Preparedness (learning)

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In psychology, preparedness is a concept developed to explain why certain associations are learned more readily than others. [1] [2] For example, phobias related to survival, such as snakes, spiders, and heights, are much more common and much easier to induce in the laboratory than other kinds of fears. According to Martin Seligman, this is a result of our evolutionary history. The theory states that organisms which learned to fear environmental threats faster had a survival and reproductive advantage. Consequently, the innate predisposition to fear these threats became an adaptive human trait. [3]

The concept of preparedness has also been used to explain why taste aversions are learned so quickly and efficiently compared with other kinds of classical conditioning. [4]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fear</span> Basic emotion induced by a perceived threat

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In psychology, desensitization is a treatment or process that diminishes emotional responsiveness to a negative, aversive, or positive stimulus after repeated exposure. Desensitization can also occur when an emotional response is repeatedly evoked when the action tendency associated with the emotion proves irrelevant or unnecessary. The process of desensitization was developed by psychologist Mary Cover Jones and is primarily used to assist individuals in unlearning phobias and anxieties. Desensitization is a psychological process where a response is repeatedly elicited in circumstances where the emotion's propensity for action is irrelevant. Joseph Wolpe (1958) developed a method of a hierarchal list of anxiety-evoking stimuli in order of intensity, which allows individuals to undergo adaptation. Although medication is available for individuals with anxiety, fear, or phobias, empirical evidence supports desensitization with high rates of cure, particularly in clients with depression or schizophrenia. Wolpe's "reciprocal inhibition" desensitization process is based on well-known psychology theories such as Hull's "drive-reduction" theory and Sherrington's concept of "reciprocal inhibition." Individuals are gradually exposed to anxiety triggers while using relaxation techniques to reduce anxiety. It is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adaptive memory</span>

Adaptive memory is the study of memory systems that have evolved to help retain survival- and fitness-related information, i.e., that are geared toward helping an organism enhance its reproductive fitness and chances of surviving. One key element of adaptive memory research is the notion that memory evolved to help survival by better retaining information that is fitness-relevant. One of the foundations of this method of studying memory is the relatively little adaptive value of a memory system that evolved merely to remember past events. Memory systems, it is argued, must use the past in some service of the present or the planning of the future. Another assumption under this model is that the evolved memory mechanisms are likely to be domain-specific, or sensitive to certain types of information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trypophobia</span> Fear or disgust of objects with repetitive patterns of small holes or bumps

Trypophobia is an aversion to the sight of repetitive patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. It is not officially recognized as a mental disorder, but may be diagnosed as a specific phobia if excessive fear and distress occur. Most affected people experience mainly disgust when they see trypophobic imagery. A minority of people experience the same level of fear and disgust, and a few express only disgust or fear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Male warrior hypothesis</span> Hypothesis in evolutionary psychology

The male warrior hypothesis (MWH) is an evolutionary psychology hypothesis by Professor Mark van Vugt which argues that human psychology has been shaped by between-group competition and conflict. Specifically, the evolutionary history of coalitional aggression between groups of men may have resulted in sex-specific differences in the way outgroups are perceived, creating ingroup vs. outgroup tendencies that are still observable today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snake detection theory</span> Evolutionary theory regarding primate vision

The snake detection theory, also sometimes called the snake detection hypothesis, suggests that snakes have contributed to the evolution of primates' visual system. According to the theory, predatory pressure from snakes has selected individuals who are better able to recognize them, improving their survival chances and therefore transferring such skill to their offspring. From this point of view, snakes were responsible for the modification and expansion of primate visual systems which made vision the most developed sensory interface with the external environment for modern primates. In her book The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent (2009), anthropologist Lynne Isbell writes that snakes evolved to be difficult to detect and mortally dangerous. Surviving the peril of snakes for millions of years required selective pressure favoring primates' specialized visual systems. Compared to that of other mammals, the pulvinar region of the brain – which helps to visually detect relevant objects – is disproportionately large and effective in the brains of primates.

References

  1. Seligman, Martin E. (1970). "On the generality of the laws of learning". Psychological Review. 77 (5): 406–418. doi:10.1037/h0029790.
  2. Seligman, Martin E.P. (July 1971). "Phobias and preparedness". Behavior Therapy. 2 (3): 307–320. doi:10.1016/S0005-7894(71)80064-3.
  3. Öhman, Arne; Mineka, Susan (2001). "Fears, phobias, and preparedness: Toward an evolved module of fear and fear learning". Psychological Review. 108 (3): 483–522. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.108.3.483. PMID   11488376.
  4. Garcia, J; Kimeldorf, D J; Koelling, R A (1955). "Conditioned Aversion to Saccharin Resulting from Exposure to Gamma Radiation". Science. 122 (3160): 157–158. Bibcode:1955Sci...122..157G. doi:10.1126/science.122.3160.157. PMID   14396377. S2CID   30826975.