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 process of habituation.

On this occasion, we will talk about the second type of pre-associative learning: awareness .

What is awareness?

We understood habituation as the decrease in response of an organism to a stimulus by continuous presentation. Awareness constitutes the opposite process , since it consists of the increase in the response of an organism to a stimulus by its mere presentation. That is, reaching a state of increasing activation when receiving a type of stimulus.

In order for us to understand each other, the most representative case is the hated “beep-beep” of the alarm clock, which when it sounds, it deeply disturbs us. The tantrums of a child, the sound of the ambulance, the screams… are environmental stimuli to which people usually react in an exaggerated way, so it is said that we are sensitive to them. It is easy to become sensitive to the above-mentioned stimuli, as they are very disturbing. The greater the intensity of the stimulus, the easier it is to become sensitive to it .

When sensitization does not depend on intensity

There are, however, a number of stimuli that are not characterized as being intense and yet we become sensitive to them. A good example of this are those things we say that give us “grime”, which can be very particular like touching your hair when it is wet, the creaking of bones or more extended like scratching the blackboard with your nails or chewing silver paper.

In general terms, when someone is in a state of high activation, the process of sensitization to environmental stimuli is accentuated . When we are angry, subjected to 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 who is very sensitive, we must understand that they are in a moment of high awareness of their environment, so it is better to let them enjoy the silence.

Combining habituation and awareness

The same stimulus can cause habituation or sensitization, depending on the intensity and the learning history of the person.

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 sensitive to the stimulus.

The duration of the process

In most cases, awareness only occurs in the short term , as this allows us to enter a state of alert for new and potentially dangerous phenomena.

However, it can become chronic, which is a problem. If it lasts for a long time, awareness can lead to the appearance of future stressors which are in danger of being associated with other stimuli in the environment due to classical conditioning and may lead to future phobias.

Concluding

Even so, not everything that makes us react is bad . Going down the street and automatically recognizing faces of acquaintances, or receiving the caresses and contact of someone we wish to make more and more pleasant, 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 endanger us. However, we no longer live in caves or are surrounded by predators, so in an advanced society, this learning mechanism present in all species often plays against us.