Managing Cognitive Behavior While Experiencing Physiological Reactions
Abstract
Physiological reactions have been considered a significant hinderance regarding behavior in interpersonal interactions. Professionals may consider physiological reactions as controlled or uncontrolled. Historical studies have conducted controlled studies applying information and exercises while undergoing physiological reactions of anxiety and stress. These studies have determined some methods related to mitigating the effects of reaction in terms of active behavior. The results of this research include information suggesting that some input could assist with controlling physiological behavior reactions. Physiological reactions to external triggers have been commonly perceived as uncontrollable phenomenon. Various professionals have been studying the opportunity to understand individuals encountering different stressors. Professionals have also explored the practice of control as it pertains to reaction. Reaction may be associated with psychological trauma, beliefs, expectations, and other characteristics related to triggering physiological response. Understanding appropriate vs inappropriate behavior response is important in communicating how these responses are developed. Development of response is essential in understanding how to better regulate response while experiencing stress triggered physiological reaction. Methods used in multiple studies were a controlled speech among student in front of an audience while incorporating stressors, interviews with people of various ages as to why they developed a response they have developed, and several other studies approaching how external factors can impact the physio-behavior output of people. Results include external influences such as focus, music, family and personal experience, as well as expectations.
Keywords: behavior, physiological, association, reaction, emotion, stress
Managing Cognitive Behavior While Experiencing Physiological Reactions
Physiological reactions in humans are commonly associated with external stressors or influences that can result in both positive and negative reactions. Reactions of these systems can interfere with normal cognitive behavior function as it changes people’s perception of an event then interprets such events into what the mind and body should be doing as a result of that event. This essay will explore the possibilities of controlling behavior while experiencing physiological reactions. People may be able to simultaneously feel their nervous system response and still interact with poise.
Understanding of the physiological details in the body and mind are critical to begin managing this function while acknowledging very few actions can be done to prevent this. This essay includes studies and details in an approach to determine if some awareness of these functions from the individual can get closer to managing behavior and self-control of certain actions by cause of reaction. While understanding the internal function may be uncontrolled, the external process of physical, emotional, and verbal action may be potentially controlled.
This research is an exploration of the methods that have been recorded in the ways that behavior control has been accomplished by various focus, awareness, therapy, and other applications dealing with emotions and reaction. Awareness has been studied as a promising foundation of behavior reaction control options (Jamieson et al., 2012).
Association of Physiological Reaction to Behavior
Physiological actions can result in physical or verbal changes in humans. Becker et al. (2023, p. 1) explains “The physiological stress response can be elicited by an acute stressor, such as noise, and serve to mobilize physiological resources providing the body with the energy needed for the stress response”. Humans experience cardiovascular simulation, rise in heart rate, this could lead to over sweat production, higher body temperature and rise of other hormonal chemicals. While a person experiences this it can be overwhelming because of lack of control withing the body. Lack of control can lead to panic or confusion which can be obvious changes in behavior. Physiological response is equally responsible for positive changes in behavior such as blushing and positive mood changes experienced by rise of dopamine and serotonin. The difference between normal behavior and emotional behavior is due to the body within homeostasis ranges vs stimulated rise of action in the nervous system that contributes to the changes in human emotional behavior.
Emotional changes have been studied in regard to external events (Becker, et al., 2023). A person’s mood can change while listening to music and the internal nervous system changes simultaneously. When the person experiences different music and performs body movements, this is a result of mood being connected with behavior. Grewe et al., (2007,p 788) published findings that reveal “experienced in a certain style of music may thereby react in an affective and even emotional way to music of the well-known style. But this rather “emphatic” reaction seems to be based on individual experiences and associations”.
Humans Awareness of Current Emotional Behavioral Balance
Social anxiety has been studied, diagnosed, treated, understood, misunderstood, possibly over labeled and under labeled in people (Goodman, et al., 2021). A person that feels an unfamiliar feeling that may be unaware of the chemical and cardiovascular functions may perceive this as anxiety. Goodman et al. (2021,p 1) stated “People are not passive recipients of emotions; they hold attitudes and beliefs that influence how they experience, express, and respond to emotions. Inherent to an emotional experience is a person’s belief about his or her emotion(s)—is this emotion helpful, harmful, controllable, modifiable?”.
Perceived emotion is similar to human interpretation of the events transpiring around that individual or group. A person’s interpretation may be directly associated with familiarity and experience. Familiar and unfamiliar situations mutually lead to a response of a decision or other cognitive function. Sherman et al. (2008,p 315) explains “In many dual-process theories, the controlled process is one that seeks out, attends to, or extracts information from the environment to provide accurate and appropriate judgments and behaviors. In the distinction between explicit memory and implicit memory, for instance, control is exerted in explicit memory search to retrieve previously stored information”. This suggests there are circumstances that would enable an individual to become aware of how their emotion and behavior has changed due to a trigger of potentially both negative and positive.
Potential Helpful Actions for Behavior While Experiencing Stress Responses
While humans experience the function of their cardiovascular system responding to external stressors there may be decisions that benefit the person in their current or intended behavior. Historically studies have shown that at the individual level while performing a task that was inclusive of controlled stressors was able to maintain composure and complete the task due to changing focus (Jamieson et al., 2012). This is one study that emphasizes focal activity in order to achieve self-control and cognitive action.
Jamieson et al., (2012,p 420) also states “the study presented here examined the physiological and cognitive benefits of reappraising arousal during acute evaluative stress.” The method of directing focus while operating in a stressful event has proven to improve cardiovascular function as it relates to perceived threat or external triggers (Jamieson et al., 2012). The results of these tests provide open potential for other methods of controlling behavior through stress related reactions. The potential resources may be unlimited with future adaptation and generational lessons learned.
Benefits in Controlling Emotional Association to Reaction
Positive characteristics of humans may often be overlooked or closely related to personality rather than cognitive reaction to external stimuli. Different stages in human life develop perception and association of emotions in adulthood (Chue & Yeo, 2022). One can argue that an individual with habitual actions may be the result of a historical event experienced by that person that performs those actions with the intent of experiencing the positive associated emotions and dopamine. If one person enjoys the sensation of blushing, would that individual implement routine interactions with other external entities that caused that sensation?
When an individual experiences a reaction, it then develops an association that could lead to further intent of the particular physiological response (Chue & Yeo, 2022). This creates the idea that if an individual intends to avoid various physiological responses, one may begin to seek resources to mitigate those unintended responses. Avoidance can be a method to mitigate certain unwanted physiological responses. Human development can account for such associations as attention, aggression, sarcasm, voice control and other personal identifiable characteristics of each individual.
The result of individual habit from personal development is an area that can be beneficial to emphasize. Development of emotional actions may be the result of a person reacting similarly to their elder generation due to familiarity. A person may also focus on habitual actions that are opposite of their personal historical development due to not wanting to be like that person or persons. Benefits will be individually assessed based on preferred results (Sherman et al., 2008). When people actively seek homeostasis or the positive emotional state they experience, they are more likely to control behavior and interactions in order to achieve these emotional responses.
Flechsenhar et al., (2024,p 192) identified some key traits associated with trauma such as “Emotion processing difficulties may in turn serve as a potential target for transdiagnostic interventions for individuals with childhood trauma
associated mental disorders”. This supports the theory that reaction can be associated with historical events which are yet to be determined as potentially manageable. If a reaction is directly associated with past psychological trauma, then seeking trauma-based remedies would be a beneficial course of action for that individual. It is likely that an individual is not experiencing therapeutic options to heal their trauma because they are unaware of the association (Rhudy et al., 2010). This suggests that people can benefit by intimately understanding their own reactions.
Conclusion and Further Areas of Emphasis for Future Studies
Historical studies have found under a controlled environment that some behavior under stress reactions potentially is manageable within the limits of given resources and information. There may be insufficient studies of the variability included with circumstantial associated physiological reactions. Leonidou & Panayiotou, (2021,p 7224) concluded that “In combination, these interpretations suggest that individuals who report high levels of dispositional EA tend to respond in an exaggerated way to negative events, but cope by not be coming fully aware of their responses or the magnitude and subjective significance of the emotional event encountered, which may hinder later attempts to cope effectively and flexibly, according to their values and the demands of the situation”.
An individual may develop awareness and control of behavior while simultaneously experiencing the cardiovascular response if given appropriate recourses. Further research may determine what resources are compatible with each individual regarding their associated response to external stimuli. Another critical consideration is at what developmental phase of humans would be appropriate to introduce the association between internal physiological reaction to external behavioral activity and intent. This may not result in a general solution because each person experiences singular responses.
The limitations of exploring resources on a macro level consist of the need to positively identify the cause for individual stress activity as associated to each individual (Rhudy et al., 2010). Although response to stressful activity may be biologically similar in humans, the reaction and interpretation of such activity is not. The approach to identifying a person’s intention to control their own response would be difficult to determine. Each individual has responses based on their own interpretation of the stress trigger. Therefore, each individual will have their own methods of achieving homeostasis and which factors contribute to their calming methods to have more control.
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