Sensitization, a form of pre-associative learning.

Stimuli that progressively activate our organism's response.

In a previous article, we talked about pre-associative learning as the mechanism used by species 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: sensitization.

What is sensitization?

We understood habituation as the decrease of an organism's response to a stimulus by continuous presentation. Sensitization is the opposite processIt consists in the increase of an organism's response to a stimulus by the mere presentation of this stimulus. In other words, reaching a state of increasing activation upon receiving a type of stimulus.

To make ourselves understood, 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 overreact, so it is said that we are sensitized to them. It is easy to become sensitized to the stimuli mentioned above, as they are very disturbing stimuli. The greater the intensity of the stimulus, the easier it is to become sensitized to it..

When sensitization does not depend on intensity

There are, however, a number 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 "cringe", which can be very particular such as touching our hair when it is wet, the crunching of bones or more widespread such as scratching the blackboard with our fingernails or chewing silver foil.

Generally speaking, when someone is in a state of high arousal, the process of sensitization to environmental stimuli is accentuated.. When we are angry, under a lot of stress or with a huge Sunday hangover, any environmental stimulus is capable of altering us and turning us into real beasts.

From now on, when we see someone very susceptible, we must understand that they are in a moment of high sensitization with the environment in which they are, so it will be better to let them enjoy the silence.

Conjugating habituation and sensitization

The same stimulus can provoke habituation or sensitization, depending on the intensity. and the person's learning history.

For this reason, we act with surprise when an acquaintance of ours overreacts to stimuli that we have not even noticed. In such cases, we are used 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.In most cases, sensitization occurs only in the short term, as it allows us to enter a state of alertness to new and potentially dangerous phenomena.

However, it can become chronic, which is a problem. If its duration is prolonged over a long period of time, sensitization can lead to the appearance of future stressors which may be associated with other environmental stimuli by 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 we wish to be more and more pleasurable, makes us reconcile ourselves with this mechanism inherited from evolution.

It is necessary to understand that this process is highly adaptiveIt allows us to focus our attention on stimuli that could endanger us. 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.