Psychology 2550A/B Chapter Notes -Social Rejection, Diazepam, Tyramine
Document Summary
Genes do not directly influence behaviour - they influence behaviour through their effects in shaping our body, particularly in our brain, and the large number of specialized chemical components that regulate their functioning. According to eysenck"s theory, extraverts differ from introverts because of differences in their physiological level of arousal (loa) in the brain. He proposed that these differences are influenced by the ascending reticular activation system (aras) of the brain --> the system believed to regulate overall arousal in the cortex. Introverts - even small amounts of stimulation can overstimulate them physiologically --> leads to distress and withdrawal in their behaviour. Extraverts - aras not easily stimulated --> leads them to seek activities that will increase the level of stimulation. Found that introverts (compared to extraverts) show greater changes in their brain wave activity in response to low frequency tones, indicating their lower threshold for stimulation to the cns.