Have you ever thought about how much your actions relate to what your gut is telling you to do? Well until I read chapter 11 about emotion I hadn't thought about it either. There is a theory known as "somatic marker theory" which is a theory proposing that we use our "gut reactions" to help us determine how we should act. When your nervous for something, such as when your on a date with someone and you start to sweat and your heart rate goes up, apparently that means its a signal to help you determine what to do next. Such as asking the person out on another date. The somatic marker theory help us make decisions, but aren't necessary for wise choices.
Somatic Marker Theory
No TrackBacks
TrackBack URL: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/188856
This is an interesting concept, and I'm sure my somatic marker helps me in some occasions, especially in decisions that need to be made on the fly. However, I feel like a lot of decisions we make are processed more rationally and with reason, rather than following our gut, so to speak. While intuition can be a good guide for some decisions, such as decisions on morality, sometimes following your gut can lead to dangerous choices. That being said, the somatic marker probably does affect many decisions people make, but people should use caution and don't go blindly with their first instinct, because the risks could outweigh the benefits if you're not careful.
i've actually thought about initial emotional reactions effecting how one decides to act on something in the past, and it does amaze me. this is why whenever i am dealing with something particularly complicated--in the emotional complexity and the complexity of the thing itself--i usually take a step back and make sure that i'm taking the most rational route.
as for the somatic marker theory, if one feels scared they will run away. if one feels pleasant they will try to attain the same kind of situation again. it makes a lot of sense that someone who's nervous for a date would be so, since they're probably expecting something grander than just a date out of their time with that person. in other words, emotional reactions usually make sense, but that doesn't mean they're good for you in the long run.