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How we change what others think, feel, believe and do
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How we change what others think, feel, believe and do |
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Need for Arousal
Explanations > Needs > Arousal Hot and cold | Preferences | Acclimatization | So what?
One of our deepest needs is for a sense of arousal where we are stimulated and 'feeling alive' in a 'hot' state. In this state we are energized in in any combination of cognitive, affective and physical arousal. Hot and coldOur emotions can described with a hot and cold temperature metaphor, where 'hot' is aroused and 'cold' is not aroused. A hot state is related to high levels of interest, emotion or activity. In a cold state we may be bored, flat and lethargic. PreferenceWe each may have particular preferences for any of three different types of arousal. Some will seek the cerebral arousal of thinking and learning. Others find pleasure in physical activity. And each leads to different emotions. This can also lead to different personality types based on the desire for arousal and internal thresholds. In a dysfunctional sense, some people get stuck in unhelpful arousal, such as being a victim or self-harming. Children at school may also decide that learning is not cool and so shun intellectual arousal. AcclimatizationA trap with arousal is that the stimulation we feel works mostly through the perceptual contrast between how we felt before and how we feel now. But people are supremely adaptable and what was fun can easily become the norm. A typical solution to this is to seek greater and great stimulation. This can become a slippery slope that descends into destructively addictive positions. The effect happens too with negative arousal and is is one reason why children become immured to punishment and so keep being 'naughty'. So what?Arousal is the basic motivated state which is good for persuasion as you can tap this basic desire. When persuading people, consider how they are aroused now and how you want that state to change. Do you want them to feel intellectually stimulated? What about being emotionally charged (and maybe more unthinking)? Do you want them to physically act, to get up and do something? Seek ways to manage how they are aroused (or not, as you need). Stimulate them or calm them down as appropriate. See alsoCuriosity, Novelty, Stimulation, Fight-or-Flight reaction, Games, The Purpose of Art, Arousal principle, Emotional Arousal, Arousal Conflict
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