These “default” options are called Pavlovian biases: they stem from us wanting to take action in order to gain a ‘win’, or wanting to not take action to avoid a ‘loss’. Consequently, we associate our actions with their outcomes, and quickly learn to seek reward and to avoid punishment.īy default, the things that give us more “wins“ are associated with taking action (e.g., cooking, exercising, meeting new people, etc.), while the things that bring us “losses” are associated with taking no action (e.g., not falling off a cliff, not eating something poisonous, etc.). Our actions have consequences, some are positive and some negative. Researchers have also proposed that trauma may even change the way a person makes decisions. Therefore, people with PTSD perceive stress differently than people without.
Research has shown that people with PTSD differ in the function and structure of the amygdala, hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex – regions that regulate and influence our response to stress. They have vivid flashbacks of traumatic events, and will therefore try to avoid any cues that relate back to the trauma. People with PTSD are afraid to form new relationships, and find it difficult to express their needs or their creative potential. Traumatic events are difficult to heal and can leave scars for life. Survivors of war, those who’ve experienced near death experiences, or victims of sexual assault have one thing in common: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Trauma-related associations prompt people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to make decisions differently than adults without PTSD.