Psychology of Survival and Security: A Behavioral Analysis (part 4 of 6)

https://www.thediabetescouncil.com/are-people-with-diabetes-more-prone-to-aggression/

Shamuel Kohen

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Part 4 of 6

Cognitive functions

            When it comes to cognition and the mental processes it takes to get the tasks of ensuring survival and security done, as well as learn from mistakes, the main areas that were affected during stress were the memory, attention, reasoning, thinking, and awareness. These affected cognition functions were not only evident to ourselves, but to others around us.

Effects on memory

            Memory seemed to be the first affected when it came to acting under pressure. Short-term memories such as locating a tool became a dance of checks and rechecks of our area so nothing would remain behind when we moved to safer locations. Remembering to drink, to eat, remembering good times of the past and remembering basic tasks all seemed to be a mental challenge that kept the group always on edge. Moreover, if something would remain behind by a group member such as a bottle of water due to forgetfulness, this forgetfulness became a source of fighting and aggression that affected the group’s motivation.    

            Not only does the activation of the amygdala due to stress affect perception, but it also has an impact on retrieving and forming memories. When the amygdala is stimulated and becomes triggered, it has a significant effect on working memory, and so things that were easy to recall under no stress situations became an effort to remember under fear and anxiety (Gonzales, 2003).

            When cortisol is in the system, it floods the hippocampus and has an adverse effect on its output. The amygdala has a vast network connection to the sensory cortices, rhinal cortex, and anterior cingulate as well as the ventral prefrontal cortex, the dominant area of the memory areas (Gonzales, 2003). Both the input of information for memory and the output information to draw from memory are now influenced (Gonzales, 2003).

            Due to the memory problems with little things that many of the group members had such as, retrieval of essential memories on how to do the simplest of tasks were forgotten, and of course how the members perceived situations were negatively affected and hindered motivation for more complex tasks.

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