© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 1

Arousal and Cognition

• Involuntary selective attention

• Habituation

• Arousal and Cognition– three influences– determinants– task efficiency– arousal and attention– need for arousal

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 2

Involuntary Selective Attention

• Orienting Reflex - characteristic pattern of response when attention is automatically or involuntarily drawn

– Stop ongoing and physically orient (turn) to stimulus– Increase in sensory sensitivity– EEG = arousal– Pause then decrease respiration, decrease in heart

rate, blood vessels constrict in limbs and dilate in brain

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 3

Involuntary Selective Attention

• Orienting reflex is elicited by 3 aspects of the stimulus– intensity– meaningfulness– novelty or incongruity

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 4

Habituation

• With repeated exposure attention declines

• Pattern of habituation– Orient to first 10-15 repetitions the response

gradually declines– With many repetitions

• EEG = low arousal drowsy• e.g. study by Gastault and Bert - after 8

minutes 1/2 drowsy many asleep

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 5

3 Influences of Arousal on Cognition

• Determines state of consciousness and type of thinking– abstract to concrete

• Determines of efficiency of processing• Motivates certain types of cognition

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 6

Determinants of Arousal

• Amount and types of stimulation

• Natural Rhythms and cycles

• Internal factors

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 7

Amount and Types of Stimulation

• Intensity

• Meaningfulness

• Novelty or incongruity

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 8

Natural Rhythms and Cycles

• Circadian rhythm - sleep/wake cycle– peak of alertness varies over day– individual differences

• larks and owls

• Ultradian cycle - every 90 minutes– arousal varies and go from logical, abstract and reality

oriented thinking to illogical, concrete, and fantasy oriented (daydreaming)

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 9

Internal Factors

• Drugs– depressants (barbiturates, alcohol) decrease– stimulants (caffeine, nicotine) increase arousal

• Self-control– behavior, will power, concentration, biofeedback– manipulate environment to influence arousal

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 10

Internal Factors

• Individual Differences– basal arousal (metabolic rate)

– rate of habituation– reactive arousal

• introverts = amplifiers• extroverts = attentuators

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 11

Arousal and Task Efficiency

• Yerkes-Dodson Law– Inverted U-shaped function of arousal and task

efficiency = generalization– More specifically:

• simple task best at high arousal• medium task best at medium arousal• hard task best at low arousal

– Not just task difficulty but practice also e.g. test anxiety vs. knitting

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 12

Arousal and Attention

• As arousal increases– attention gets more focused– less able to divide attention

• Examples– boring versus interesting work and distraction

© 2001 Dr. Laura Snodgrass, Ph.D. 13

Need for Arousal

• Hedonic curve - need to basic level of arousal– too little = boring = negative affect– too much = over stimulated = negative affect– medium amount = positive affect

• Sensory deprivation = negative

• Reinforcing properties of stimulation