PSYCH 1X03 Lecture Notes - Systematic Desensitization, Drug Tolerance, Bradypnea
8 Mar 2013
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Document Summary
Orienting responses are important for focusing your attention to evaluate unfamiliar stimuli which may potentially signal danger or unexpected opportunity. However, if you responded equally to every stimuli in the environment, you would become overwhelmed and your divided attention may cause you to miss out on critical information. Is important because a change in stimulation of a familiar stimulus can indicate important information. Increase in response to repeated presentation: can be an adaptive behaviour because it prompts you to engage in behaviours appropriate to escaping a potentially harmful stimulus. Key difference between the two processes is that dishabituation involves the recovery of the original response, while sensitization produces a response stronger than the original one. Whether a particular stimulus leads to habituation or sensitization depends on factors such as intensity of the stimulus: more intense stimulus tend to lead to sensitization and modestly intense stimuli tend to lead to habituation.
