Emotion - Emotion & Associated Animal Behaviors

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Emotion - Emotion & Associated Animal Behaviors

Neurohacking - Basics

Written by Alex

Saturday, 02 May 2009 14:30

Tags NHAR1 - emotion - animal behavior - neurotransmitters - networks - functions of intelligence - association - drives - instincts - mood - basics

Emotions and their Associated Animal Behaviors.

The table below shows the links between brain networks, animal behaviors, factors of intelligence, neurotransmitters and emotions. If you are a beginner, just take a look at the bottom two rows: emotions and animal behaviors. There are more notes below.

EMOTIONS & ANIMAL BEHAVIORS

Networks	1	2	3	4	5	6
Factors of intelligence needed for behaviors	Senses, attention	Alertness, orientation	Concentration, observation, imagination, memory, emotional stability	Creativity, tool-use, interaction	Intellect, analysis, computation	Planning, judgement, decisions, strategy
Key neuro- transmitters	serotonin	dopamine	Oxytocin/ cortisol	acetylcholine	norepinephrine	endorphins
Animal behaviors processed	"serene and clean" grooming, hibernation, birthing, cleaning, hygiene, self-care. Identifying dangerous material substances	"seek & squeak" exploration, seeking, hunting, courting, migration. Warning allies of danger, remembering dangerous places	"befriend & bond" bonding, mating, befriending, making allies, empathy OR "fight & flight" Emergency life-saving behavior, defense, protection	"create & cooperate" nest-building, skill-sharing, group play, cooperation, interaction, tool-use, creativity. Restraint, respect, rectitude, politeness, self-control, (interactive social behavior)	"assess & impress" gathering, assessing & distributing resources competently among allies, hoarding & storing for hard times. Maintaining & communicating integrity, status & reputation	"coordinate & communicate" synergy, problem-solving, predicting, decisions, planning, communication, coordination. Discrimination, judgement, strategy
Emotions by various names and associated type	Comfort, contentment, centeredness, happiness, peace of mind. Disgust, repulsion, revulsion, nausea	Desire, lust, attraction, fascination, excitement, surprise. Alarm, concern, watchfulness, caution.	Friendliness, amiability, goodwill, geniality, kindliness, affection. Defensiveness, protectiveness, resistance, deflection	Playfulness, light-heartedness, inspiration, fun. Determination, staying power, resolve, patience, stamina, tenacity	Confidence, self-esteem, pride, optimism. Courage, bravery, prudence, caution, wariness	Joy, bliss, love, fulfilment, clarity, elation. Sorrow, grief, sadness

You will learn elsewhere that it is important to understand the difference between emotion and sentiment. This table is to help you clarify that. All the emotions listed in the table are healthy and natural.

If you look at the animal behavior row, you'll see there's a short phrase that sums up each category of behavior (for example, "serene & clean" or "fight & flight"). These are easy to remember and will remind you what sort of behaviors each network does processing for.

If you compare the emotions to the behaviors they are associated with, you can see how biology is working with intelligence to produce the right 'moods' for every interaction (for example, it seems obvious that a creature would need to feel lusty and excited when courting a mate, or s/he would get bored and lose interest.) In human terms, the same basic behavior sometimes applies in more abstract ways (for example we must feel interested in exploring a subject or a procedure in order to learn and remember it well. If we were mice, we would be interested in exploring and learning about our territory in just the same way.)

Once you can see how healthy emotions link with basic healthy animal behaviors, it's much easier to see how sentiments lead to harmful behaviors. So even if you don't know the difference yet, thinking about these links now will help you understand it later.

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Last Updated on Friday, 02 August 2013 15:17