Unconscious Conditioning Research Articles

Importance of Unconscious Conditioning: Case Study of Mithila

The main aim of the article is to identify and understand the existing ritualistic practices followed in Mithila (a community in India) to nurture and imbibe values among the younger generation. The phenomenon being studied is ‘unconscious conditioning’ within the context of ‘Mithila culture’, using analytical psychology and Triguna theory. Both primary and secondary data have been used for this case study. The respondents were chosen through purposive sampling keeping the objective of the paper in mind. Secondary data included literature in the forms of books, articles and papers which have been written on the said topic. Constructivist grounded theory has been used to analyse the data. The findings show that there are different stages that an individual goes through to gain balance between the conscious and the unconscious. These stages are like stepping stones to attaining wholeness or in Maslow’s terms ‘self-actualization’. Ritualistic practices, traditional motifs and drawings become an integral part of one’s psyche and influence everyday decision-making process. These practices are especially important during major transitions in life—like birth, death, weddings and so on, making it easier and more comfortable for the said individual. The article helps us understand the linkage between analytical psychology, Triguna theory and its implication in our lives.

SIGNIFICANCE OF READING SKILL IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO B1 LEARNERS

At the elementary, secondary, and collegiate levels, teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) typically focuses on implementing teacher-centered approaches or merely adhering to the scope and order of English textbooks. While ignoring students' actual interests and requirements, a lot of attention is placed on improving grammar abilities, honing isolated concepts, and studying various realities depicted in commercial textbooks. Because of the conscious and unconscious conditioning that these traditional methods have had on students, many teachers believe that learning English is dependent on memorizing grammar rules and repetition of pointless and irrelevant ideas, which lowers student academic performance. In order to enhance the English teaching and learning process, this descriptive study suggests using reading as a teaching technique.

Using reading to teach English as a foreign language

Generally, teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) at elementary, secondary, and university levels in Ecuador focuses primarily on applying teacher-centered approaches or on merely following up on the English textbooks’ scope and sequence. There is much emphasis on developing grammar skills, practicing isolated concepts, and studying different realities depicted in commercial textbooks while neglecting students’ real interests and needs. These traditional practices have created conscious and unconscious conditioning in students, and a significant number of instructors think that English learning is contingent upon grammar rules and the repetition of irrelevant and unnecessary notions, which results in low student academic performance. This descriptive study proposes the use of reading as an educational tool for improving the English teaching and learning process. The researchers applied five reading comprehension tests, three related to General English and two to Academic English, and a confidence level in reading comprehension questionnaire to 37 A1/A2 English third-level university students. Measures of central tendency and variability were used for data analysis. Results show significant improvements in understanding and analyzing texts, high confidence levels for reading in English, and better overall language learning. We suggest making replicas of these didactical practices in other courses offered at the university level.

РИТМ КАК АТРИБУТ ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОГО СТИЛЯ ПИСАТЕЛЯ

The article reviews the theoretical works of Aristotle, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Cicero, F. Petrarch, M. V. Lomonosov, Hegel, Goethe, V. G. Belinsky, F. Zelinsky, A. Bely, and domestic literary critics of the ХХ century, in which rhythm is considered as one of the main attributes of style. The author indicates its unconscious conditioning by the writer’s worldview. The paper emphasizes the importance of examining the rhythmic organization of literary works when studying the writer’s individual style.

Unconscious conditioning: Demonstration of existence and difference from conscious conditioning.

Unpronounceable strings of 4 consonants (conditioned stimuli: CSs) were consistently followed by familiar words belonging to 1 of 2 opposed semantic categories (unconditioned stimuli: USs). Conditioning, in the form of greater accuracy in rapidly classifying USs into their categories, was found when visually imperceptible (to most subjects) CSs occupied ≥58 ms of a 75-ms CS-US interval. When clearly visible CSs were presented in a 375 ms CS-US interval, conditioning was strongly correlated with measures of contingency awareness, and did not occur in the absence of that awareness. These experiments delineated 2 forms of conditioning: Unconscious conditioning occurred with a brief CS-US interval, with an effectively masked conditioned stimulus (CS), and with no reportable knowledge of the contingent CS-US relation. Conscious conditioning occurred with a substantially longer CS-US interval, a perceptible CS, and with subjects' reportable knowledge of the contingent CS-US relation. (PsycINFO Database Record

Supplemental Material for Unconscious Conditioning: Demonstration of Existence and Difference From Conscious Conditioning

Supplemental Material for Unconscious Conditioning: Demonstration of Existence and Difference From Conscious Conditioning

Neuronal Mechanisms of Placebo Effects

Placebo responses are complex and work through several neurobiological mechanisms. The neurotransmitters implicated thus far are dopamine (DA), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), cholecystokinin (CCK), opioids, serotonin, and endocannabinoids. Both conscious expectations and unconscious conditioning can bring about molecular changes using the above neurotransmitters along the distributed biological systems, subserving cognition, emotions, pain control, reward, and learning. Expectations can enhance DA secretion in the reward circuitry of the brain, which has a nucleus accumbens at its epicenter. The prefrontal cortex (PFC), which controls attention and emotional memories, negotiates the path to the reward. The nucleus accumbens (NAc), after capturing the sole attention of the PFC, is able to modulate arousal, emotional tone, and autonomic tone to make the brain seek reward of therapeutic benefit, even when no active treatment is offered. Both DA and endogenous opioids play a key role in modulation of placebo responsiveness. The negative expectations of the person regarding treatment or negative suggestions given by the treater can amplify anxiety and pain by activating several brain regions, such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), PFC, and the insula. Thus, anticipatory anxiety generated acts on two independent pathways: the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and the CCKergic pro-nociceptive system. By acting on anxiety, benzodiazepines can block both pathways and reduce pain. But CCK antagonists such as proglumide can only prevent nocebo hyperalgesia, and have no effect on HPA hyperactivity. The ebb and the flow of opioid/CCKergic systems produce the opposing effects of placebo/nocebo. The activation/deactivation between endogenous opioids/DA in NAc helps us understand both placebo and nocebo responses. There are parallels between the placebo response and classical conditioning. Endocrine, immune, and autonomic responses can be conditioned by placebos. Both the expectancy and conditioning mechanisms mediate placebo responses contingent upon previous experiences and social observational learning.

Tyrėjo subjektyvaus patyrimo episteminė reikšmė lauko tyrimuose

Tyrėjo subjektyvaus patyrimo episteminė reikšmė lauko tyrimuose

Unconscious evaluative conditioning: Attitude change induced by invisible words

Unconscious evaluative conditioning: Attitude change induced by invisible words

The placebo effect and homeopathy

Like other forms of medicine, including Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), homeopathy elicits expectations in patients. The physician-patient relationship, personal and comprehensive treatment and lack of adverse effects are elements in creating positive expectations. Other elements may be associated with negative expectations. We conducted a systematic literature review on placebo and nocebo effects in acupuncture and homeopathy using Medline. Findings on the psychophysiological and neuromediating mechanisms of the placebo-nocebo phenomenon are reviewed. Studies of these effects reveal how expectations and unconscious conditioning can be measured by imaging and EEG methods. They result in significant, non-specific therapeutic effects, which may confuse the evaluation of the specific therapeutic effects treatment, hampering selection of the simillimum. Directions for future research on non-specific therapeutic effects of homeopathy to improve clinical practice and clinical research are discussed.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH–PHYSIOLOGY: Unconscious Classical Conditioning of Sexual Arousal: Evidence for the Conditioning of Female Genital Arousal to Subliminally Presented Sexual Stimuli

Although the assumption that sexual behavior is at least partly learned is common across theories of sexual behavior, classical conditioning of sexual response in women has been seldom studied. The study of unconscious classical conditioning of appetitive sexual responses in women. Vaginal pulse amplitude assessed by vaginal photoplethysmography, and ratings of sexual affective value. Pavlovian conditioning was examined in 18 sexually functional women by using two erotic pictures as conditional stimuli (CSs) and genital vibrotactile stimulation as unconditional stimulus (US). During the acquisition phase, the CSs were presented briefly (30 ms) and were masked by an immediately following masking stimulus. Only one CS (the CS+) was followed by the US during the acquisition phase. Conditioned responses were assessed during the extinction phase with supraliminal presentations of the CS+ and the CS-. Vaginal pulse amplitude was higher in response to the CS+ than during the CS- during the first extinction trial. There was no conditioning effect on ratings of affective value. The experiment demonstrates evidence for unconscious conditioning of genital responses in women, but no evidence for evaluative conditioning. The results add to the limited evidence for classical conditioning of sexual arousal in women, and to increasing evidence for associative emotional learning without awareness.

Yoga and Psychoneuroimmunology

Research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology has helped to build confidence among members of the conventional medical community regarding the concrete positive effects that stress management, counseling, meditation,and Hatha-Yoga can play in treating disease and promoting health. The "discoveries" in this field are echoing a major theme in yogic scriptures—that the mind plays a central role in healing and wellness. In essence, Yoga is designed to optimize an individual's psychoneuroimmunological functioning by a) addressing the roots of negative, unconscious conditioning and b) prescribing a multidimensional practice for positive transformation.

New insights into placebo analgesia

The placebo effect is a widespread phenomenon in medicine, both in clinical trials and in routine medical practice. Most of our knowledge about the underlying psychological and physiological mechanisms comes from the study of placebo analgesia. When the correct methodological approach is used, striking placebo effects can be detected and these can be mediated by conscious anticipatory processes or unconscious conditioning mechanisms. However, it should be stressed that many improvements observed after the administration of a placebo are not real placebo effects, but different phenomena such as spontaneous remission, regression to the mean and symptom detection ambiguity. Both neuropharmacological studies and brain imaging investigations show that placebo analgesia is mediated by endogenous opioids. Moreover, we also know that during placebo analgesia other systems change their functions, like the respiratory centres and the cardiovascular system. The placebo effect has also been approached from a different perspective by administering analgesics covertly. The results show that hidden medical treatments are less effective than open ones. The understanding of the placebo effect may lead to better design of clinical trials and better medical practice. For example, it can be used in therapeutic protocols aimed at reducing drug intake.

Conscious Expectation and Unconscious Conditioning in Analgesic, Motor, and Hormonal Placebo/Nocebo Responses

The placebo and nocebo effect is believed to be mediated by both cognitive and conditioning mechanisms, although little is known about their role in different circumstances. In this study, we first analyzed the effects of opposing verbal suggestions on experimental ischemic arm pain in healthy volunteers and on motor performance in Parkinsonian patients and found that verbally induced expectations of analgesia/hyperalgesia and motor improvement/worsening antagonized completely the effects of a conditioning procedure. We also measured the effects of opposing verbal suggestions on hormonal secretion and found that verbally induced expectations of increase/decrease of growth hormone (GH) and cortisol did not have any effect on the secretion of these hormones. However, if a preconditioning was performed with sumatriptan, a 5-HT(1B/1D) agonist that stimulates GH and inhibits cortisol secretion, a significant increase of GH and decrease of cortisol plasma concentrations were found after placebo administration, although opposite verbal suggestions were given. These findings indicate that verbally induced expectations have no effect on hormonal secretion, whereas they affect pain and motor performance. This suggests that placebo responses are mediated by conditioning when unconscious physiological functions such as hormonal secretion are involved, whereas they are mediated by expectation when conscious physiological processes such as pain and motor performance come into play, even though a conditioning procedure is performed.

Autonomic and eyeblink conditioning are closely related to contingency awareness: Reply to Wiens and Öhman (2002) and Manns et al (2002).

S. Wiens and A. Ohman (2002) disputed the conclusion that Pavlovian conditioning is strongly related to contingency awareness (P. F. Lovibond & D. R. Shanks, 2002) on the basis that an inappropriate definition of awareness was used. J. R. Manns, R. E. Clark, and L. R. Squire (2002) contended that delay eyeblink conditioning is independent of awareness. The authors of the present article consider these arguments, highlight several problems in the new studies described by the commentators, and conclude that there is still little evidence for unconscious conditioning in either subliminal autonomic conditioning or eyeblink conditioning. The most parsimonious account of existing data is that a single learning process gives rise to both awareness and conditioned responding. Further progress in evaluating the possibility of unconscious conditioning would be facilitated by the development of more completely specified and testable dual-process models.

UTILIZATION AND INDIRECT SUGGESTION IN MULTIPLE‐FAMILY GROUP THERAPY WITH ALCOHOLICS

The great versatility and utility of Ericksonian approaches to psychotherapy are demonstrated by the application of these techniques to large, multiple‐family group therapy of alcoholic families. Using such techniques as unconscious conditioning, therapeutic binds, indirect suggestion, and the utilization approach, a therapist can manage an unwieldy group of 70 or 80 resistant patients and lead them in a positive, therapeutic direction. This paper describes how a set of specific goals are achieved using these techniques.