When he got home from work yesterday, Jason's wife told him that she was pregnant with their third child. Despite the fact that they had not planned to have an additional child, Jason was very happy at the unexpected news and he and his wife enjoyed the rest of the day sharing the news with family and friends. According to Jeffrey Gray, which of the following systems was triggered when Jason got this unexpected news?
A) the corticular hormone system
B) the behavioral inhibition system
C) the thalamic-pituitary-adrenal system
D) the behavioral activation system

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The behavioral activation system (BAS) is responsible for generating positive emotional responses to reward-related stimuli and unexpected positive events, which is exactly what Jason experienced upon hearing the news of his wife's pregnancy. The other systems listed (corticular hormone, behavioral inhibition, and thalamic-pituitary-adrenal) are not directly related to this type of positive emotional response.

When He Got Home from Work Yesterday, Jason's Wife Told