Question

Susan and Robert are the parents of three children. one night while the family was sleeping, a fire broke out next door, susan and Robert heard the fire trucks and rushed out to see what was happening. None of the children woke up. even with the sounds of sirens close to the house.why did the parents wake up,but the children didn't wake up?

Answer 1

This is mainly due to the difference in response of the reticular activation system. the parents wake up and the children do not. this happens as the parents have the sense of responsibility and are the person in charge for the situation. the children are in general much less conscious about such situation. The difference in the activation occurs due to the difference in sense of responsibility. The RAS system basically checks for each stimuli, which in case of the parents led to their awakening and in the case of children did not respond. The difference is also associated with cerebral functioning and maturation. The situation of emergency produces a sense of responsibility.