Behavior and Motivation | artbzen.com

Article last edited on January 30, 2020 by Admin

What drives human behavior? What is the pattern of avoidance? How does the reward and punishment system work? A brief overview of the foundations of motivation and possible applications in education.

Ie reward circuit and the punishment circuit.

Pleasure is the evolutionary way to entice us to eat, find a sexual partner, protect ourselves from the cold, and so on. When action is possible, pleasure is very often present thanks to the “desire – action – satisfaction” cycle.

But action can also be necessary when danger threatens us. Two solutions are then available to us: to move away from the danger or to render this threat inoperative. In other words, flight or fight! Whether in front of someone hostile or in front of an element like fire, the first option considered is usually flight. If it proves impossible or ineffective, then one tries to cope, that is to say to fight against the enemy or to fight the flames.These active approach and avoidance behaviors are under the control of what is sometimes called the action activating system. It includes two main nerve circuits that correspond to rewarded action and successful avoidance.

First, there is the reward circuit (or MFB) which is activated during the “desire – action – satisfaction” cycle. And there is the circuit of punishment (or PVS) which is set in motion whether one chooses to flee or to fight.

Let us mention in passing that the activation of the PVS causes the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the release in the body of ACTH and adrenaline which quickly prepare the body for the efforts required by the flight or the fight.

Positive or negative reinforcement of a behavior

When an action is rewarded, the behavior at the origin of this satisfaction is reinforced. We then speak of positive reinforcement, exactly like the food we give to a dog who has just listened to us.

In psychology, it is also called negative reinforcement when something unpleasant is eliminated to promote a behavior. It is the dog who learns to sit to reduce the tension of the leash that the master pulls down.

The inhibitory action system (AIS)

But it sometimes happens that neither gratifying action, nor flight or struggle is possible. This is when the inhibitory system of action comes into play.

Its activation in natural condition occurs in front of the observation of the inefficiency of our action. Flight or struggle appearing impossible to us, submission and acceptance of the status quo often remains the last alternative to ensure its survival.

The SIA is the result of an evolution where it has been useful by operating sporadically, temporarily preventing any unnecessary action that could only make the situation worse. Let us think, for example, of the small mammal that finds itself in the middle of a field and sees a bird of prey above it; the best thing to do is still not to move and hope to pass unnoticed.

However, in our societies based on competitiveness, there are many people who chronically activate this circuit to avoid reprisals. The inhibition of the action is then no longer a simple adaptive parenthesis between actions of approach or withdrawal, but a real source of anxiety. It is this malaise that will gradually undermine the health of the individual.

Indeed, the negative consequences of the inhibition of the action are numerous and have been abundantly described: depression, psychosomatic diseases, stomach ulcers, arterial hypertension are the most obvious. But more serious genetic disorders such as cancers and all the pathologies associated with a decrease in the efficiency of the immune system are also likely to result from the prolonged activation of the AIS.

The motivational effect of a reward

The effect of motivation of a reward on behavior is universally recognized, although the exact role of pleasure is still debated. Is pleasure a determining factor in the execution of the behavior or a simple concomitant of the behavioral response? In either case, the motivation that pushes us to act remains intimately linked to pleasure.

Folder / Text: Bruno Dubuc The brain at all levels

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