Peer Pressure: Social Acceptance and NG

A humans we have a very pronounced behavior pattern that seems to run through all of us --

fitting in.  Especially during our teens, we seem to go to extravagant lengths to fit in.

Who doesnt look back at their teen years and wonder:

"WTF was I thinking!?"

Why do people yearn to fit in?

Why is it important for us, to be important to the people around us?

I tried applying the Big 2, to this question.

Survival.

Alone, a human being is relatively weak vs his environment. As a group we tend to dominate the environment. We are far more sustainable as a group, so those of us who gravitate towards group behaviors have survived & proliferated in the gene pool. 

Our group is our protector. We have a considerable neurological response to the proximity of our group. We feel alone & vulnerable, negative neurological states, when we are away from our group. We feel secure & safe, a positive neurological response, when we are with our group.

Feeling connected to our group feels has the neurological impact of a matter of survival, when in fact, it is.

Here are some example I've seen. 

As a child, our family is our group. We love our family. Love is recognized as one of our strongest neurological responses -- possibly "the"strongest.  Our family protects us. Our parents protect us (the survival of their genes in the gene pool) at their own peril (though actually it is for their survival).

At a point though, there is a marked gravitation away from the family group. This is the period when the offspring rebels against the parents -- intimate communication changes to grunts and avoidance, the emotional bond seems to develop a massive gap.

The offspring would rather hang out with his/her friends than his/her protecting family group.

This didn't make sense at first. 

Til I recognized that this gravitation away from the family group happened in direct correlation with the onset of sexual maturation.

This is when the 'protecting group' shifts, to whatever degree, to the friends.

This is also, typically, the group the maturing person will begin experimenting with mating behaviors.

Genetically we know that mating behaviors within a family unit produce mentally handicapped offspring, and in effect, a less survivable double helix.

The behavior of gravitating away from the family unit during puberty & the social taboo of 'incest, are, I suspect, connected. 

This aversion to our family group as puberty sets in, is designed to decrease the probability of mating within the family group. Kinda gross, kinda makes sense.

Feeling fine!

There are a bunch of neurochemicals/neurotransmitters that make us feel a certain way.

Click on these links for the long version.

Neurotransmitter 

Neurochemical 

For our purposes though, let's start with the simpler version.

Some Neurotransmitters make use feel good, and some make us feel, well....not good.

I call the 'not good' feeling, "discomfort". It seems to fit.  "Uncomfortable" also seems to qualify it well, and gives us plenty of room to include feelings like, pain, jealousy, heartache, anger... etc.

I will also use the term "suffering" on occasion. 

We hear about these neurotransmitters almost everyday in the news and in conversations with our friends. They are becoming common in our vernacular.

Endorphins

Dopamine 

Serotonin

Oxytocin 

& the more stressful neurotransmitters:

Cortisol

Epinephrine (aka Adreneline)

Norepinephrine

The current understanding of these neurotransmitters is that they are involved in many functions of the body, including how we feel.

Part of the understanding of neurogravity is understanding how their many functions are related.

Sex and more sex.

Here are some examples of behaviors, and the neurological response, that support the

Big 2.  

Remember, when something 'feels good', it has positive neurogravity, meaning we are likely to do it; we will "gravitate towards that behavior".

Sex: Feels really good: Supports survival of the genes in the gene pool

Eating: Feels good when you are hungry: supports survival. 

Drinking: Feels good when you are thirsty: supports survival. I think 3 days of no water, and you're dead.

Sleep: feels great when you are tired. Supports survival. 

Get the picture?

To simplify it more, we can qualify the neurological response as 

Positive: Supports the Big 2.

or

Negative: Doesn't support the Big 2.

It's very intuitive.

Some behaviors that provide positive neurotranmitters

Sex: Positive

Eat: Positive

Drink: Positive

Exercise: Positive

Socializing: Postive

Being with loved ones: Positive

etc......

Some situations that generate negative neurotransmitters

The common cold: negative

The flu: negative

A broken leg: negative

Food poisoning: Negative

Getting hit with a bat: negative

Being rejected by a love interest: negative

Losing a loved one: negative

etc....

(I'd love to see some more examples in the comments. If you think of an example that is an awkward fit, toss it out there and we can discuss it.)

Sex & Survival! The Big 2.

To simplify the understanding of Neurogravity & Human Behavior, I've identified "The Big 2".

The Big 2 are:

Sex & Survival!

Sex (or procreation) can be classified as an act of survival -- when successful, it perpetuates the survival of the organisms genes in the gene pool.

For the sake of the examples we will contemplate, lets just call it sex.  Sex has tremendous gravity, so it will prove to be an excellent base of understanding.

Survival comes in a couple of forms:

1. Survival of the organism

2. Survival of the genes in the gene pool.

The Big 2! Sex and Survival!

Neurochemical

neu⋅ro⋅chem⋅i⋅cal

  [noor-oh-kem-i-kuhl, nyoor-]  Show IPA

–adjective

1.	of or pertaining to neurochemistry.

2.	(of a drug or other substance) affecting the nervous system.

Neurochemistry

neu·ro·chem·is·try   (nŏŏr'ō-kěm'ĭ-strē, nyŏŏr'-)    
n.  The study of the chemical composition and processes of the nervous system and the effects of chemicals on it.

"Response to our environment"

In order to develop a response to our environment we need to be able sense our environment.

These "SENSORS" are literally, our "SENSES".

Sight, hearing, smell, touch, & taste are 5 commonly understood senses.

Our senses probe our environment and produce an internal neurochemical response. 

This response is a release of neurochemicals that will create a "gravity" of attraction or repellence.

I adopted the term "gravity" because I noticed that I "gravitated" towards some "behaviors", and away from others.  When I looked closer at it, I noticed that there was an actual tug, or pull that took place inside me, and gravity seemed to be the best word to describe it. 

Imagine the smell of a favorite food when you are hungry.

It smells 'good', and creates a tremendous "gravity"-- tug or pull -- to consume that food.

 It's the neurochemical response that creates the gravity for the behavior. This is an example of the relationship between our neurochemistry and our behavior, that neurogravity explores.

Food Chain Dynamics

Words and Phrases

Food Chain Dynamics: 

Is a phrase I introduced a few years back. There seems to be an intuitive understanding of the concept. 

It refers to any situation where there are dynamics, interactions, between people, that could effect their place in the food chain.  

Food chain dynamics seems to be a core element of human nature.

In any group of 2 or more people (and other organisms) occurs a natural pecking order or chain of command.

The end result of "position in the food chain" is a result of the 'food chain dynamics'.

Goals of this blog

My goal of this blog is to get a documented form of Neurogravity into circulation for consideration, review and comment.

I have been pursuing this concept for about 10 years now, and it has grown into a significant body of understanding. I have shared it with people in conversation and have enjoyed hours of intense discussion with them.

Primarily, in its earlier years, with Tommy Garret, and more recently with Chase Costello.

more....

Understanding neurogravity (NG) provides the 'student of NG' with a dynamic and functional understanding of human behavior that can be applied to any part of his or her life.