#something-something-Yerkes-Dodson-curve-something-something

[soysaucevictim]

I'm just thinking abt the HPA axis some more again. It's basically the hormonal cascade/sequence that makes you produce more stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. (Stands for hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal.)

Chronic stress often worsens when you're just swimming in those hormones, unable to tamp 'em down or direct them somewhere useful/fun.

One reason why exercise is very helpful there is like...

Imagine you're a car, the brake peddle is jank. You're in a hurry and you have no idea where the fuck you're going. That's kinda the runaway feeling of it. All you feel you can do is lead foot the gas pedal (sympathetic nervous system.)

Management skills/tools (like exercise) helps to fix your brake pedal (parasympathetic nervous system) and slow shit down and use just enough gas to get you from point A to B. Finding that steady/appropriate Goldilocks zone is a more efficient way to burn through those hormones and get back to equilibrium (or at least get as close to that as feasible).

[transfemlogan]

to add to the 'ducking out' saga: i always saw virgil 'ducking out' as an extended hypothetical. to me, it's like when logan brings up the importance / prominence of lying / deceit's role in the end of 'can lying be good'. i don't remember the full quote, but it was something like 'everyone lies a lot all the time and it's almost impossible to avoid.'

ANYWAY virgil ducking out was like .. a thought experiment i guess? basically i imagine logan bringing out than yerkes-dodson curve, going 'can you imagine what would happen with no anxiety at all?' and boom bam thomas starts imaging the scenario. it's less of a 'oh that literally happened to c!thomas' and more of an in-universe 'it was all a dream.' like with that 'five years later' video where he went 'wouldn't it be crazy if this happened .. cut to it happening'

which to be clear. 'it was all a dream' is not good writing! it still sucks! but it's how i justify it to myself. otherwise it makes no fucking sense man

OK THAT ... THATS A COOL THEORY I LIKE THAT

Thomas was like "oh my god it WOULD be bad if i didnt have anxiety!" & then decided 2 accept him /J

[snifflebunny21]

My teacher was just talking about "the like graph thing that shows healthy amounts of anxiety" and all I could think of was:

(He couldn't remember the exact name so I said "Yerkes Dodson?" and he said "YES!" so. I'm glad he didn't ask how I knew it.)

[logically-asexual]

im so annoyed about this whole remus and logan thing i can’t stop thinking about it. so a long ramble under the cut.

i finally am being able to put into words what bothers me about logan’s character development, particularly him vs the dark sides.

first of all, virgil. virgil had a whole season for his development that was kind of natural and credible. he is a nuisance in different ways, thomas recognizes he has anxiety and looks for ways to cope, which logan learns to bring up later, then virgil keeps causing trouble but makes some good points sometimes, then thomas decides to accept him for the good he brings and they all manage better. all this happens within episodes that aren’t always about anxiety. they SHOW us how the sides’ perception of him and his character have changed through the stories, instead of lecturing us about it.

with janus they kind of attempted the same thing but with a speedrun of three episodes that crammed everything together with little plot. in fact the plot is just an excuse to make every single step of janus’s developement happen, and this progress with janus is the center of the episodes. at least there is some plot, but its not as natural, we don’t see thomas struggle with him casually, we don’t see logan or patton learning information about how to deal with him. its not how a normal person would go through this. but we do see different stages of his acceptance and we see all the sides learning new things about janus gradually.

but then with remus they just pressed literally everything in one video and all the learning thomas would have to do about him and dealing with him that he did with virgil in an entire year happens in?? 40 minutes? because he (logan) somehow already knew everything and he just had to remind himself (patton and virgil) of it?

that’s how i see the dark sides’ development (?). now logan.

with virgil you could assume logan took note of what Lilly said in that first video, then logan and had thomas research about it and find strategies to later use them when they were necessary. as if Taking on Anxiety was a first step with learner’s wheels and then My Negative Thinking was thomas being able to repeat the process on his own. it makes sense. first someone teaches you and then you do it independently. you can believe there was a learning process with Logan’s help right there, beginning with Logan (and thomas) not knowing something and then researching (between videos), understanding it, to finally accepting it.

after the debate logan was still neutral about virgil, and was pushed to reflect more about his role until he disappeared, to finally come to the realization of why he was necessary, by remembering a small fact he learned while researching strategies (the yerkes dodson curve). that one isnt a streategy, so makes sense that logan just saved the info and didnt completely internalize it until it became useful. thomas learned what he was told to and then used it when the situation required it.

but with janus and remus thomas has to figure it all out on his own. except he doesn’t, because Logan already knew everything. he already knows what the dark sides represent, every single thing they encompass, he knows what the studies say about the problems they cause, he has understood, accepted, and internalized everything before the videos even start!! and then its only him telling the rest of the sides what he already learned on his own? he learned all this with the rest not being present or without it causing any emotion whatsoever? how can logan memorize all this stuff if thomas used to be indifferent towards it? you learn through connection with your emotions. it mAKES NO SENSE that logan knows all this.

also logan is defensive and gets frustrated easily. thats essential to his character. and you could see he was annoyed and bothered by anxiety in the first season. anxiety got in his way sometimes so logan also didn’t want him around at the beginning.  WHEn did logan have this development of suddently not caring at all what the dark sides do? not caring at all how remus affects thomas’s productivity while when roman does it he goes into screaming matches and even throwing stuff!!. it is stated that he does have feelings no matter how much he denies it, , then why doesn’t he feel anything At. All. when confronted by remus? why is he so calm around him? when did he learn to deal with him?

even worse: logan went through a whole arc of accepting virgil, just like the rest of them, but he still can’t even deal with Roman and Patton with whom he interacts literally every video?? he is so affected by them everytime they do something irrational, gets angry, and starts yelling about what does and doesn’t make sense. he says he doesn’t have this problem with remus because his ideas shouldn’t have an impact on thomas if they don’t let them. but when and how did he learn this? how does he know intrusive thoughts are different from other thoughts thomas has that he, as logic, doesn’t like?

logan said in the video its bad to try too hard to make sense of remus’s contributions. that sounds like something LOGIC would do. try too hard to make sense of him until (with experience and research) he realizes it is impossible and gets them nowhere, and also would end up hurting thomas more in the long run. then why can’t we see this development? how does he JUST. KNOW? how does he know before the duke is introduced what will and wont hurt thomas if this is the first time ever that thomas is hurt by him?

i can stay here complaining all day honestly. there’s so much logan as rational thinking, reason, logic, of a person (who doesn’t have any experience with therapy or believe in it, apparently) could have gone through while learning about dark sides of your personality. they dont have to show it on camera if they think they already showed enough of this process for virgil! but somehow imply that this development happened, and not just have logan suddenly be this perfect all knowing  entity that knows exactly what to do before it happens. i think logan lecturing them about intrusive thoughts for 20 minutes was a lazy decision, no matter how much work it took to write those dialogues. its lazy because it doesn’t fit with the storytelling style they chose to make Sanders Sides with, but they didn’t take the time to figure out a way to make it fit.

im going off again.again i can do this all day. but im going to stop now. sigh.

[abnegerudite]

Okay the amount of posts saying Logan is turning to the orange side downgrades the way Thomas thinks.

Thomas separates the bad from the good because of his religious upbringing. We see that we Remus and Roman, something Logan talks about in DWIT.

So how the heck could Logan become a dark side?

Thomas separated the positives from the negatives at a really young age. Logic is a positive trait, so I’m just curious how logic could also be a negative trait in his upbringing. I could possibly see it as a negative when logic questions the spiritual side of religion, and then it denotes into some form of ignorance, but even then that would just put logic on a spectrum rather than make him up to be a completely different side.

We see Virgil/Anxiety as being on a spectrum with the Yerkes-Dodson Curve, as too much and too little is a detriment to Thomas. We see that similar to Patton/Morality and Roman/Creativity. Patton can get too over emotional at times, which we have seen, and Roman can get too much in his head daydreaming that it puts Thomas out and away from doing tasks he needs to do. With Janus/Deceit now in play, we see how lying could both help Thomas better himself and his mental health AND make things worse. We are starting to see this spectrum theory more with Remus as well, especially in this newest asides episode (DWIT). We just haven’t really seen Logan/Logic fluctuating drastically on the spectrum as much as others, but if you notice that when he does get angry he rubs his eyes A LOT.

This moves onto the theory that the last side, the orange side, affects others through sight. I saw a post highlighting that weird photo from Moving On episode that showed Thomas mimicing the See No Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil monkeys, and how that ties in with the sides. Janus can keep the sides’ mouths shut, Remus causes the sides to cover their ears a lot (whether it’s intentional or just because he’s loud idk), so who would affect the eyes?

The last side. Orange. Who we CLEARLY see is affecting Logan in this episode. Logan couldn’t become the last side, but he could definitely be persuaded by Orange now that he recognizes he’s being ignored by Thomas. Orange is clearly manipulating Logan to think that anger is what gets Thomas to notice him, and even using that word “notice” has the connotation of “sight”.

Logan could of course still become the orange side, but I just don’t think that’s the case with everything this series has covered and mentioned in between the lines. Sorry this was so long, I didn’t mean to write an essay on this :’)

[amethystdarkwolf]

My ‘Orange Side’ predictions, theories and a lot of Logan angst.

So I've had this theory for a hot second, and only recently decided to finally sit down and write it out. This goes on for quite a bit, and is a little bit on the heavier side, as it has my predictions for the last dark side, and a bunch of little patterns that are interesting to point out, that mostly lead to angst.

Okay, enjoy!

TL;DR is right before the little bonus thing at the end that's just more angst stuff for Logan that kind of applies.

So if you've been in the fandom for really any amount of time, you will know about The Rainbow Theory. Basically, all it is, is that the sides colors will make up the rainbow, and it seems to be nearly canon. We have all the colors except one. And that color is Orange.

Using the knowledge that this side will (most likely) be orange, we have a clue about him. That he's watching, and that he's aware of the audience.

From 26:34 to 26:44, in the upper left hand corner there is a score in orange text, the number is '07734'. Now, if you were to put that number into a calculator and turn it upside down, it would spell out, 'hello.'

Now this is mostly common knowledge at this point due to the fandom (me included) absolutely losing it over the hint of a new dark side. Especially since he shows up seemingly out of nowhere. I just needed to get those establishing bits out of the way before I continued on with the theory so it's a tiny bit easier to track my thinking (I tend to not explain my points correctly before moving onto the next one so I hope I did a better job of it this time through).

He is speaking to us. He's not saying hello to Patton or Roman or even Thomas! They don't even notice it! He is speaking to the viewer, which leads to the question of what exactly this side knows, and more importantly what this side is capable of.

There is also speculation that this dark side is going to be somehow attached to or the opposite of Logan. The opposite of Logic, that implication alone should be at least a little unsettling. Now, I love Logan, I love him a lot, him and Janus are my favorites. But he does seem to have kind of not the best relations with the others at times. However, I do not think we've reached him actually despising any side, not even Remus or Janus. I think that is going to change.

The color schemes Thomas and the team have been using are really clever. They convey a lot about the character just by having the color associated with them. They have also been working with the idea of opposites. And those opposites seem to conflict quite often.

What I mean is, violet on the color wheel is the opposite of yellow. Virgil and Janus' colors. Now, it is very, very plain to see that Virgil and Janus do not get along. Whatever history they have is still up in the air for specifics, but it's obvious that they have one. And at least Virgil hates Janus.

Red and green are also opposites on the color wheel. Even though they have barely interacted, it's clear by Roman's language towards Remus that they don't have the best relationship. Roman breaks down at the mention that him and Remus are similar. Also the funhouse simile, (DWIT: 35:56) "It's a little like, looking into a funhouse mirror,  but instead of a giant head, or, like, long legs and a tiny torso... It shows you... Everything you don't want to be."   That's more than enough evidence to prove they aren't on the best terms.

Now, onto blue. Blue, more specifically, Logan's shade of blue, is opposite to orange. And judging by the pattern we see developing with the opposite colors. Logan will not like the orange side one bit. Hold onto that piece of information for a moment while I make a few more predictions based on some more patterns.

Someone has already pointed this out, (if someone will be so kind as to remind me of who pointed this out that would be lovely <3), but back in Moving On Part 2, in the background, there is a picture hanging on the wall that will typically change  to fit whatever topic they're currently on, (ex: it changed to a picture of Thomas preforming in the show he won the golden apple for when it was brought up, or a zoomed in picture of the children's book he made.) At 1:30 the picture changes to show Thomas doing the 'speak no evil, hear no evil and see no evil' poses. (Covering his mouth, ears and eyes)

The dark sides and Virgil seem to each have a connection to one of these.

Virgil: See no evil. (Embarrassing Phases: 7:32. Virgil makes the room go completely black, blocking everyone's field of vision while he changed Logan's costume.)

Janus: Speak no evil. (Self-explanatory)

Remus: Hear no evil. (DWIT: 5:36-5:48. Remus muffles the other sides conversation, making Thomas hear him clearer than anyone else with the "Have you ever imagined killing your brother?" line.)  

The last one in that same vein, would be 'do no evil'.

So what does this pattern have to do with the other patterns I've pointed out?

Well, in order to get there, I need to point out, yet another pattern. (I'm so sorry)

Logan has always been a bit more physical than the rest of the sides I think. I don't really like using pre-Fitting In information in my theories, as I'm unsure of exactly how much they had planned at that point?, but I'm unsure of how to explain my point that well without this example. In Accepting Anxiety part 1, at 6:36 you can see Thomas rubbing the back of his head where he was hit with the laptop, immediately after, you can see Logan do the same thing.

To me this sort of establishes that what happens to Thomas can happen to Logan, making him a bit more of a physical presence than the others. The brain is what stimulates pain after all, it controls all the nerve endings and pain receptors.

Another much looser example, is his puppet choice in LNTAO, the whole 'not made of felt' thing was most likely just because of what Logan said that y'know, he didn't feel anything. It is also the fact of, all of the others puppets had felt somewhere on them, except his. Which makes the puppet, in contrast, feel more sturdy and physical.

I don't think this one applies all too much, but it is worth noting that out of all of the sides, Logan tends to always end up holding something/having something more physical in his possession more than the others. (Moving on being the exception)

The note cards.

The yerkes-dodson curve chart.

In Can Lying Be Good he was given a little headset.

Logic Vs. Passion he had a notebook (Which also made an appearance in Embarrassing Phases) as well as the drawings and graphs, while he wasn't physically holding them, they were real and not animation like Roman's examples.

(If you wanna count the crofters go ahead...?)

LNTAO also had the paper ball throwing physically hurting Roman.

In SvS when he was summoned (lmao summoned to appear in court I just got that as I was typing this out.) He is holding a law book.

In DWIT he gets physically hurt, twice. Having his teeth pulled out, and the throwing star. [Side note: the little interaction at 19:07 could also apply here, showing how he's more grounded as he stays almost completely still when Remus practically jump scares him.]

In the Healthy Distractions video he has what I'm assuming is coffee-

Then in the redux, he physically ends up hurting Patton by popping up too close. An odd little detail that really didn't apply, don't you think? And it's immediately followed up with Patton reiterating that they were just figments of Thomas' imagination.

Logan is much more grounded in reality and more physical than the other sides. Which is a very good thing for Logic to be, that's what it has to be.

Now what is the actual theory?

Virgil can blind the others

Remus can mute the others

Janus can silence the others

My theory is that the 'orange side' is going to have the ability to physically or mentally control the others.

And Logan is going to be his chosen victim, at least at first.

Logan is going to have an antagonistic relationship with this side because of the fact that he takes control away from him. Which order and control is what Logan seems to thrive on!

Keeping schedules, having everything in order, being taken seriously, attempting to make sure that Thomas is punctual, all of those things are Logan trying to maintain control. Now that isn't a bad thing in this circumstance at least, he's trying to make sure Thomas doesn't do anything that would cause his life to devolve into chaos.

But when it's taken away from him it's going to send him into some kind of spiral, and lead to his two-part video. Losing control of things is scary as hell. It was one of the points brought up as to why Remus was being a pest more than usual (DWIT: 29:37-29:56). And obviously being ignored and pushed to the side isn't helping either. It could just be the straw that breaks the camels back.

Long story short, Logan's arc is going to be directly tied to that other dark side, at least in my predictions.

And it's going to hurt.

Okay, this last little bit, is purely speculation, with very little connection to anything in canonicity. All of the dark traits seem to have a connection to some kind of animal, and they're typically ones that are seen as gross or creepy in some form, spider, snake, octopus.

What if the last dark side's animal was some kind of bug? A beetle or something. Like seriously the thought of a bright orange beetle or cockroach is, disgusting.

The only reason I'm saying this is because of a random thought I had. We all know Logan's 'robot' persona he puts up, he can't feel anything, he's mechanical, right? Well, a side coming in and completely flipping all of that on it's head, and ruining the control Logan had...

That would be a real bug in the system, now wouldn't it?

Well! Thank you for reading through all of this! I know it got a bit long-winded I just like having as much evidence as possible before stating a theory.

But those were just my thoughts and I'd love to hear yours! So please tell me what you think!!!

TL;DR: My prediction is that the orange side will be able to take control over the other sides, and he will take control of Logan which would cause Logan to spiral enough to warrant his two part video.

------------

BONUS: Some more angsty bits about Logan and control, that didn't apply to the theory too much! 

So first off, to me Logan seems like a very straight-forward (ha.) problem solver. If there is a problem there is no need to go through extensive loopholes or anything, no emotional mires or musical numbers unless necessary, the problem just needs to be fixed, period end of sentence.

I have a feeling that Logan applies that same logic to himself.

In the videos prior to Losing My Motivation, Logan was very very happy and bubbly. Easily excited and willing to participate in things he probably wouldn't have otherwise. He was much more expressive. (I know this is most likely because he was not a fully fleshed out character yet, but it can tie into some angst.)

Then in Losing My Motivation, Logan was brought the conclusion that he was the problem. (Note: this was also where the infinitesimal mistake was also made.)

From then on, we can slowly see minor changes to him in the videos, he starts becoming more reserved, serious, as well as trying new things to sort of fit in? (i.e the note cards) He saw the problem, and he tried to fix it. He became the definite voice of reason. Him smiling also went down a lot.

Looking back on this better explains why Logan was so upset at the beginning of Logic Vs. Passion, 2:28-2:41. To him he's already fixed his problem, he's fixed himself, he was the problem, how could Thomas run into this problem again!

Then we get to the crofters musical, where he just completely drops his walls down and sings and has fun with something he enjoys. Then of course, Virgil and Patton kinda come and unintentionally embarrass him. And he starts getting more feelings of inadequacy which build up to the whole problem of LNTAO.

Then in SvS almost his entire time on the witness stand was Janus subtly poking at him, and at 15:04, he talks about wanting to make sure Thomas is punctual and productive. He in fact calls it his passion project, something he is PASSIONATE ABOUT.

After two or three years, Logan is still trying to fix the problem. He's still trying to fix himself.

Now this link to control is mostly in what Logan is trying to get Thomas to do, be punctual, follow schedules, produce adequate content at a steady pace, and follow the same pattern every day, according to the chart in Logic Vs. Passion. This habit forming, tends to nearly eliminate variables from Thomas' life. Earning Logan more control. Which is clearly what he's wanting, as he feels that is the way to prevent problems from happening.

[an-organized-confusion]

I love the proverbial “Dork Sides“ because man. Their aesthetics and characterizations are great, imo.

I’m just amused about their dualities of being useful and less-than-useful functions.

Virgil - makes sure C!Thomas don’t snuff it and has motivation to get shit taken care of. Someone’s gotta light a fire under everyone’s ass. Yerkes-Dodson Curve and all that.

Janus - makes sure C!Thomas gets treated fairly in interpersonal dealings and that he let’s himself recharge and treat himself more. Otherwise burning out and lashing out is imminent.

Remus - expands creative palate/palette (both work here) for inspiration and a “where there’s smoke, there’s fire“ sort of flag for mental health status (increased ITs are a better cue that you aint doing so hot than any indicator on your actual character.) Also a good testing ground for your sensibilities (beit survival instincts, your moral code, your comfort zone, or something else), keeping your faculties on your toes (to not “fall asleep” and get too cozy/stagnant).

Then, there’s also the dimensionality of “sometimes your brain is just being a dick”...

Virgil - there’s such a thing as too much vigilance and high anxiety can lie to you about the scope of the problem. Can make it easy to run with not enough information, jump to wrong conclusions, and have thinking get all distorted.

Janus - humans aren’t islands, man. It’s okay to trust and reach out to people (with discretion; Janus still has a point about not being too much an open book). You can’t always do shit by yourself, and that’s okay too. It’s tempting to Burn All The Bridges, sometimes. But Chill. The people that matter and actually give a shit about your wellbeing - deserve that trust.

Remus - it can be easy to get convinced about the material of ITs. Sometimes they don’t contribute great ideas (ideas in general can’t all be Winners, tho), sometimes they try to convince you you’re The Worst, sometimes they goad you to do/say Bad Shit. Sometimes it’s just BS the brain decided to fill stimulation gaps with and you gotta learn to deal with it accordingly (def ok to ask for help there from qualified people, however, there’s value in getting an external source involved to break that down for what it is - “brain being an asshole sometimes”).

[starstruck-xavier]

but where did virgil go when he ducked out??

i ask myself this all the time. i remember a theory where if a side goes to the subconscious and stays there for too long they can disappear, and sides can’t exactly die in the traditional sense so they may just stay there until they decide to come back. however, i just thought of something that seems a little more compelling.

what if virgil went to logan’s room?

i like the theory that virgil was/is logan’s “dark side” counterpart because while logan is all about logical, rational thinking, virgil is all about irrational overthinking. i also like to think about how logan used to stand where virgil does now and that if janus and patton are opposites and roman and remus are opposites, that’d leave logan and virgil (orange is a wild card to me, i have no idea what i think he’s gonna represent and that’d also result in an odd number of sides? unless there’s gonna be another one after that, but for now i’m pretty secure on thinking logan and virgil are opposites).

logan was obviously very affected by anxiety’s effects when everyone was in virgil’s room, driving the yerkes dodson curve way over. that makes me think that if virgil were to stay in logan’s room for too long, the curve would be driven the other way, far enough to the point where thomas wasn’t feeling any of his effects at all. that would also explain why he wasn’t in his own room.

the theory might be a lil shaky but we still don’t really have any answers as to where virgil went when he ducked out so this seems like a theory i’m willing to invest in. ahh idk share your thoughts!!

[galactic-magick]

Not So Different: Virgil x Reader

Request: Can I get uhh new side (Pride?) Who is female and everyone is surprised and it's virgil x reader and lots of him being jealous even tho u aren't together and angst and him being the big spoon and stuff ty mwah (sorry if this is badly written I'm going on 1 hours of sleep in the past 2 days hahaha okay - @hhh-angels​

Summary: You are Thomas’s prideful side, and you immediately bond with Roman for obvious reasons. Virgil doesn’t like that very much…

Words: 1400+

Warnings: angst, jealousy

Author’s Notes: I hope you like this! There’s a few time-skips cuz I wanted it to be kinda slow-burn and build up the angst lol. (Also I’d just like to say there is no Roman hate here! He’s kinda viewed as the bad guy in this but I promise I love him plz don’t come after me)

-

-

-

“Hi!” you pop up next to Roman, waving to Thomas. Everyone jumps, but you’re so happy to actually be here that you don’t mind their intense reaction. Deceit’s done a great job at hiding you for years, and you’re finally getting to reveal your existence.

You represent Thomas’s pride. You’re not really either a light or dark side, since pride can be used in so many different ways. Pride can be used for good, such as when Thomas is confident in his achievements, ideas, and sexuality. But if it gets too strong, it can become an issue. Excessive pride can lead to being self-absorbed, insensitive, and arrogant, and unfortunately that may be the reason you’re here.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Thomas asks.

“I’m your pride!” you grin. “But you can just call be Y/N,”

Roman looks you up and down, “But, why are you-?”

“A girl? I just felt like presenting myself this way. Do you need me to change?”

“No, no, of course not! We can sing Disney duets together!” You and Roman immediately start singing “A Whole New World.”

Virgil rolls his eyes.

Thomas stares in disbelief, “I’m still confused, why are you here? Where did you come from?”

“You tell me, Thomas,” you laugh, continuing to sing with Roman.

“Did you guys know about her?”

“Not particularly, no,” Logan and the other sides shake their heads.

“Virgil? Is she another dark side?”

“Not exactly,” he sighs. “But I- I should’ve been able to stop her,”

“Why?”

“Yeah, why, Virgil?” your singing stops and you meet his gaze.

“I’m the one who’s supposed to balance out Thomas’s ego with self-consciousness and insecurity,”

“Who needs that,” Roman scoffs.

“Actually, he does need it,” Logan corrects, pulling up a chart. “Think of it as a modified Yerkes-Dodson curve. With anxiety, one side of the extreme is complete carelessness, and the other is full-on panic. With pride, one side would be self-loathing, and the other would be narcissism. Ideally, everyone should be in the middle, having confidence in yourself but not so much that you become ignorant or put others down,”

“Is she here because…I’m on the second side?”

“Oh no…” Patton mumbles.

“Nonsense! I see nothing wrong with Y/N being here,” Roman objects, draping an arm around your shoulders. Virgil cringes a bit.

“Technically, Roman is correct,” Logan admits hesitantly. “As long as you don’t listen to her excessively, nothing detrimental will come of her presence,”

“Okay…” Thomas exhales.

“Her getting too close to Roman is what you really need to worry about,” Virgil grumbles.

“Hey! I thought you guys were past this?”

“Maybe not,”

“Well fine, Virgil, we’ll go if you have such a big problem with us,” Roman sneers, taking your hand and sinking down.

 -

 Over the next few weeks, you and Roman have become best friends. You’ve written approximately 15 musicals together now, sung every single Disney song multiple times, and have brainstormed millions of ideas on how to help Thomas achieve his dreams in the most extravagant way possible.

“I don’t know how much longer I can take this obnoxious behavior,” Logan closes his book and slams it on the table. You and Roman are very loudly reenacting Hamilton in his room at the moment, and the noise is filling the entire mind palace.

“They’re just having fun, Logan!” Patton shrugs, playing some Go Fish with Virgil.

“Come on, Patton, you know Roman’s just going to corrupt her,” Virgil groans.

“Now, Virgil, I may have had my doubts before but there’s no need to be mean,”

“I’ve had it,” Logan stands up and stomps over to Roman’s door. “CAN I PLEASE HAVE SOME PEACE AND QUIET FOR THIRTY MINUTES?!”

With that, no one so much as breathes loudly for the rest of the day.

 -

 It’s probably way past midnight now, but you still can’t sleep. You head to the kitchen to grab a snack, jumping when you see Virgil there as well.

“What are you doing here?” you shriek.

“I could ask you the same thing,”

“I suppose so,” you grin, hoisting yourself up to sit on the counter. “I guess I wouldn’t mind the company,”

“I usually come down here to be alone,”

“Look, I know you hate me, but you could just kindly ask me to leave,”

“I don’t hate you,”

“You don’t?”

“No!” he sighs, rubbing his eyes. “Are you really so self-absorbed that you think if people aren’t all over you they hate you?”

“Excuse me?” you shoot back. “I’m pretty sure you directly said you didn’t want me around!”

“I did not say that. I said you need to be under control, and teaming up with Roman is not going to help that,”

“What’s wrong with Roman?”

“Can’t you see he’s using you? He only likes you because you’re so similar and you can sing princess songs with him!”

“And how is that bad, exactly?” you retaliate. “He’s the only one who’s been nice to me since I got here, so sorry if my choice in friends isn’t to your standards,”

“It’s just-“

“You know what, Virgil? I really thought we would get along. We both have the capacity for good and evil, and we both help to balance Thomas out. We have a lot more in common than you think,” you slide off the counter and walk out.

 -

 You and Virgil don’t speak for a while after that. Not that you talked a lot before, but that fight really solidified things. You can’t even make eye contact with each other, it’s like you’re not even there.

Roman keeps asking you what’s wrong, but you just shrug him off. How are you supposed to tell him that he’s part of the problem? That maybe if you weren’t so close, Virgil would consider talking to you?

You never meant any harm when you revealed yourself. You really thought you’d be able to get along with all the sides, but it seems that Roman’s the only one who celebrates who you are. Logan barely tolerates you, and that’s only when you’re not being obnoxious with Roman. Patton’s alright with you, but he gets a little jittery if you suggest anything that compromises his morals. And then there’s Virgil, and you know how that’s going.

You don’t really feel like you have to apologize, it’s not in your nature anyway, but you’re sick of having to avoid him all the time now. You need to talk to him again whether he likes it or not.

You swing open the door to his room without knocking and sit on the bed, “Hi,”

“Is privacy just something you don’t understand?”

“It appears so,” you laugh. “Look Virgil, I know you’re mad at me, and honestly I’m mad at you too, but I don’t want to be anymore,” You take a deep breath, “I like you. I wish we had a better start, but I’m willing to start over,”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes,” you scoot closer to him. “And I told Roman to leave us alone for the rest of the day, so don’t worry about him,”

“You didn’t have to do that,”

“I know I didn’t. But I did. So do you want to hang out or not?”

“I guess so-“ before he can finish, you grab his hand and drag him out of his room to the main area of the mind palace.

“You pick a movie, I’m gonna go steal some of Patton’s cookies,” Virgil watches you, stunned, before flopping on the couch and scrolling through the selection. He starts one as you sit down next to him, handing him some cookies.

“Just want to make sure, you actually want to hang out with me?”

“Yes, Virgil. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have asked,” you drape a blanket over the two of you and settle in.

As the movie goes on, you subconsciously rest your head on his shoulder. He stiffens immediately and you jerk back up.

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry-“

“N-no, it’s fine,” he releases his breath. “I’m just…not used to people doing that,”

By the time the movie’s over, you’re fully asleep and Virgil freezes again, unsure what to do. Should he carry you to your room? Leave you here to sleep? Wake you up?

He slowly wraps his arms around your waist and lies down with you, being careful not to make any sudden movements. Despite his efforts, you squirm a bit in your sleep, but thankfully you don’t open your eyes. He fits his chin in the crook of your neck and dozes off himself.

He knows you didn’t have to give him a second chance, but you did. You were right, you weren’t so different after all, and he’ll always be thankful for the opportunity to be something more to you.

[hawkeye221b]

There is no such thing as a “dark side”

Okay, bold title I know, but hear me out [SPOILER WARNING FOR THE LATEST VIDEO AHEAD]

To begin with, we need to look back to whenever a “dark side” has been referenced/when the term was actually coined,

The first instance of the term “Dark Sides” was in “Can Lying be Good” (timestamp 24:15), said by none other than Roman. As soon as this is said, the camera pans to Virgil, who looks visibly uncomfortable. The community theorized, and later had it confirmed in “Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts”, that Virgil himself was a “dark side”

HOWEVER

Virgil himself is not a bad side; he serves to act as a defense mechanism for Thomas and is an important driving force within Thomas’ daily life. Without Virgil, Thomas becomes apathetic and unmotivated, as seen in “Accepting Anxiety”.

I think it’s important to remember the Yerkes–Dodson Curve, as brought up by Logan in the very same two-parter; Too much of something is counter productive, but little to none leads to the same outcome as too much the inability to adequately function to one’s optimal standards

Furthermore, it is imperative to look at Remus, the “dark” side of creativity. Whilst his humor and content is more mature, Remus himself is simply another creative outlook. He does not force Thomas into doing those horrid acts, as Thomas’ morality, logic and sense of self-preservation prevent him from doing so. Thomas, while flawed and human, is generally a good person with enough sense to know the ideas supplied by Remus are inherently and socially wrong, should they be carried out.

Now on the subject of Remus and his “good” counterpart, Roman, we must now look once again to Logan in “Can Lying be Good”. Before Logan speaks, Thomas questions if he is truly is a bad person, to which Patton responds with  “I don’t think you are. i think maybe in that moment, you honestly believed you were a bad person.”, which is an important topic to return to, but Logan’s response is rather pertinent at this moment;

“But belief doesn’t always translate to reality.... Also the concepts of good and bad are arguably meaningless because we can assign any preferred characteristics to either-”

This is unfortunately cut off by Virgil, but it is important to note the subject matter Logan was going after; the concept of “good” and “evil”. When applied to Remus and Roman, are they truly that different? At the end of the day, they are both Thomas’ Creativity, skewed apart by Thomas’ younger sense of morality that was able to discern simple meanings of right and wrong in simple moral dilemmas, as well as the influence of Thomas’ own upbringing.

And again, i point you towards the Yerkes–Dodson curve previously stated; With too much “good”, it becomes a game of spreading one’s self beyond what they are mentally or physically able to put out, which is most certainly how one raises stress levels and creates a negative environment or mindset for themselves. Likewise, too much “bad” influences very well could create a sense of apathy or flippancy at pressing or personal matters, and lead to a spiral of one’s mental, physical and emotional state of being.

Furthermore, when questioned on how and why Thomas did not know about Deceit (recently named Janus), Logan responds with the following

“You place distance between who you are and the lies that you tell. He is responsible for your doing so.”

When asked why the other “light” sides didn’t tell him about Janus, Roman responds by telling Thomas that if he really does not want to know something, Janus has the power to keep the other sides from informing him. Logan’s response is exceedingly telling in the next moment of that video.

“You don’t want to believe it. That’s where his power comes from; things that you want to believe. things that you wish were true... and things that you wish weren’t.”

I find this revelation interesting as wishful thinking and the want to believe in things is commonly associated with Roman, the “fanciful side”... and yet, it is being used here in a context to define Janus. In a theatrical Performance, one is asked or even automatically responsive to the suspension of disbelief, meaning while the viewer is aware of the performance being unrealistic, they allow themselves to believe the tiny lie in order to enjoy what is in front of them. Therefore, wouldn’t it be logically correct in saying Fanciful thinking, or simply put, Creativity in general works well with Deceit, denial or simply just the will to believe in that which is not true?

While yes, Too much deceit and lies is a horrid thing, Janus seems to serve as another sense of self-preservation within Thomas, just like Virgil, just like Patton... and just like Logan. All of the sides contribute to who Thomas is and becomes over time, and as he grows and learns, his ideals are most certainly set to alter or even abandon completely.

Let us, of course, not forget what happens when too much time was spent in both Virgil’s and Patton’s rooms; They ended up having adverse effects on Thomas and the other sides, which is peculiar when one considers they are the “light” sides.

I truly believe the sides, whether “light” or “dark” are subject to the Yerkes–Dodson Curve. Too much of one or the other s bad, but ignoring or disregarding the other because of one is harmful as well.

That’s why there is no such thing as a “Light” or “Dark” side... there is simply facets of Thomas that are learning, developing and must be used and dealt with in equal moderation for optimal functions throughout life.

[hiddendreamer67]

“Do you ever feel like you don’t belong?” For the au where the Sides shift sizes?

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Finale (here!)

In a world where the sides shrink or grow based on their emotions/egos, Logan is still holed away in his room at a few inches tall. The others are finally let in and do their best to help the micro-soft nerd.

October Prompt #15: Control

 I think this is the final part of shrinking-sides! Check out more of my writing at @hiddendreamerwriting!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Logan hid his flinch well, attempting to retain at least a small amount of his composure as his perceptively gigantic fellow sides creaked open the door, Roman being the first to show himself. It was intimidating to say the least, and certainly far worse than the sensation of being overpowered by the size of his bedroom alone.

“Wow, you’re so small.” Roman stated obviously.

“I’m well aware of my stature, Roman.” Logan huffed, his cheeks blazing as he turned away from their prying eyes. 

“Yes, well, no need to get huffy, Microsoft Nerd.” Roman gave a huff of his own. Patton peeked around Roman, letting out a soft gasp.

“Oh my goodness you’re absolutely adorable.” Patton spoke softly, clearly trying (and failing) to keep from being overheard. Logan’s cheeks reddened further, the current littlest member of Thomas’ subconscious quickly feeling the situation slip further out of his control as they entered the premises.

“This is bad.” Virgil let out a hiss of breath through his teeth, coming in behind Patton and suddenly Logan was beginning to feel very outnumbered. “Logan. What the hell.” 

“Language.” Patton gently smacked him. “And Logan… what happened, kiddo?”

“Ah….” Logan’s statement trailed off. How was he meant to explain that he had lost control of his emotions? He was logic, and rationality. Logan shouldn’t be influenced by petty feelings; it was positively embarrassing. It proved that Logan was incapable of performing even his most basic of functions. Perhaps he was not necessary at all, and Thomas would become a more effective human system without his involvement-

Logan flinched, startled out of his wits as the other three sides simultaneously bumped their heads on the ceiling, forcing all involved parties to duck at an awkward angle.

“...ow.” Virgil winced, ducking lower to rub at his neck. “Don’t do that again.”

Logan clenched his hands at his sides, frustrated that his struggles had become so transparent. “I am not doing so intentionally.”

“Oh sweetie, we know.” Patton gave him a pitying look, kneeling down in front of Logan and yet still towering over the shrunken individual. “Here, let me help-”

“No!” Logan hastily rejected the offer, backpedaling away from the approaching hand. “I don’t- I’m not in need of assistance.” 

“And that’s why you’re the size of my hand?” Virgil slumped to the ground on Logan’s right, holding up his palm for emphasis. “Oh wait, smaller, because thanks to you we can’t stop growing.”

There was a thump, and Logan quickly turned his head to see Roman had taken up residence sitting on his left. The three giants were encasing him, leaving Logan feeling trapped and cornered. He bit his lip, looking up to Roman and waiting for the quip he was certain would come at any moment. 

Roman tilted his head, an uncharacteristically thoughtful expression on his face. “...Do you ever feel like you don’t belong?”

“Roman!” Patton gasped, a disappointed look crossing his features. "You're not reacting quite like I thought you would. I expect better from a charming prince like you.”

“Yeah, what the hell, princey?” Virgil hissed, and this time he wasn’t corrected for his language. “We already know he can shrink, no need to make it worse.”

“That- that’s not what I meant!” Roman looked off put by everyone’s critics. “I was making a point, you know.”

Logan frowned, not expecting the insult to be so blatant. “Are you implying that this mindset is logical?”

“No, no no no!” Roman groaned, wiping his hand down his face. “I’m trying to empathize with you here, why does no one get that? I’ll have you all recall I’m the one who’s been in this situation before.”

“Yes, and you handled that spectacularly.” Virgil rolled his eyes. 

“We can just do and say the same things again!” Patton said, his eyes shining with determination. “Logan, you are amazing and smart and we love you!”

Nothing happened.

“Uh…” Virgil shifted, looking uneasy. “I dunno, try harder?”

“Please will you let me cuddle you?” Patton whined, reaching for Logan again who ducked out of the way.

“Absolutely not!” Logan insisted. “I will not be handled like… like…”

“Like a helpless doll?” Roman offered.

The room went quiet, and Logan took a moment to reconsider the way Roman was acting. “...yes.” Logan agreed finally. 

Roman nodded. “You feel like you’re nothing. Like you don’t matter, and it doesn’t matter if we tell you you’re wrong because then it’s just going to hurt more because you were wrong and Logic’s never wrong, is he?”

The other two sides looked at Roman with puzzled expressions. Meanwhile Logan’s own jaw dropped, concerned at Roman’s new apparent skill in telepathy. “How... how were you aware of these thoughts?”

“Because they’re true.” Virgil butt in, looking to Roman for reassurance that he was indeed in on the plan and not about to make everything worse. With a nod from Roman, he continued. “If a side really mattered they wouldn’t shrink.”

“Falsehood.” Logan frowned, gesturing to Roman. “Creativity is an essential part of Thomas’ personality.”

“And so is Logic.” Patton insisted. “Logan, we need you.”

“That is not factually accurate.” Logan began to pace back and forth. “I could easily be replaced-”

“By who?” Roman scoffed. “I operate in a realm of fantasy, Patton’s head is in the clouds, and Virgil, well his line of reasoning puts us over the edge of the Yankovic curve.”

“Yerkes-Dodson curve.” Logan corrected. 

“Why does Thomas need any of us?” Virgil shrugged. “We’re not real. It just means Thomas is insane, and by the looks of things in desperate need of some therapy.”

“Virgil, don’t say such things!” Patton scolded.

“Indeed.” Logan agreed, shooting Virgil a look over the edge of his glasses. “It is quite a common coping mechanism for humans to envision manifestations of themselves as leaders for certain necessary functions. At this point we’ve become so ingrained in his subconscious that a separation from our existence could be detrimental.”

“So what you’re saying, Little L, is that we exist?” Roman questioned. 

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Logan nodded.

“But we’re not people.” Virgil crossed his arms. “We don’t have emotions.”

“You know that statement is illogical.” Logan rolled his eyes. “Patton is quite literally the embodiment of emotions.”

“I think he meant we all have emotions.” Roman supplied gently.

Patton’s mouth formed a perfect ‘o’, finally catching on. 

“I...suppose that our existence has evolved beyond our mere functions, as evidenced by our names, most strongly exhibited in Virgil.” Logan rationalized. “If that is truly the case, it’s possible that, yes, several of us may experience something that is equivalent to human emotions from time to time-”

“Logan.” Patton interrupted gently, wringing his hands together. “It’s… it’s okay for you to have feelings, kiddo.” 

Logan paused his pacing, looking down at his feet. “...I am aware that you hold that opinion.”

“Oh come on, we were so close!” Roman groaned. “We were so close! Why can’t you just accept our help?”

“I should not require help.” Logan answered. “Rationality should be able to control emotions.”

“And what about Logan?” Roman argued. “I mean you already said you’re more than your functions now.”

“I still need to be in control to perform admirably.” Logan continued to insist, sitting down. 

“Bullshit.” (“Language.”) Virgil gave Patton a glare to tell him now was not the time for censoring. “Logan, are emotions logical?”

“Absolutely not.” Logan answered immediately. “They are complicated and illogical and infuriating.”

“And if they’re illogical, then why would a person who’s the embodiment of logic be able to handle them alone?” Virgil waved his hand slowly, urging Logan to catch on.

“Emotions are my realm, kiddo.” Patton reminded him. “Wouldn’t it make sense to accept our help?”

“Yes, indeed!” Roman clapped his hands, gleeful that things were going according to plan. “And certainly you should be able to tell when we’re telling you facts, like the fact that even if you’re a stick in the mud Thomas still needs you.”

Thomas still needs you. “I suppose there is some truth to what you’re saying.” Logan nodded thoughtfully, a hopeful warmth blooming in his chest.

“Logan, even when you’re a clueless moron, you’re still the one who wrangles the rest of us morons together.” Virgil smirked.

“You’re the smartest Einstein we’ve got!” Roman tacked on.

“Inaccurate, but appreciated.” Logan allowed a small smile to grow on his features. 

“You’re going to be okay.” Patton assured him.

Logan’s leg bumped something. He looked up, finding Patton to be at eye level, and realized that in his daze he had grown back to his original size.

“Thank you.” Logan glanced to the sides, expecting to see at least one person giving him a knowing or condescending look. Instead all three faces were warm, gentle. Welcoming. “All of you.”

Patton squealed, launching himself at Logan. “Group hug!” 

The others were quick to follow suit, tackling the nerd to the ground with ease. Despite their increased proximity, Logan found the action unintimidating this time. Instead their presence comforted him, grounding him in his ability to facilitate his duties with ease and reassuring him that they would be willing to assist him in any future emotional endeavors. 

Logan considered their odd behavior upon entering his room. Rather than smother him with kindness and lord over their superiority on this topic that was so new to Logan, the others had granted him the opportunity to come to the right conclusions enough. 

“Thank you.” Logan said again, finding that he couldn’t say it enough.

[esperinkdraws]

missing anxiety (part five)

<< Previous part | Read from the beginning! | Next part >>

Missing Anxiety taglist: @sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes @misunderstoodshadowling @mindscape-blues @minty4green @a-fandom-trashdump @escalatingtoofast

Gen taglist: @ollyollyoxinfree @stop-it-anxiety @pushussmollworld @lildevyl @supersoftsupersleep

not my best, but what matters is that I’ve got this going again.

stuffs: arguing, upsetness, and Roman is not very nice. food mentions, technically. naming a someone who isn’t there to say.

-

It was quiet, and then it wasn’t.

It took a few minutes for Logan and Anxiety to calm everyone down. Patton looked upset and Roman was glaring at Anxiety. Logan adjusted his tie, almost like he was nervous, but he’d never allow himself to get nervous of course… Thomas just looked confused and concerned.

“Well…,” Roman said. “I don’t see why we need a replacement.”

“Roman,” Patton said quietly.

“What? The old Anxiety was a creepy cookie, Patton.”

“Pump the breaks, Princey,” Thomas warned quietly.

“He- he was like an oatmeal raisin cookie that’s primarily composed of raisins – a raisin oatmeal cookie! Nobody—”

“Roman!” Patton snapped.

Roman shut his mouth, and everyone looked at Patton. The moral Side was trembling, lips pressed together and eyes shiny. Roman didn’t seem to know what to say after that.

“Look at that, you made Morality cry,” Anxiety quipped.

“I didn’t—” Roman tried to defend himself.

“Whether you meant to or not doesn’t matter,” Anxiety said with a shrug, glancing over at Patton. Then he shrugged again, turning back to Roman. “And whether you like it or not, I’m here, and I’m not leaving. If Anxiety wasn’t needed, I wouldn’t have had to replace him. I wouldn’t be here.”

“I don’t think any of us comprehended how necessary Anxiety was, or how much he factored into Thomas’s decision making,” Logan put in. “Instilled in humans, anxiety acts naturally as a fight-or-flight reflex.”

Roman started to say something, but Logan interrupted him.

“Hold on, I’m not finished,” Logan said. He brought out a graph, seemingly out of nowhere. “The relationship between anxiety and performance can be expressed on this curve, called the Yerkes-Dodson Curve. It’s named after the psychologists, R. M. Yerkes and J. D. Dodson. They—”

“Get on with it, Calculator Watch!” Roman said, and Anxiety hissed at him. Logan didn’t dignify the creative Side with a response.

“Up here,” Logan continued, gesturing with a pen, which also seemingly came out of nowhere, “is where we want to be. Without any anxiety at all, though, Thomas is not only on this laid-back side of the curve, but he is all the way down here.” Logan now gestured to the left side of the curve, at the bottom. “Which is counterproductive for anything, even following his dreams,” Logan finished, giving a pointed look to Roman.

Roman huffed, but he didn’t say anything.

“Uh, Anxiety?” Thomas said during the short silence. Anxiety looked at him. “Why… Why did the other Anxiety leave? Do you know?”

“Oh, yeah,” Anxiety said with a nod, tapping his temple as if that explained why and how he knew. “Long story short, he felt it wasn’t worth it. Unwelcome and…” Anxiety tilted his head to the side, thinking. “Well, he felt like he was holding you back.”

“The old Anxiety—”

“Virgil.”

It went silent. “What?” Thomas asked.

Anxiety tilted his head back slightly. “The old Anxiety? He had a name. Virgil.”

Thomas opened his mouth and closed it, like a fish out of water.

“Oh,” he said.

[biostudyblog]

Motivation and Emotion

Theories of Motivation

When Charles Darwin came up with his theory of evolution, many psychologists attempted to use it to explain all human behaviours through instincts that were weeded out through natural selection. There is still a debate about how much of our behaviour is decided through instinct, but it is agreed that many human behaviours are not.

Drive Reduction Theory

You’ll notice the creative naming of most of these theories. This theory is that our behaviour is controlled by physical needs. A drive is an impulse to act in such a way that satisfies an unfulfilled need to reduce that drive: you’re driven to eat a sandwich when you’re hungry. Every drive is your bodies attempt to maintain homeostasis or internal balance. When your brain determines that it doesn’t have enough glucose, that triggers a series of signals which eventually cause you to feel hungry to replenish glucose reserves. There are primary drives and secondary drives. A primary drive is a biological need, such as sex. A secondary drive is a learnt need like money.

Arousal Theory

Arousal theory states that we are constantly seeking an optimum level of arousal (not just sex. Get your mind out of the gutter.) Every person has a different optimum level of excitement someone with a high optimum level may be drawn to high thrill activities like rollercoasters or skydiving. That level also changes based on activity. We may do great at an easy task when extremely aroused, but not so well on a more difficult one. The relationship between arousal and performance is modelled by the Yerkes-Dodson curve.

Another theory of motivation similar to arousal theory is the opponent-process theory of motivation (Yes, it’s the same name as the opponent-process theory of colour vision. Psychologists hate us and want us to do poorly on exams.) This theory tends to be used to explain addiction. People are usually at a baseline (normal) state. We may do things that move us away from that baseline state, such as having a pint. Initially, that action may be pleasurable, but eventually we feel an opponent-process, a motivation to return to our normal baseline state. An alcoholic may get sick of feeling drunk and want to quit drinking, but due to withdrawal it’s made extremely difficult, and moves us away from our natural baseline. That alcoholic may have a godawful hangover without alcohol, so he is motivated to return to the baseline state of feeling all right, motivating him to have more pints to feel normal again.

Incentive Theory 

Incentives are stimuli we are drawn to due to learning- we learn to associate stimuli with rewards or punishment- for example, you could play Halo for 3 hours the night before an exam, but you learn to associate that with poor marks, motivating you to crack open a textbook and revise so that you get high marks.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Humanist Abraham Maslow states that not all needs are equal. Our needs can be modelled as a pyramid, detailing which needs we want to satisfy before the others. To model, imagine a man trapped on a desert island with a few other survivors. 

Physiological Needs: Needs like hunger, thirst, and sex. Say you arrived and you were extremely hungry. Before he can think about anything else, he’d likely start hunting down some food, and some water.

Safety Needs: The need to feel safe and out of danger. The island gets scary, especially at night, so the man constructs a hut that completely shelters him from the creatures that may roam the island.

Belongingness and Love Needs: The need to be accepted and belong somewhere. With the bottom two needs satisfied, the man may start trying to befriend the other survivors to try and form a community with them.

Esteem Needs: The need to gain approval and recognition. With his new community, the man may want to feel like he has a purpose with the new community- he may feel connected to his identity as the fisherman of the group that everyone recognises and appreciates. 

Self Actualisation: With all of his other needs met, the man is now fully capable of fulfilling his unique potential. 

While this theory explains a lot of human behaviour, there are many behaviours it doesn’t explain. Many poor parents go hungry in order to save enough money for their children to enjoy small luxuries. People are constantly putting their own lives at risk in order to save others; Malala Youzafi risked her life to speak out about women’s education in Pakistan.

Hunger Motivation 

Some human behaviours can be deceptive in their complexity. Why do we get hungry? Because we need food- but that’s not always the case. For example, people tend to eat junk food like crisps while watching films despite not needing those crisps to feel full, and despite not feeling hungry at all. 

Biological Basis of Hunger

There are several known biological cues which trigger hunger. By putting balloons into research subjects stomachs, and deflating and inflating them, researchers found that when the stomach is full we feel less hungry. The hypothalamus also plays an important role in hunger. By stimulating different animals brain, it was found that different parts of the hypothalamus are acting in opposition to controlling hunger. The lateral hypothalamus, also known as the hunger centre causes animals to eat when stimulated. The ventromedial hypothalamus, also known as the satiety centre causes animals to stop eating when stimulated. These two regions of the brain balance each other out.

The set-point theory is one theory that explains how the hypothalamus picks the correct impulse. The hypothalamus has an optimum body weight it wants to remain at. When our weight goes down, it lowers our metabolic rate (how quickly our body uses energy) and tells us to eat. When it goes up, it raises our metabolic rate and tells us to stop eating. Some researchers feel that psychological factors like learning and cognition are more important in weight maintenance. Along with that, the brain is analysing glucose and insulin levels to determine if food needs to be eaten.

Psychological Factors 

Some reasons we get hungry have nothing to do with physiology. Some research has shown that some people (appropriately dubbed externals) are motivated to eat by external food cues and presentation of food and less motivated by internal food cues. An external food cue would be watching people eat Mcdonalds in an advertisement. An internal food cue would be feeling stressed and wanting to eat to feel better. Everyone responds to both to greater or lesser extents. The Garcia effect drastically affects what foods make us hungry. If you eat something and feel sick soon after, it makes it extremely difficult to stomach that food again. One time, when I was younger, I ate some ham, and soon after came down with the flu, and was puking my guts out. Logically, I knew that the ham had nothing to do with my sickness, but for a long time after I couldn’t even look at ham without flashing back to that sickness. Our culture also has a massive effect on what we find more appetising. I’m from England, so food that sounds appetising to me (beans on toast for example) may sound completely unappetising to readers not from there.

Eating Disorders 

(Trigger Warning for discussions of different kinds of eating disorders. I’ll put a picture of my pet rat at the end of this section if you need to skip it. If you feel like you need help, please click this link for a list of hotlines with trained professionals on the other end of the line who can help you or someone you know through a crisis: https://www.bulimia.com/topics/eating-disorder-hotline/) 

Another extreme example of hunger motivation not matching up with physiology is eating disorders. 3% of adolescents are diagnosed with one type of eating disorder, and disordered eating habits have become a massive problem in American culture. The three most common eating disorders are as follows:

Bulimia- Bulimia is characterised by periods of binging and then periods of purging (or non-purging in the case of non-purging types). Bulimics tend to eat massive amounts of food (although this is not always the case) and then purge it in any way they can, whether that be by throwing up, using laxatives, intense exercise, or fasting.

Anorexia-Anorexia is characterised by starvation. Anorexics tend to deal with a condition known as body dysmorphic disorder (although bulimics tend to suffer from it as well) where the brain obsesses over perceived “fat” even going so far as to having sufferers see themselves as larger than they are. Anorexics will starve themselves, or eat hardly anything for long periods of time.

Binge eating disorder- A harmful narrative surrounding eating disorders is the lack of conversation about the other end of the scale. Those suffering from BED tend to have recurring episodes where they eat massive quantities of food, often eating to the point of discomfort, and feeling a loss of control.

EDNOS/OSFED- (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified or Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder). Not everyone suffers from the 3 main eating disorders. This diagnosis encompasses people who deal with disordered eating, but can’t quite be diagnosed into one of the 3. Some examples are purging disorder, night eating syndrome, and atypical anorexia nervosa.

The emphasis a culture places on weight tends to influence rates of eating disorders. It’s likely for this reason the US has some of the highest rates of documented eating disorders.

Sexual Motivation

Here’s the part of the discussion I’m sure you were waiting for once I mentioned arousal (you dirty-minded bastards.) Sex, like everything else has biological influences and psychological ones. 

The Sexual Response Cycle 

William Masters and Virginia Johnson were responsible for documenting the 4 steps in the sexual response cycle in adults (and I’m sure they had fun doing it.)

Initial Excitement: This is the point where blood rushes to the genitals. The clitoris will swell and the penis becomes erect. Heart rate and breathing rate also increase, and the skin may become flushed.

Plateau Phase: This is the point where genitals secrete fluids to prepare for sex. The heart rate and breathing rate also continue to rise.

Orgasm: Genitals begin to contract- heart and breathing rate continue to rise even further and men typically ejaculate. The release of neurotransmitters like endorphins and dopamine contribute to a sense of euphoria in both men and women.

Resolution Phase: Respiration and heart rate return to normal, and men enter a refractory period. Women, however, can enter back into the cycle immediately.

Psychological Factors

Hormones don’t strictly motivate sexual desires. One elusive aspect of sexuality is sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is an extremely (and unfortunately) controversial aspect of sexuality. Researchers like Alfred Kinsey (who developed the Kinsey scale which tracks the variety of human sexual behaviours) haven’t been able to push back against many of the rumours that exist about less “traditional” sexualities. There is little known about what causes sexual orientation, but no correlation has been found between trauma in childhood, parenting styles, relationship with parents, or masculinity and femininity and sexuality. Twin studies have found a genetic influence- one identical twin is likely to be gay if his twin is, and hormones in the womb may influence orientation. 

Social Motivation

Humans aren’t robots. We experience more motivation outside of satisfying our needs for sex and food. Why are you reading this Tumblr post instead of reproducing, for example? 

Achievement Motivation

One theory that attempts to explain more complex behaviours is a desire to master complex tasks and knowledge and to achieve personal goals. Research has found that people with high achievement motivation are consistently motivated to challenge themselves more than others, constantly setting the bar a little higher. This motivation varies between people and between activities. Clearly, I’m extremely motivated to do better in my classes since I’m sitting at my desk at midnight writing this- but I know how to cook 5 meals, and only 3 well because I have no motivation to do better at cooking.

Extrinsic/Intrinsic Motivation 

Another way to think about social motivation is where the push is coming from. Extrinsic motivators are rewards we get for accomplishments outside of us (treats, high marks, salary etc). Intrinsic motivators are internal rewards like enjoyment or satisfaction. Are you reading this Tumblr blog because you want to get an A in your psychology class, or because you’re interested in psychology? Research into this form of social motivation tends to benefit managers and other leaders- studies show that advantageous behaviour we want to continue persists when influenced by intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation tends to be more short-lived.

Management Theory

Studies looking into different management styles have found 2 main attitudes which affect how good managers are at their jobs.

Theory X: Managers believe employers will only work if rewarded for good work and punished for bad. 

Theory Y: Managers believe employees are intrinsically motivated to do good work so policy should foster this motivation.

Theory Y has shown promise in promoting a better work environment and longer employee satisfaction.

When Motives Conflict

When discussing motivational conflict, psychologists tend to split them int 4 categories. Approach-approach conflict occurs when you have to pick between two good outcomes (Do I want to get ice cream or do I want to get brownies?) Avoidance-avoidance conflict occurs when you have to choose between to negative outcomes (Should I clear out the garage or deep clean the bathroom this Sunday?) An approach-avoidance conflict occurs when one event has both negative and positive features. (Even though I’m lactose intolerant, should I have some ice cream?) Finally, there’s multiple approach-avoidance conflicts. This is a situation where people are forced to pick one of multiple situations all with good and bad aspects about it. (Should I attend University A, B, or C?)

Emotion Theories

James-Lange Vs Cannon-Bard

One of the older theories of emotion came from psychologists William James and Carl Lange, who states that we feel emotion because of biological changes caused by stress. This theory was eventually challenged by Walter Cannon and Philip Bard who found that similar physiological changes occur due to drastically different emotional states- sometimes your heart races when you’re terrified or when you’re really excited. Cannon felt that the thalamus was both responsible for the biological change and the cognitive experience of emotion. When the thalamus receives signals informing us about our environment, it sends signals both to our cortex and the autonomic nervous system, making the physiological change and the conscious experience of emotion occur at the same time.

Two-Factor Theory

Stanley Schachter’s two-factor theory does a much better job of completely explaining emotion than both James-Lange and Cannon-Bard’s theories do. He thought that both our physical response and our cognitive label combine to form an emotional response. He found that people who are already stimulated will experience emotions more intensely than those who aren’t already stimulated. 

Nonverbal Expressions of Emotion

Our nonverbal methods of communicating how we’re feeling have been found to be universal. Most every culture has the same basic facial expression to express happiness, sadness, anger, fear, etc. Research into sociobiology suggests that our facial expressions are actually a part of our genetics.

Stress

Stress and emotion are inherently linked. Psychologists tend to use stress to understand motivation and emotion along with help deal with problems caused by it. Stress can refer to life events (stressors) or our reaction to those stressors (stress reactions) 

Measuring Stress

Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe were the first to design an instrument that could measure stress. They used a social readjustment rating scale (SRRS) to measure stress using Life Change Units (LCUs). Someone taking this test would report a change in their life, such as having a new baby and each change would be assigned a different LCU. Different events were ascribed different LCU levels based on their intensity and their positivity- being married counts for more LCUs than being fired does. This method is not as widely used anymore as we now have more sophisticated ways to measure stress that include individual perception of events.

Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome

Hans Selye’s general adaptation syndrome (GAS) is a description of the general response humans and animals have to a stressful event. His GAS Theory moves through the following stages:

Alarm Reaction: Heart rate increases, blood diverts from other parts of the body to the muscle, sympathetic nervous system is activated

Resistance: The body stays physiologically prepared. Hormones are released to ensure this preparedness lasts- spending too long in this stage can cause the body to exhaust itself.

Exhaustion: The parasympathetic nervous system is activated and returns our physiological state to normal. We are most vulnerable to disease in this stage especially after spending an abnormally long amount of time in the resistance stage.

Perceived Control

Studies have shown that a perceived lack of control contributes to stress. Rats who were given control over the duration of an electric shock were less likely to develop ulcers- patients given control over their morphine dosage tend to report better pain control. The feeling of a loss of control the COVID-19 outbreak has caused has massively contributed to the spike in mental health cases occurring as people are stuck in their homes. 

[sugargliderowl]

As someone who has grown immune to the fear of disappointment and to a certain extent failure hence the Yerkes–Dodson curve doesn't really help much for me. Do you have any tips on how to still find reason/motivation to stop procrastination?

Ooh, gotcha. Fear and anxiety could be good motivators, but sometimes, they really aren’t. Again, it always depend on the person and circumstance.

If fear does not motivate you, which I do understand, there are other motivations that can drive you. For example, you can use positive reinforcement and award yourself with stickers, time to do hobbies, Netflix , etc. You can also think about the end result of doing the task: you’ll get an amazing grade and wrong have to worry too much, you’ll feel better about having something off your chest, you’ll improve so much afterwards, and others.

Personally, I use both fear and positivity to motivate myself. There are a lot of fear involved for me when it comes to school(“...grades”), but when it comes to art and my hobbies, I use more positive projecting thoughts (“I’ll get better and know how to do this!).

If nothing seems to work, the best thing to do is try to just do work for at least 10 minutes. Sitting down and doing the work can give you a good momentum, and your brain will force you to continue the task. Yknow, like inertia but mentally.

Motivation is so hard when it comes to schoolwork. They give you so much and expect so much out of you, but the work is either too daunting to start, tiring, boring, or just straight-up “No” material. But we’re can still do our best on it. We still can. Many lucks to you, Anon, in trying to find your best way! WOO, the QUEST has BEGUN!

[c0ttonberries]

something something Yerkes-Dodson Curve

[iwillsithereandtrytocontribute]

Home 24(?)

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Warnings: maybe a reference to unsympathetic Logan or Deceit (but that's a stretch), Deceit mention

Pairings: None

Virgil woke up in an unfamiliar room. He sat up quickly, too quickly it seems, as his head swam. He clutched his forehead at the onslaught of a ringing headache. Blinking, he examined the room around him. The colors were cool and crisp, nothing like the light muted colors of Patton's room or the vibrancy of the Imagination. So not Patton or Roman then. Definitely not Deceit, and Remus would never have such a clean organized room. So that left...

Logan rose into the room, next to the bed. He straightened his glasses and tie hurriedly when he saw Virgil was awake.

"Oh good. You have regained consciousness," Logan said in a businesslike manner. "I was a tad worried when I found you lying in the Dark Side's hallway, unresponsive."

"He really did it," Virgil answered numbly. "He locked us away from- from everyone. From Thomas!" He looked up at Logan. "Because of you!"

"Virgil, we talked about the this."

Virgil scrambled out of the bed. "Just leave me alone!"

"Virgil! Wait!" Logan called after Virgil's retreating back as he sunk out. "You can't duck out again!" Virgil was gone before Logan finished.

Logan sat down in his desk chair, staring at his hands. If only time worked the way it did in his favorite show. Unfortunately, in this reality, time was linear and past mistakes couldn't be erased.

Virgil popped into his room, like a Dark Side he shuddered. He knew he couldn't duck out again. Couldn't hurt Thomas like that. He never wanted to hurt Thomas. But somehow, he was. Virgil's eternal conundrum. He hurt Thomas by being there and hurt him by leaving.

So he just stopped. Stopped doing. When Thomas called them up, Virgil just stood there. He only offered input when directly asked and even then it was halfhearted.

After this happened the third time, Thomas waited until Virgil had sunk down to recall the other three back in.

"What's going on guys? With Virgil," Thomas asked. He turned towards Patton, looking to his father figure figment to help him.

"How do you feel, Thomas?" Logan asked. "Patton feel free to chime in."

Thomas rubbed the back of his neck worriedly. "Fine I guess. I'm more worried about not being as anxious as I usually am."

"Not a good sign," Roman added.

"No, it isn't," Logan said thoughtfully. "He's not operating to the extent needed to maintain the Yerkes-"

"Yerkes-Dodson Curve, we know," the other three answered in unison.

"Oh good, you at least remember some things I teach you."

"Do you think this has something to do with-" Roman began.

"Don't say his name," Patton hissed. Everyone stared at him. "It just feels like he'll come, you know?"

"Fine, He-who-must-not-be-named. Better?"

Patton nodded.

"Frankly, yes," Logan answered. He took a deep breath, he had to be careful around this topic. "Ever since He showed up Virgil has been distracted to say the least. I propose-"

A lightbulb lit up over Roman's head, cutting Logan off with a loud ding. "We could do a video about Halloween!"

"It's almost Christmas," Logan said, miffed at the interruption.

"Exactly!" "

And Virgil will love it! He loves Halloween!" Patton squealed.

"We could make Virgil think he sprung it on you, and just talk about whatever he needs to. Feelings and all that," Logan joined in. He was slowly warming up to this idea. If it would keep suspicion off of both of them, this couldn't be so bad after all.

Sorry this took so long. I've been practically swamped with life and another project I'm working on. Thank you for your patience, I have no idea when I'll post another part of this.