Function
When an individual encounters a novel environmental stimulus, such as a bright flash of light or a sudden loud noise, he or she will pay attention to it even before identifying it. This orienting reflex seems to be present early in development, as babies will turn their head toward an environmental change. From an evolutionary perspective, this mechanism is useful in reacting quickly to events that call for immediate action.
Read more about this topic: Orienting Response
Famous quotes containing the word function:
“For me being a poet is a job rather than an activity. I feel I have a function in society, neither more nor less meaningful than any other simple job. I feel it is part of my work to make poetry more accessible to people who have had their rights withdrawn from them.”
—Jeni Couzyn (b. 1942)
“The function of comedy is to dispel ... unconsciousness by turning the searchlight of the keenest moral and intellectual analysis right on to it.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Every boy was supposed to come into the world equipped with a father whose prime function was to be our father and show us how to be men. He can escape us, but we can never escape him. Present or absent, dead or alive, real or imagined, our father is the main man in our masculinity.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)