Jan 15 Flashcards
Jeremy Bentham - 2 sovereign masters of mankind QUOTE
“nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, PAIN and PLEASURE. it is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do”
psychological hedonism
perspective arguing that people are motivated to act in ways that INCREASE PLEASURE and DECREASE PAIN
reward
something an animal WILL WORK TO ACHIEVE
- primary rewards
- secondary rewards
primary rewards
NATURALLY REWARDING
BIOLOGICALLY ESSENTIAL
ie. food, water, warmth, sex
secondary rewards
LEARNED rewards that GAIN IMPORTANCE through repeated associations with primary rewards
ie. money
pleasure
SUBJECTIVE HEDONIC value of rewards
punishment
anything an animal WILL WORK TO AVOID
- primary punishments
- secondary punishments
primary punishments
- NATURALLY AVERSIVE
- THREATEN SURVIVAL
ie. physical injury, tissue damage
secondary punishments
LEARNED punishments that ACQUIRE aversiveness through REPEATED ASSOCIATIONS with primary punishments
ie. financial loss, bad grades
pain
subjective HEDONIC and MOTIVATIONAL response to punishing stimuli
why does context matter with regards to pleasure and pain?
rewards don’t always produce pleasure
punishments don’t always cause pain
context matters!
subjective utility
PERSONAL VALUE or SATISFACTION and individual assigns to an outcome
based on their:
1. preferences
2. circumstances
hedonic feelings
pleasure and pain
what do hedonic feelings exist to encourage?
exist to encourage BEHAVIOURS that help OPTIMIZE INTERNAL BALANCE
- pleasure guides us towards stimuli that help restore/maintain homeostasis
- pain signals deviation from homeostasis
pleasure guides us towards what kinds of stimuli?
towards stimuli that help RESTORE/MAINTAIN homeostasis
pain signals what in regards to homeostasis?
deviation from homeostasis
alliesthesia
subjective HEDONIC VALUE of stimulus is tied to EXTENT to which stimulus CONTRIBUTES TO or DISRUPTS homeostasis
^ essentially, a stimulus will be experienced as pleasurable or painful depending on how it affects the body’s homeostatic balance
are pain and pleasure opposites?
no
they’re intertwined and exert reciprocal influences on the other
problem with statement that “we are motivated solely by desire to avoid pain and attain pleasure”
this ignores the full complexity of human motivation
pain definition from the international association for the study of pain
pain is “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage”
is nociception the same as pain?
nope!
nociception
neural detection & transmission of info about tissue damage
involves sensory receptors (nociceptors) that respond to thermal, mechanical & chemical stimuli
occurs without conscious awareness
types of stimuli that nociceptors respond to
chemical, thermal, mechanical
pain
subjective, conscious experience of discomfort or distress