Sensitization Explained

Personal Experience with Spiders: Illustration of Sensitization

• First Encounter:
  • Finding a huntsman spider (size of a fist) on the shoulder while folding washing.
  • Quickly brushing it off and running out of the room.
  • Uncertainty about the spider's whereabouts (possibly in luggage).
• Second Encounter (Following Day):
  • Choosing a cardigan from the suitcase.
  • Finding a spider on the shoulder in the same spot as the previous day.
  • Freezing with fear.
  • Slowly removing the cardigan, dropping it, and running from the room.
  • The fear response was much larger compared to the first encounter.
• This experience demonstrates sensitization.

Sensitization

• Definition: An increase in responding following repeated presentations of a stimulus.

Habituation vs. Sensitization

• Contrasting Responses:
  • Sometimes, repeated stimulus presentations lead to a decrease in responding (habituation).
  • Other times, they lead to an increase (sensitization).
• The relationship between stimulus intensity and response:
  • Benign Stimuli: Generally lead to a decline in responding with repeated stimulation (habituation).
  • Intense Stimuli: Tend to cause an increase in responding, especially initially (sensitization).
• Stimulus Specificity:
  • Habituation: Stimulus-specific.
  • Sensitization: Not stimulus-specific; it generalizes to other stimuli.