week 10 lab dis

Adam Wells Connecting Theories with Gaps in the Literature Potential Theory             During the process of furthering my education and a desire to better understand the investigative decision-making process of law enforcement responding to cases of domestic and intimate partner violence, a few theories have stuck out. I have previously looked at how the decision-making theory relates. One of the obvious choices would also include conflict theory. However, I tend to lean outside of the realm of obvious and wanted to seek out theories, such as decision-making theory, that are less commonly used. However, ones that used enough to validate relevancy. Since I have previously discussed decision-making theory for another class, I wanted to explore a new realm of theories. Also having an interest in neuroscience, I wanted to find a theory that could explain decision-making processes and influences from a neurological perspective. Therefore, one potential theoretical avenue of approach is the Theory of Constructed Emotion (TCE). TCE explains the emotional responses that law enforcement might experience during domestic violence responses that may influence the decision-making process. TCE assists with understanding and explaining the biological responses associated with how incidents create emotions. As mentioned by Barrett (2016), the way in which people see the world is filtered by the brain, and the perceptions of the brain might not always be proportionately related to reality. Just because someone perceives that there is a threat does not mean that the person is a threat. Barrett (2016) further explained that the brain uses an internal model of the body, called embodied simulation, to assess physiological needs based on the perception of the environment. This is, of course, a much narrowed-down explanation of TCE for the purpose of this discussion. However, based on my understanding of TCE, reactive emotions of the brains’ perceived environment could influence how and why certain decisions are made.   Relationship with Identified Gap             With my above-mentioned topic in mind, TCE is one theory that could be used to explain how and why law enforcement makes certain decisions. Fridman et al. (2019) mentioned that since one of the functions of the brain is to regulate the necessary physiological needs of the body during stressful situations, TCE can be used to understand how and why law enforcement conducts their decision-making process during stressful situations. Responding to domestic violence incidents can be extremely dangerous and stressful for law enforcement to respond to. Thus, prior to their arrival, their brain is already developing a perception of the environment and the physiological needs of the body. A unique perspective of law enforcement decision-making can be examined through TCE while in high-stress incidents (Fridman et al., 2019), such as calls of response to domestic violence. A person’s emotional state can have a major impact on how and why they make irrational decisions. When emotions are high, rationality is inhibited. Therefore, investigative decision-making by law enforcement could be influenced by emotional responses instead of rational responses with increased tension. As both a civilian and a military law enforcement officer with about 20 years of experience, the implication of TCE makes a lot of sense. Granted, it still may not be my number one choice of theories, it is definitely in the top 5 for consideration and one that demands further review in the future.             References Barrett, L. F. (2016). The theory of constructed emotion: an active inference account of interoception and categorization. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 12(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw154 Fridman, J., Barrett, L. F., Wormwood, J. B., & Quigley, K. S. (2019). Applying the Theory of Constructed Emotion to Police Decision Making. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01946 Nathan Wharton one theory in your own words, and explain its relationship with the gap in the literature you identified A recurring theory in the literature is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). CBT is a theory that states the importance of an individuals perception related to making behavioral changes. When looking at creating pre-surgical approaches to creating behavior changes that will help with lifestyle changes the articles discussed the role of the behavioral therapist and the utilization of CBT. Paul et al., (2017) demonstrates the utilization of CBT in patients as a predictor of weight loss post bariatric surgery. The theory will play a part in helping to understand the role of behavioral change interventions in patients during the pre-surgical process. There are studies that demonstrate professionals using CBT post-surgery to help patients however there is little understanding about ways it can be used to help behavior change prior to surgery and the benefits of it to create lifestyle change post-surgery.  Paul, L., van der Heiden, C., & Hoek, H. W. (2017). Cognitive behavioral therapy and predictors of weight loss in bariatric surgery patients. Current opinion in psychiatry, 30(6), 474–479. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000359