Source status: research term used across physiology, psychology and affective science.
Arousal describes degrees and forms of activation: alertness, mobilisation, intensity or readiness to respond. It can rise with fear, pleasure, exertion, anger, concentration, novelty or anticipation.
Arousal is not a synonym for sexual desire and does not, by itself, reveal whether a situation is safe. One bodily sign cannot establish a complete autonomic state.
Different from: regulation. Arousal describes activation. Regulation concerns how changing states are organised and responded to across a situation.
Related: Autonomic Nervous System; Regulation; Sensation; Safety.
