Dual-process Theory Of Habituation Research Articles

Exhaustion and dependency: a habituation–sensitization perspective on the duality of habit in social media use

PurposeThe current work builds on the dual process theory of habituation and sensitization to empirically investigate theory-based mechanisms through which social media use habit influences continued social media use intentions in the context of problematic social media use (SMU).Design/methodology/approachWe build on the dual process theory of habituation and sensitization and test our model with structural equation modeling technique applied to survey-based data collected from 337 social media users.FindingsFindings suggest that SMU Habit may increase user's perceived Habituation and directly reduce user's experienced SMU related Exhaustion. Furthermore, Habituation and SMU related Exhaustion are negatively associated in a nonlinear fashion. Also, SMU Habit may promote higher level of SMU Dependency through Sensitization. Increased level of SMU Dependency is associated with increased level of SMU related Exhaustion. Thus, SMU Habit simultaneously shapes two opposing forces driving continued use decisions.Practical implicationsThe current work can serve as a basis for developing effective interventions especially given the increase in problematic uses of IS fostered by the development of technology use habits.Originality/valueAlthough separate strands of research independently examined the role of “pull” forces such as SMU dependency and the role of “push” forces such as SMU related Exhaustion in influencing users' inclination toward future SMU, a unified theoretical framework considering the triad of SMU Habit, “pull” and “push” forces together is yet to be offered. Deploying Habituation–Sensitization theory will shed new light on dual mechanisms through which habit drives continued use decisions in SMU context. Thus, the current work can serve as a basis for developing effective interventions given the increase in problematic uses of IS.

Horizontal and vertical exploration in woodlice: A dual-process model

Woodlice placed in an unknown experimental enclosure typically run (horizontal exploration) and rear up on the enclosure’s walls (vertical exploration). Previous findings with Porcellio scaber indicate that these two behaviors have an opposite temporal distribution and show differential sensitivity to rotation-induced physiological stress. It is argued that the dual-process theory of habituation and sensitization can serve as a basis to account for horizontal and vertical exploratory activities in woodlice. A model is presented. This model could help identify individual variability in “temperament” and to isolate its effects in various behavioral tasks in woodlice and perhaps other invertebrate species.

Cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation to recurrent psychological stress: Replication and extension

We analyzed the effects of evaluative observation and baseline duration on cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation to recurrent psychological stress. Cardiovascular reactivity to mental arithmetic stress was assessed in college men and women (N=224) during two pretest tasks, a test task, and a posttest task. Participants were assigned randomly in a 2 x 2 design to manipulations of baseline duration before the test task (4 min vs. 12 min) and evaluative observation during the test task (observed vs. control). Repeated exposure to stress attenuated cardiac but not vascular reactivity. Evaluative observation disrupted cardiac adaptation, resulting in a resurgence of beta-adrenergic cardiac reactivity during the test task. Cardiac adaptation resumed fully during the posttest task. Baseline duration had no effect on reactivity. The results replicate and extend previous work, and support the dual process theory of habituation and sensitization.

Cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation to recurrent psychological stress: The moderating effects of evaluative observation

The impact of evaluative observation on cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation to recurrent psychological stress was evaluated in 162 undergraduate men and women. All participants performed three mental arithmetic tasks with or without evaluative observation. Impedance cardiographic, blood pressure, task performance, and stress appraisal measures were recorded for each task. Evaluative observation moderated the effects of task repetition on cardiac reactivity but not vascular reactivity. The introduction of evaluative observation disrupted cardiac adaptation, resulting in a resurgence of beta-adrenergic cardiac reactivity (p < .005), whereas the removal of evaluative observation promoted cardiac adaptation. Evaluative observation also increased stress appraisals and slowed task performance. The results support the dual process theory of habituation, rather than stimulus comparator theory, but only partially support cognitive appraisal theory.

Autonomic, electroencephalographic, and myogenic activity accompanying startle and its habituation during mid-childhood.

This study investigated (a) possible associations of the large individual variation in startle, with accompanying autonomic, central nervous system, and myogenic activities in a habituation paradigm; and (b) the patterns of habituation of these variables. Startle blinks to 40 noise bursts, heart rate, alpha activity, and orbicularis oculi electromyographic (EMG) activity preceding and following each startle response were measured in 40 normal 7-11-year-old boys. Startle amplitude and its habituation were independent of association with either initial values or successive changes in the autonomic, alpha, and EMG activities; whereas startle habituated, pre- and poststartle myogenic, alpha, and cardiac activities failed to habituate. Tonic cardiac activity was facilitated, suggesting sensitization of state, as proposed in the dual-process theory of habituation.

Habituation and Sensitization of the Acoustic Startle Response in Rats: Amplitude, Threshold, and Latency Measures

The amplitude of the acoustic startle response habituates to repetitive stimulation. The input and output of the startle system were measured to determine if the decrease in startle amplitude during repetitive stimulation is due to an increase in the startle threshold. Two experimental approaches were used in 35 Sprague–Dawley rats to probe the relationship between the input (the sound pressure level of the stimulus) and the behavioral output (startle amplitude). The results show that the minimum threshold for a response does not change during habituation; rather, the slope of the dependence of startle amplitude on stimulus level decreases. Because habituation does not influence startle threshold we propose that the site for habituation is located in the neural circuitry downstream from the site for startle threshold. Besides amplitude and threshold, as an additional parameter we measured startle latency. In general, the latency of the acoustic startle response is negatively correlated with the response amplitude. This correlation has been repeatedly shown, therefore one would expect a latency increase during the amplitude decrease caused by habituation. However, the latency of the startle reaction also decreased during the course of repetitive stimulation. According to the dual process theory of habituation, a stimulus has both a response-decreasing, i.e., habituating, as well as a response-increasing, i.e., sensitizing, influence on a behavior (Groves & Thompson, 1970). Our explanation of the present results is that startle amplitude is reduced following repetitive stimulation because it is mainly influenced by habituation; latency, however, is shortened because it is mainly influenced by sensitization.

Fractionation of respiratory and vascular responses with simple visual stimulation

The unitary nature of Sokolov’s orienting response (OR) has been interpreted as requiring the covariation of a range of physiological indicators in response to stimulus variation. In contrast, Barry (1978) proposed a four-way fractionation of these indicators as a more realistic description of stimulus-response relationships in the OR domain. The first experiment tested aspects of this fractionation with simple visual stimulation and confirmed the existence of the three independent processes predicted for situations not requiring a motor response. Parallels between two of these processes and those of Groves and Thompson’s (1970) dual-process theory of habituation were noted, and then explored in the following two experiments. Results confirmed the fractionation obtained in the first experiment and indicated that dual-process theory can handle various aspects of response fractionation that cannot be accommodated by Sokolov’s OR theory.

Habituation of the pyramidal response in unanesthetized cat

Evoked pyramidal activity characteristics in unanesthetized cats were studied in relation to the intensity and frequency of repeated somatic stimuli. An early component of the evoked pyramidal activity exhibited habituation while a later component showed sensitization. Both habituating and sensitizing components were affected by stimulus manipulations. The results are consistent with a dual-process theory of habituation.

Facilitated habituation: strychnine dose-response effects on neural and behavioral habituation.

The effects of two doses of strychnine sulfate (0.125 mg/kg and 0.500 mg/kg) on mouse neural and behavioral habituation were assessed. Reliable alterations in concurrent neural (spontaneous and evoked) activity and spontaneous behavioral activity were obtained as the result of training. Neural habituation was characterized by higher frequency, lower amplitude EEG activity, reduced hippocampal theta activity, increased amplitudes in early components of visual evoked responses, and transient increases followed by progressive decreases of late component amplitudes of the visual evoked responses. Behavioral habituation appeared as decreased gross activity and changes in mouse orientation to cogent features of the test chamber. Low strychnine doses (0.125 mg/kg) reliably facilitated habituation to light flashes and produced lessened sensitivity to dishabituation stimuli. High strychnine doses (0.500 mg/kg) disrupted habituation and produced heightened sensitivity to dishabituation stimuli. The results were accommodated by a modified dualprocess theory of habituation; single process views of habituation were inadequate. The significance of these results to drug facilitation was discussed in terms of optimal arousal and the mediation of pro- and retroactive influences on learning. The characterization of processes underlying memory storage seems amenable to further clarification using CNS stimulants known to operate on such processes.