Habituation: a key process in preassociative learning

What is habituation and what are its positive and negative aspects?

Among all types of learning, pre-associative pre-associative learning is the simplest of all and the one shared by absolutely all animal species on the planet. It is a type of learning that is implicit in nature and is shared by absolutely all animal species on the planet. a type of learning of an implicit or subconscious nature that allows species to adapt to their environment..

It is enough for an organism to be endowed with the simplest of nervous systems for it to learn in a pre-associative way, which, in short, refers to the capacity of an organism to respond or not to respond to environmental stimuli.

Habituation and sensitization

Within pre-associative learning we find two phenomena: habituation and sensitization. habituation y sensitization. For the moment we will focus on the former.

Habituation: definition and examples

It is considered to be the most primitive form of learning and is defined as the decrease of an organism's response to a stimulus, in other words, it is the process by which we stop responding to that which is not relevant.In other words, it is the process by which we stop responding to that which is not relevant.

It is a very common and frequent phenomenon in our daily lives. Those who live near an airport, a large highway or a discotheque will recognize it easily, because if it is the first time you are in the vicinity of such noisy places you will find it impossible to live in these conditions, while those who have already been living in these conditions for a few weeks, no longer hear noise pollution. Habituation has acted on them, and has made that the stimuli that for us are aversive at first, they are unable to listen to them if they do not pay very close attention.

A form of learning that allows us to adapt to the environment.

But environmental noise is only a representative example of the multiple situations in which this process is present. I am sure that when you are driving or walking to work you do not pay attention to all those details on the road, signs, signals and advertisements are completely invisible to you because you have learned not to respond to them.

If a child does not pay attention to the frequent scoldings and attempts to change from a teacher or parents unhappy with his academic grades, it would not be fair to say that the child is disobedient, on the contrary it is probably that the constant shouting and calls for attention are no longer the right way to get him to change, as he has stopped responding to them. It is also the case of the typical person who does nothing but complain or argue every time he speaks and whose attempts at complaint and indignation are reduced to zero because we stop perceiving them, as they say "it goes in one ear and out the other".

A necessary apprenticeship for survival

As you will have been able to verify, this mechanism is as simple as it is functional. Without this type of learning, the perpetuation of life would not be possible. Any stimulus entering through the pupil of our eyes or through our ear would be considered, analyzed and responded to.

This situation would make us incapable of taking a step without first analyzing an infinite amount of irrelevant environmental stimulation. Therefore, it allows us to allows us to move freely in our immediate environment without having to bother to analyze the possible effects of any sensation. that we meet along the way and that we meet along the way.

A process that brings with it negative social realities.

Although strictly necessary for life, habituation can lead to phenomena habituation can lead to phenomena that are not pleasant for us and detract from the excitement of life. Boredom, routine and boredom are always preceded by this learning, our organism is not stimulated by anything around it and demands additional stimulation to which our organism is able to react and feel alive.

In the same way, it is responsible for the fact that time passes so quickly, since the elements of our environment are not perceived, they are not remembered and, as far as we know about the relationship between memory and perception of time, since we do not store new memories, our perception of time is faster and we rightly sigh at the speed with which life passes.

Remedies to end the negative effects of habituation

From what we have seen, it is impossible to think of a life without this phenomenon, even if it leads to a reduction of attention to our environment, which results in situations of boredom and feelings of transience. However, there are ways to combat its negative consequences.

Activities such as meditation, yoga, Mindfulness and in general, any activity arising from Buddhist roots are based on the development of mindfulness of our external and internal environment, thus making the small and routine activities of our life become large and representative. As it is often said, the little things in life are the most important ones so let's not let this process inherent in human nature prevent us from seeing them.