Psychology

Abstract

The field of biopsychology focuses on the role that the brain plays in interpreting the biological signals in the body received through the neurotransmitters resulting in specific behaviours, feelings and thoughts. The investigation of the connection that the brain has with human behaviour did not start recently. Specifically, the study seeks to understand how emotions are linked to physical behaviours. To complete this objective, various research studies were considered to gather as much information as possible. There are several theories that have focused on the hypothalamic function of the brain. For instance, Papez’s proposal that the limbic system controls the expression of emotions in human brains formed the basis of further studies. In one study by DeAngelis (2011) it is stated that there are a lot of knowledge gaps when it comes to understanding exactly how human emotions such as fear influence their financial decisions or how marital emotional struggle influence people’s work rate. Further, it was established that on one particular recent innovation in the field of biotechnology. Through bio-enhancement, the author notes that today it is possible for people to be enhanced and made to have a high moral authority. The author supports bio enhancement on the basis that it will make people better versions of themselves reducing crime and vices in most communities. The essence of understanding the crowd behaviour is so that it can be used in the prediction of situations that lead disasters arising from the pandemonium created by the uncontrollable reaction by the crowd. In essence, the study provided a detailed account on how emotions influence people in a large group in having them behave in a certain way.

Background

The field of biopsychology focuses on the role that the brain plays in interpreting the biological signals in the body received through the neurotransmitters resulting in specific behaviours, feelings and thoughts. The investigation of the connection that the brain has with human behaviour did not start recently. One early attempt at understanding it was in the pseudoscience known as phrenology. This view perceived human faculties as connected to bumps and indentations of the brain such that they could be felt on the surface of the skull. When this field of science became overly popular, scientists and experts ascribed to a different school of thought dismissed it as lacking actual evidence or measurable concepts. However, the idea remained and became the basis of biopsychology (Afolabi, 2015). With the increased new technologies and the body of knowledge that exists today after years of research, biopsychology is today a bona fide field of science that has led to better understanding of the relationship between the brain and the physical functioning of the human behaviour.

Problem Statement

In this context, the psychology behind the connection between the brain physiology and the biology will be assessed to understand it better. Specifically, the study seeks to understand how emotions are linked to physical behaviours. To complete this objective, various research studies will be considered to gather as much information as possible (Lambert, 2018). Areas that have not been covered yet will be outlined.

Potential Ethical Concerns

The ethical concern regarding this topic is how to control emotions from influencing human decisions (Roseman, 2011). A common phenomenon that happens in everyday life, is when an unfamiliar event arises or announced and the entire crowd can completely change. The crowd normally change by individuals expressing different intense emotions, that sometimes can lead to uncontrollable and violent behaviours (DeAngelis, 2011). These types of emotions and behaviours that can disturb the organization of a crowd can be disturbing and show a huge concern.

Key Words

The key terms used when conducting research for this investigation were, emotions and behaviours, emotions impacting behaviours, emotional influence, role of brain shaping emotions, cognitive and emotions, understanding the interactions between emotions and behaviours theories of emotions and behaviours.

Literature Review

There are several theories that have focused on the hypothalamic function of the brain. For instance, Papez’s proposal that the limbic system controls the expression of emotions in human brains formed the basis of further studies. With years it was found that indeed, the limbic system controls emotional expressions through a connection between the hypothalamus and the mediated perception of emotions within the cortex. This was supported by studies on the Kluver-Bucy syndrome which leads t damage of the amygdala which is part of the limbic system (Schultheiss & Wirth, 2018). This damage resulted in patients who were hyposexual, fearless and would put just about anything in to the mouths. Other researchers have also focused on this area years later adding that the limbic system is a structure of the brain that is responsible for focusing attention and emotional events (Kippers, & Yzerbyt, 2012). One of the primary structures within the limbic system is amygdala. The amygdala structure plays a key part in emotions and other reactions to stimuli (Jebari, 2014). It is important to understand that emotions can sometimes influence decisions that can impact behaviours directly. Below are established authors in the field of biopsychology that have studies the specific field of emotional connection to the human brain.

In one study by DeAngelis (2011) the topic was examining emotions' impact. The study was selected based on the relevant to the central topic as well as the vast experience that the author has as a free-lance writer and editor which is over 30 years. The topics this author writes about are articles in psychology, health, medicine, culture and spirituality. The author is also a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and on the advisory board of Woman Transcending Boundaries. This study’s focus on how emotions are represented in the brain was of particular interest to the current study.

One of the questions that the author seeks to answer in this article is the role that emotions play in determining human behaviour. It is stated that there are a lot of knowledge gaps when it comes to understanding exactly how human emotions such as fear influence their financial decisions or how marital emotional struggle influence people’s work rate. Currently, it is easy to point to a particular emotion as the cause of a certain behaviour but the biopsychology behind it is still largely unknown. The study highlights one major knowledge gap that exists today in the field of biopsychology. This is that as much as scientists have uncovered what emotions are and how they re represented in the brain, the influence that emotions have on the decision-making process of a human brain is still not known. This field of unknown has led to a clear disjoint in the entire field of psychology. This is because as much as scientists can understand human emotions, predicting human behaviour is still a foggy subject. The benefits that would accrue to the entire world if human behaviour was remotely predictable would be great (Sarkar et al., 2018). If scientists could figure out what fear does to the decisions that people make or the role that joy plays in motivating employees, then various aspects of life would be changed to improve the overall quality of life. Thus, studies into this area of unknowns is fundamental and should continue to be pushed. DeAngelis (2011) notes that his contribution to the Emotion journal will be aimed at broadening research in the role that emotions play in decisions using real-life situations.

In another study by Jebari (2014). The title is What to Enhance: Behaviour, Emotion or Disposition? contained in the journal Neuroethics. Karim Jebari, is currently a researcher at the Institute for Futures Studies. Karim interest is related to topics that discuss political, bioethics and the philosophy of science. This source was selected because it breaks down the human brain and the emotional disputations that can become possible. This author has based the study on one particular recent innovation in the field of biotechnology. Through bio-enhancement, the author notes that today it is possible for people to be enhanced and made to have a high moral authority. The author supports bio enhancement on the basis that it will make people better versions of themselves reducing crime and vices in most communities. This stand will offer a fresh perspective on the entire issue of understanding human behaviour. Instead of focusing on the gap that exist in understanding how human emotions influence decisions, this author seeks to argue for ways through which human emotions can be manipulated to make people morally upright. As would be expected, most scientists in this field will be quick to dismiss this perspective on the basis that it will human emption exploitation reducing the diversity that human beings exude as a race through emotions. On the outlook such a school of thought seems to be out of the scope of the current study. It is still within the scope in this manner. The author has three dimensions from which they want to make their case. These are the behavioural enhancement, emotional enhancement and the enhancement of moral dispositions. From these perspectives, it is clear that the author intends to provide empirical evidence on how to manipulate emotions to make humans better (Schultheiss & Wirth, 2018). This alone will help the current study in figuring out how emotions can be manipulated to change the decision-making process of a person and in essence answer the central question.

A study by Kuppens and Yzerbyt (2012) titled Group-Based Emotions: The Impact of Social Identity on Appraisals, Emotions, and Behaviours will be considered. It is found in the journal titled the Basic and Applied Social Psychology. The authors often do research at the Faculty of behavioural and social Sciences at the University of Groningen. This source is vital to the current research because it explains how emotions are rooted in the social identity of the individual that perceive it. The authors in this study focused on group-based emotions in understanding the how social identity was affected. As such, the findings of this study could be used in this study given that understanding how group-based emotions determine social identity is close to understanding how individual emotion balances (or lack of) influence the decisions made the same individuals. The study is based on an empirical survey involving young women and their disgust towards Muslims. The women’s experiences were mediated through the appraisals of the specific intergroup threats that existed. Given that this study seeks to establish the connection that emotions have on making decisions, this study offers great insight on how as a group, human beings can be assessed to determine the outcome of their collective emotion towards something or someone (Lambert, 2018). Therefore, the results of this study will go a long way in justifying the inferences made in the current research.

A study by Saifi, Boubetra and Nouioua (2016) focused on the emotions and behaviour modelling in a crowd in the presence of rare events. Contained in the journal titled Adaptive Behavior, the article analyses the emotional aspects within behavioural and decisional circumstances that can form the shape of a crowd. The approach to researching emotion and behavioural issues, tend to lean more towards the patterns and emotional simulation. The article is close to the current topic because it explains how the impact of emotions can emerge through behaviour and by certain emotional cycles deepening on the individual’s experience. Similar to the previous study, the authors in this particular study focused on crowd behaviour. The essence of understanding the crowd behaviour is so that it can be used in the prediction of situations that lead disasters arising from the pandemonium created by the uncontrollable reaction by the crowd. In essence, the study will provide a detailed account on how emotions influence people in a large group in having them behave in a certain way. This study highlights the fact that people in a crowd have a different way of behaving due to sudden emotions that is not similar to when they are alone (Gazzaniga, 2014). This adds to this study leading to the inference that emotions affect people differently base don whether they are within a group or alone.

In another study by Tamir and Bigman (2018), the focus is on how expectations influence emotions and shape behaviour. Based on the Emotion journal, this study offers crucial insight on emotional expectations and how they shape the overall human behaviour. The author has vast experience in this field exploring the instrumental functions of emotions and their role in emotion regulation. This article explains what people want to feel and why. This article also explains if individuals can benefit from their emotions and how they can learn about the potential consequences of emotions. This supports the quest for answers regarding what emotions can be do to human beings in terms of their reaction to different situations. Considerations are important regarding the essence of emotions and why people want to feel. The authors note that when human beings appear indifferent, it is a problem versus when they show certain emotions. Thus, to feel is human and therefore it is the duty of scientists t find out how emotions affect our decisions seeing that emotions are an integral part of the human life. This particular study identified that emotions depend on what people expect them to do. People might want to feel sad hoping to elicit pity from others. Thus, human beings have mastered the art of emotional manipulation based on the idea that the brain has a systemic way of reacting to sad or joyous situations that is universal. The degree of emotion to each situation varies but the end result is the same in all human beings (Tamir & Bigman, 2018). Such are the inferences made in this study revealing that there is still much to be uncovered regarding emotions than human beings are aware of today.

References

Afolabi, O. E. (2015). Domestic Violence, Risky Family Environment and Children: A Bio-Psychology Perspective. International Journal of Special Education, 30(2), 44-56.

DeAngelis, T. (2011). Examining emotions' impact. Retrieved June 15, 2018, from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/02/journal-desteno.aspx Tori

Gazzaniga, M. S. (Ed.). (2014). Handbook of cognitive neuroscience. Springer.

Jebari, K. (2014). What to Enhance: Behaviour, Emotion or Disposition? Neuroethics,7(3), 253-261. doi:10.1007/s12152-014-9204-5

Kuppens, T., & Yzerbyt, V. Y. (2012). Group-Based Emotions: The Impact of Social Identity on Appraisals, Emotions, and Behaviors. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 34(1), 20-33. doi:10.1080/01973533.2011.637474

Lambert, K. G. (2018). Biological Psychology. Oxford University Press.

Saifi, L., Boubetra, A., & Nouioua, F. (2016). An approach for emotions and behavior modelling in a crowd in the presence of rare events. Adaptive Behavior, 24(6), 428-445. doi:10.1177/1059712316674784

Sarkar, A., Harty, S., Lehto, S. M., Moeller, A. H., Dinan, T. G., Dunbar, R. I., ... & Burnet, P. W. (2018). The microbiome in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Trends in cognitive sciences.

Schultheiss, O. C., & Wirth, M. M. (2018). Biopsychological aspects of motivation. In Motivation and action (pp. 407-451). Springer, Cham.

Tamir, M., & Bigman, Y. E. (2018). Expectations influence how emotions shape behavior. Emotion, 18(1), 15-25. doi:10.1037/emo0000351