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Three Laboratory Procedures for Assessing Different Manifestations of Impulsivity in Rats
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Published on: March 17, 2019

Impulsive action and motivation.

Nico H Frijda1

  • 1Amsterdam University, Seranggracht 1, 1019PM Amsterdam, Netherlands. n.h.frijda@uva.nl

Biological Psychology
|January 13, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Emotions causally influence actions by altering motive states, leading to either impulsive or intentional behaviors. Understanding these action readiness states is key to predicting emotional responses.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Emotions are recognized as significant drivers of human behavior.
  • The precise mechanisms linking emotional experiences to subsequent actions require further elucidation.
  • Existing models often focus on intentional actions, with less emphasis on automatic emotional responses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate emotions as direct causal determinants of action.
  • To delineate the process by which emotional events translate into action.
  • To differentiate between impulsive and intentional actions driven by emotions.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of emotion-action pathways.
  • Exploration of the role of appraised emotional events.
  • Examination of motive states (states of action readiness) as mediators.
  • Analysis of factors influencing impulsive action generation.

Main Results:

  • Emotional events, upon appraisal, trigger changes in motive states (action readiness).
  • These action readiness states can lead to action, either impulsively or intentionally.
  • Impulsive actions are a fundamental pathway for emotions to cause behavior, requiring no foresight.
  • Impulsive actions result from the interplay of action readiness, perceived affordances, and an individual's action repertoire.

Conclusions:

  • Emotions are causal determinants of action through the mechanism of action readiness states.
  • Impulsive actions represent a primary, biologically general mode of emotion-driven behavior.
  • The specific action executed depends on the alignment between perceived affordances, readiness states, and available behavioral repertoires.