Lecture 9. Human higher nervous activity peculiarities (emotions, motivations, the highest nervous activity types)

External and internal stimuli may cause such reactions that initiate one or other behaviour and reflect organism needs expression. Such behaviour is called motivational. Motivation is a purposeful behaviour. Aim is main motivation link. There are many aims in our everyday life. They may be constant, repeated or changeable. One can tells about 2 main aims types:

• The nearest- isntant satisfaction (tasty food). They don’t need in durable preparing, activity and award are simultaneous at them. But they are not durable.

• Farther – they are directed (consciousely or unconsciousely) to love achievement of people close to us. They are achieved by hard work and are accumulated in course of a whole life.

Consciouse aims:

• admiration for the strong (God, Allach, king,country, town, parents, spouse, children);

• to be strong (glory, power, applause of mass, award et al.);

• to present joy (desire to help to others unselfishely);

• to receive joy (it is reached at satisfaction of your deed).

Neither the nearest nor farther aims are not the real ending goal. Ending goal – to open yourself in all aspects of your life; to express yourself and to reach the feeling of confidence and security. One should strive for the highest skill because it receives respect, disposition and love (not only of your relatives but other people).

Hypothalamus, amygdala and cortex are responsible for motivational behavour. Biochemical base of motivation forming are biologically and physiologically active substances: neuromediators (acetylcholine, noradrenaline, serotonin, dophamine and others), hormones (catecholamines, vasopressine et al.) and neuropeptides (angiotensine, morphine and others). Emotions have a significant place in motivational structure.

Emotions - is a language of feelings inherent both in animals and human beings. Emotional may be expressed by their internal (subjective) signs:

• joy;

• grief;

• admiration;

• disgust;

• hatred;

• love et al.

And external (objective) signs:

• mimic;

• gestures;

• voice reactions;

• vegetative reactions.

Some interesting information about gesture.

Although we are not normally aware of it, most of us use our hands when we are talking. You can see this by turning down the sound of your TV set. Notice how much the speakers use hands as they talk. Our hands can show the shape and size of things (try describing a spiral staircase without your hands usage!) and emphasize what we are saying. Some gestures, though have special meanings; what do these people seem to be saying?

These gestures are not made naturally: we have to learn them and they vary from one country to another. For example, how do you call someone to you? In Spain and many other countries you beckon someone with your palm down, which can look like the English sign for sending someone away. In Italy wave goodbye with the back of your hand which can look like the English sign for beckoning someone!

What do you mean when you nod or shake your head? Nodding seems to be one of the few gestures found in nearly every country; it seems to mean “yes” almost everywhere but in some parts of India shaking the head also means “yes”. In Greece and Southern Italy and many other parts of the world, throwing the head back which can look like a nod, means “no”.

When you see your friends, how do you greet them? People in many countries find the English cold and unfriendly because they often do no more than say “hello”. Even adults shake hands usually only the first time they meet. French people, including schoolchildren, shake hands with their friends or kiss them on bolth cheeks if they are close friends, each time they meet and when they leave one another. At home they do not go to bad without kissing everyone in the family good night on both cheeks, and shaking hands with any visitors. The same thing happens in the morning. How do you think a French child might feel staying in your family?

Other countries have different ways of greeting. The Eskimos rub noses. In Samoa people sniff one another and in Polynesia you take hold of your friend’s hands and use them to stroke your face. In Tibet it is very polite to stick your tongue out at someone; you are saying “there is no evil thought on my tongue”!

In some parts of East Africa it is considered very unlucky to point with your fingers and so people turn their heads and pout their lips in the directions they mean. In Britain some people “cross their fingers” for good luck but in Austria and Germany they hold their thumbs. In Britain if the people in an audience do not like a performer and if they are not very polite thay may clap their hands slowly to “go away”! In other parts of Europe the slow hand clap is a great compliment! In Britain people may stand up as a sign of respect. In some other countries they sit down to show that they look up to the person.

There are many other signs used in different countries, and what is an insult in one country may not be understood or may have quite a different meaning in another. The English do not use gesture as much as many other people and it is very easy for misunderstandings to arise.

The head toss

One of the common body gestures is the head toss. This is when the head is tossed quickly upwards and backwards and then it is lowered again more slowly. The eyebrows, the line of hairs above the eyes, are usually raised and often the eyes are rolled back. Sometimes the eyes are closed. The person may make a soft noise with their tongue which we call a “click”. However, the head toss does not mean the same in every country. Most people use it to mean No. Researchers asked 1200 people in 40 places whether they used the “head toss”. 584 said they did not use this gesture, 302 people said they used it and it mean No. 314 people used it for seven other different meanings. This means that the “head toss” is often misunderstood. So when we are talking with people from other cultures we must learn to interpret their body gestures correctly.

There are polarities between emotions (positive and negative). One can say that alive organisms have positive and negative emotions.

Positive emotions (main):

• pleasure;

• joy;

• interest;

• agiotage et al.

Main negative emotions:

• distress-grief;

• misfortune;

• disgust;

• wrath-fury;

• disregard-contempt;

• surprising-fright;

• shame-shyness-humiliation;

• fear-horror.

But you should remember that positive emotions have negative aspects (joy, enjoyment without any measure - is an unhappiness). At the same time some negative emotions have positive aspects. For example, grief unites people, fear or wrath mobilize our spirit and our forces. Positive part of all negative emotions is named as sthenic, and really negative – asthenic.

Now some words about fear. “Are you a man or a mouse?” When people ask this question they want to know if you think you are a brave person or a coward. But will never really know the answer to that question untill you are tested in real life. Some people think they are brave, but when they come face to face with real danger, they act like cowards. Other people think of themselves as cowardly, but when they meet danger, act like heroes.

When you are in a very dangerous situation and feel afraid, the body automatically produces a chemical in the blood. This chemical is called adrenaline. With adrenaline in the blood system, you actually feel stronger and are ready to fight or run away. However, when you are absolutely terrified, the body can produce too much adrenaline. When this happens, the muscles become very hard and you find that you cannot move at all. You are then paralysed with fear. That is why, when we are very frightened, we sometimes say that we are “petrified”. This word comes from the Greek word “petros” which means “stone”. We are so frightened we have become like stone.