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Arousal

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

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Synonyms

Alert; Attentive; Behavioral response; Emotional arousal

Definition

A heightened physiological response or behavior to a stimulus (e.g., sweaty palms, increased heart rate, focused attention).

Introduction

Arousal is a state that keeps us attentive or in some instances, makes us aware of our surroundings. For example, biologically, arousal can help us survive because we become aware and attentive to the current environment. Studies have found arousal is part of the adrenergic system, with Pribram and McGuinness (1975) defining arousal as a physiological response to input, centered in the amygdala (see also Sharot and Phelps 2004; Styliadis et al. 2018). Arousal is a key component to survival in nature because it can cue the flight-or-fight system protecting us when we might be at risk. Arousal brings attention to what is going on around us, so studies might refer to arousal as a level of activation. Pribram and McGuinness (1975) discuss how activation can result in heightened...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Counseling and Psychology, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN, USA

    Sarah N. Jones & Stephanie A. Kazanas

Authors
  1. Sarah N. Jones
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  2. Stephanie A. Kazanas
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sarah N. Jones or Stephanie A. Kazanas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Emily Boeving

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Jones, S.N., Kazanas, S.A. (2021). Arousal. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1044-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1044-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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