![]() Neurotransmitter systems normally operate within a limited range of activity. His work is focused on the ease and extent of arousal (reactivity) in infants and young children to various stimuli. Jerome Kagan (1994) is one of the primary researchers in the area of temperament. He considered the basic level of differentiation of an individual to be fixed, although structured effort or unusual life experiences could boost an individual to a higher level of differentiation. He called this concept, central to his theory of family systems, the differentiation of self. It is quite remarkable that leading researchers in various branches of the brain and behavioral sciences have independently come to recognize the importance of the concept of reactivity, each in his own area of study, be it biological, psychological, behavioral, or social.īowen, the father of family systems theory and therapy, observed a direct relationship between the increasing degrees of emotional reactivity of an individual and the failure to develop a sense of self separate from one’s family of origin (Kerr & Bowen, 1988). In clinical practice patients may exhibit extremes of reactivity in numerous areas of function. Biological systems function in the same way. If the motion of the car fluctuates too widely and for too long, or too stiffly for too little time, the shock absorber, which measured a normal length on the static test, is deemed defective, or approaching that point. A dynamic, and more sensitive test of the reactivity of the shock absorber is to apply a stress (push down on the car) and observe the up and down motion of the car (the degree of reactivity). This is a static measurement, which will detect only the most defective shock absorbers. If it measures below a certain measurement, it is defective. The analogy of the shock absorber is quite, useful clinically: To determine if a shock absorber is functioning adequately, one can measure it with a ruler. As a general term, we can talk about the reactivity of the heart rate, the reactivity of the immune system, the hormonal system, or even the reactivity of a shock absorber on a car! In the specific sense, reactivity refers to one particular temperamental quality (e.g., the degree of inhibition/harm avoidance in response to a noxious stimulus) as a response style. Reactivity is a term that is used in a broad sense, as well as in a more specific one. The essential questions concerning the measurement of reactivity in any system are: What is the range of fluctuation of the system at rest (background noise) and under stress, and how long does it take to recover? The response measured may be physiological, behavioral, or psychological. Reactivity is a term that refers to the duration, type, and degree of response that any entity exhibits in response to a stimulus, as well as the threshold of stimulation required to elicit such a response.
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