In a previous article, we talked about pre-associative learning as the mechanism that species use to respond to environmental stimuli and focus on the habituation process.
On this occasion, we will talk about the second type of pre-associative learning: awareness
We understood habituation as the decrease in an organism’s response to a stimulus through continuous presentation. Sensitization constitutes the opposite process, since it consists of increasing the response of an organism to a stimulus by the mere presentation of it. That is, reaching a state of increasing activation when receiving a type of stimulus.
So that we understand each other, the most representative case is the hated “beep-beep” of the alarm clock, which when it rings, deeply disturbs us. A child’s tantrums, the sound of the ambulance, screams… are environmental stimuli to which people tend to react in an exaggerated way, which is why it is said that we are sensitized to them. It is easy to become sensitized to the stimuli mentioned above, since they are very disturbing stimuli. The greater the intensity of the stimulus, the greater the ease of sensitization to this
When sensitization does not depend on intensity
There are, however, a series of stimuli that are not characterized by being intense and yet we become sensitized to them. A good example of this are those things that we say that make us “grim”, which can be very particular, such as touching your hair when it is wet, the crunching of bones, or more widespread, such as scratching the blackboard with your fingernails or chewing silver foil. .
In general terms, When someone is in a state of high activation, the sensitization process to environmental stimuli is accentuated When we are angry, under a lot of stress or with a huge Sunday hangover, any stimulus in the environment is capable of altering us and turning us into real beasts.
From now on, when we see someone who is very susceptible, we must understand that they are in a moment of high sensitivity to the environment they are in, so it will be better to let them enjoy the silence.
Combining habituation and sensitization
The same stimulus can cause habituation or sensitization, depending on the intensity and the person’s learning history.
For this reason, we act with surprise when someone we know reacts exaggeratedly to stimuli that we have not even perceived. In those cases, we are accustomed to them, while the other person is sensitized to the stimulus.
The duration of the process
In most cases, sensitization only occurs in the short term since in this way it allows us to enter a state of alert in the face of new and potentially dangerous phenomena.
However, it can become chronic, which is a problem. If its duration is prolonged for a long time, sensitization can cause future stressors to appear that run the risk of being associated with other stimuli in the environment through classical conditioning and may lead to future phobias.
Concluding
Even so, not everything that makes us react is bad Walking down the street and automatically recognizing faces of acquaintances, or receiving the caresses and contact of someone whom we wish would be more and more pleasurable, makes us reconcile with this mechanism inherited from evolution.
It is necessary to understand that this process is highly adaptive, since it allows us to focus our attention on stimuli that could put us in danger. However, we no longer live in caves nor are we surrounded by predators, so in an advanced society, this learning mechanism present in all species often works against us.
