A Study on Physiological Arousal

Running Head: PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL
PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL1
Identify an occasion at work recently when you were aware of experiencing
increasing physiological arousal:
Arousal can be considered as a state or condition of physiological activation as well as
cortical responsiveness that leads to sensory stimulation. In a layman’s language it can be stated
that, physiological arousal refers to the expenditure of energy during a condition of excitement.
This expenditure of energy can be linked to distinct emotions like happiness, fear, anger,
depression, sadness, enthusiasm and so on. According to several psychologists like Charles &
Luong (2013), a specific state, in which a person becomes physiologically alert attentive as well
as awake, can be termed as ‘physiological arousal’. The neurotransmitters, serotonin,
norepinephrine, dopamine, as well as acetylcholine existed in human body play a significant role
during the increment as well as decrement of arousal. Arousal is controlled with the help of
Reticular Activating System (RAS) which exits in the human brain. For instance, the personal
experiences through which I have undergone was an experience of happiness. It was one of the
best moments of my life for which, I was not prepared. The incident of happiness is related to
my personal life. After my graduation I decided to join as an accountant in a company, due to
financial reasons. Soon I realized that, it is required to pursue higher studies to climb the ladder
of growth in career. As I did not want to spend the rest of my life, remaining at the position of an
accountant, I started studying Masters of Business Administration in human resource
management, in correspondence. Obviously I wanted to be recruited as a human resource
manager after the completion of the course. Irrespective of the fact, that I would not continue my
current job for a long time, I made good friends there. My friendly attitude was appreciated by
my supervisors. This appreciation motivated me to grow as a proficient employee. My course

PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL2
was about to end, when the organization announced vacancy in the position of human resource
manager. In spite of not having any experience in the domain of a human resource manager, I
decided to appear for the interview. I observed candidates who had come for the interview were
experienced managers. Hence, prior to the interview, I knew that there was lack of chances for
me to get selected. During the interview arousal fluctuated between high and moderate. This is
because, in the rounds where I know I can represent the best of myself, I become conscious due
to high arousal. High arousal alerted me that I had to perform well. Later I realized that the
reason behind my good performance in some of the rounds was my high arousal. During the
rounds of group discussion, I was unable to become as active as other experienced candidates
due to my low arousal. After 1 week when I was at my desk my boss called me and conveyed the
good news of my selection, which was a pleasant surprise to me. At that time I was astonished
and extremely happy as well. This was the time of extreme happiness that my Reticular
Activating System (RAS), does not respond which leads to a very low level of arousal and
inactivity as well. Listening that I was selected for the position of the human resource managers I
became stunned and speechless.

PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL3
Plot your emotion (at its most intense) as a dot on the 2D model of emotion
below:
(b) Describe the incident including:
1. The context – what was happening just before you noticed the increased
arousal?
I was waiting out of the interview room prior to the increment of the arousal.
Who was present (use pseudonyms) and what were their roles in the incident?
The persons who were present-interviewers, senior managers, my boss, other candidates.