13.07.2015 Views

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can ... - WordPress.com

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can ... - WordPress.com

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can ... - WordPress.com

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

engaged <strong>in</strong> higher-wattage activitieslike organiz<strong>in</strong>g team-build<strong>in</strong>g workshopsor chair<strong>in</strong>g meet<strong>in</strong>gs.Eysenck also thought that the basis <strong>of</strong>these differences might be found <strong>in</strong> abra<strong>in</strong> structure called the ascend<strong>in</strong>g reticularactivat<strong>in</strong>g system (ARAS). <strong>The</strong>ARAS is a part <strong>of</strong> the bra<strong>in</strong> stem thathas connections lead<strong>in</strong>g up to thecerebral cortex and other parts <strong>of</strong> thebra<strong>in</strong>. <strong>The</strong> bra<strong>in</strong> has excitatory mechanismsthat cause us to feel awake, alert,and energetic—“aroused,” <strong>in</strong> the parlance<strong>of</strong> psychologists. It also has calm<strong>in</strong>gmechanisms that do the opposite.Eysenck speculated that the ARAS regulatesthe balance between over- andunder-arousal by controll<strong>in</strong>g theamount <strong>of</strong> sensory stimulation thatflows <strong>in</strong>to the bra<strong>in</strong>; sometimes thechannels are wide open, so a lot <strong>of</strong>stimulation can get <strong>in</strong>, and sometimes356/929

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!