04 12 2012 I Properties of habituation A Short term habituation 1 Decrease in response strength that occurs rapidly because of repeated stimulation B Spontaneous recovery 1 Increase in response strength relative to levels after short term habituation after a resting period a Response strength is probably still lower than the first stimulation in the first session b Resting period must be proportionately greater than Interstimulus intervals C Long term habituation 1 Pattern of decreased response strength after several stimulus sessions with resting periods in between 2 Indicator that rules out fatigue and sensory adaptation D Rate of habituation is faster for shorter interstimulus intervals E Rate of habituation is faster for weaker stimuli 1 Study with infants a Complex display initially creates an increase in response strength in this case looking time followed by a normal habituation pattern 2 Good indicator the rules out fatigue and sensory adaptation a A stronger stimulus would be more effective at fatiguing muscles or overloading the senses F Below zero habituation 1 Has to do with learning performance distinction 2 Extra presentations of a stimulus create a habituation that is more resistant to spontaneous recovery a From a performance perspective two groups may be habituated to the same level but the group which received more stimulus presentations will have learned 3 Indicator that rules out fatigue and sensory adaptation a Additional presentations of a stimulus shouldn t have any effect on a fatigued muscle or sensory nerve the fact that they do by creating a resistance to spontaneous recovery indicates true habituation learning G Habituation is stimulus specific 1 If you present a novel stimulus to the test subject the response strength will be increased relative to the original stimulus a Amount of increase is related to the similarity of the novel stimulus to the habituated stimulus H Dishabituation 1 The presentation of a novel stimulus dishabituates the original stimulus 2 Indicator that rules out fatigue and sensory adaptation a No dishabituation stimulus could quicken the process of recovering from fatigue or sensory adaptation I Habituation of dishabituation 1 The repeated presentation of the dishabituating stimulus will begin to produce lower levels of dishabituation II Sensitization A Increased responsiveness as a result of exposure to a stimulus 1 Aplysia who receive a small electric shock to the tail will display an increase in response strength to a touch to the siphon a More shocks higher response strength i Be careful to avoid habituation to the sensitization stimulus 2 Infant example a Did the more complex stimulus sensitize the infant for itself B Characterized by broad generalization across stimuli 1 Following exposure to a cutaneous pain rats reactivity to a wide range of auditory stimuli is increased 2 Audience watching suspense film more responsive to sudden onset of external stimuli C Sensitization can be thought of as arousal D More central brain processes 1 Brain structures involved in processing emotional content 2 Many sensory modalities converging a Broad set of responses III Repeated simulation can produce either habituation or sensitization A Interaction between the stimulus being habituated and the arousal produced by the background noise B Function 1 Habituation effects allow individuals to direct limited attentional resources elsewhere 2 Sensitization effects attract individuals IV Process locations in the brain A S R system habituation occurs in a reflex arc B State system sensitization occurs more centrally in the nervous system in the system that determines general responsiveness V Dual process theory A Two underlying processes exist 1 Habituation 2 Sensitization B Observed behavior is the sum of both 1 Habituation effect sensitization effect habituation 2 Habituation effect sensitization effect sensitization VI Affective Dynamics Pattern A Intense positive affect followed by an adaptation phase where affect is still positive but less intense B This level remains steady until some event drops the affect into the negative spectrum 1 Loss of a favorite toy or loved one C Negative affect decays over time and the individual returns to baseline