is feeling scared and anxious he or she will behave in a defensive way to show that he or she is powerful and can fight.
Arousal is the energy that drives human behavior and together their relationship has great impact on human performance and affect, in fact a direct one. Arousal has the tendency to drive our behavior in such a way that could either enhance the performance or destroy it. If a person is little aroused he or she is not likely to perform the given task and if a person is highly aroused he or she not likely to perform the given task. Arousal is different from motivation. According to Yerkes-Dodson, as the arousal level increases the human performance gets better until it reaches a certain point, called the maximum arousal level, after that the performance decreases. For example, for a student to do well in exam he or she needs a certain amount of arousal but he or she is feeling too much anxious or tensed then he or she is likely to perform bad in his or her exam. Nevertheless, every person has different maximum level of arousal.
3. Assess the long-term and short-term effects of stress on the body, brain, and behavior.
In life when we face a challenge so difficult that it makes us anxious that state is called stress and the challenges that exerts stress are called stressors. Some stressors are important for us because they help us in moving ahead in our lives. If there are no stressors in our lives then our lives will become very dull and meaningless. However, if these stressors exert great amount of stress and for longer durations then we may deteriorate our mental and physical health.
Stress has both short-term and long-term affects on our bodies, brains and behaviors. In the short term stress effects are headache, muscle pain, stomach upset, fatigue, sleep deprivation, weak immunity etc. on the human body, on the brain the effects are depression, anxiety, sadness, etc and on the behavior the effects are alcohol drinking, smoking tobacco, taking drugs, being unsocial, overeating, not eating, frustration, etc.
The long term affects that stress can cause on our bodies are heart attack, hypertension, stroke, infections and even death. On our brain the long term affects are psychological disorders like PSD, insomnia, etc and on our behavior the long term effects are being angry all the time, being socially awkward, sexual problems, feeling tired all the time, lack of motivation, picking up a dirty habit, etc.
We have the tendency to counter both short term and long term effects of stress. First we need to figure out why stress is affecting us and then we should change our diet and habits to make us feel positive all the time because positivity is the best way to deal with stress.
Bibliography
Labott, S. M., Ahleman, S., Wolever, M. E., & Martin, R. B. (1990). The physiological and psychological effects of the expression and inhibition of emotion. Behavioral Medicine, 16(4), 182-189.
Broadhurst, P. L. (1957). Emotionality and the Yerkes-Dodson law. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 54(5), 345.
Collingridge, G. L., Peineau, S., Howland, J. G., & Wang, Y. T. (2010). Long-term depression in the CNS. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(7), 459-473.
