Habituation: The felon’s friend

Public radio station WLRN aired a program describing the phenomenon of habituation, a fancy word for “getting used to.”

The program described how good experiences always seemed at their best early on. Then, as the experiences continued, people habituated to them, and they seemed less enjoyable.

Similarly, bad experiences were at their worst in the beginning but later seemed to moderate with time.

Example: I live in a country club that, by any rational evaluation, could be considered akin to paradise. The Florida climate and club grounds are beautiful. We have five outstanding restaurants on the grounds, plus fifty more within 15 minutes by car. There are nearby shopping centers, and a Costco is 10 minutes away, plus easy access to a freeway, a toll road, and two airports.

We are offered two in-club golf courses and many others nearby. Twenty-five soft tennis courts, a dozen pickleball courts, a great spa fitted with every exercise machine, coaching, steam rooms, and all sorts of classes are here for every member.

Enjoy cards? We have gin, poker, and bridge at all levels. A library in the clubhouse and a public library is ten minutes away. And don’t even ask about the ever-smiling, ever-courteous, ever-friendly service people. So, yes, it’s paradise.

And yes, after a while, people become so habituateds to paradise that they complain when things are not precisely perfect, and sometimes even when they are. 

I’ve noticed that the people who complain most are those who have been here for a short while. The newcomers are awed by the service and the surroundings. And the long-termers, say fifteen years or more, are habituated to how the club operates.

I’ll admit this is just an observation and not statistically proven. (Also, there are regional differences in the effect of habituation, with Midwesterners and Canadians seeming more stoic).

Habituation can occur in various aspects of human behavior and emotion:

• Lying: A person who frequently lies might initially feel a strong emotional response such as guilt or anxiety. Over time, as they continue to lie, they may become habituated to these feelings and no longer experience them as intensely.
• Stealing: Similar to lying, a habitual thief might initially experience a rush or fear of getting caught. With repeated acts of stealing, these intense feelings may diminish, making it easier for the individual to continue the behavior and for his associates to countenance it.
• Marriage: In the context of marriage, habituation might refer to the phenomenon where partners become so accustomed to each other’s presence and habits that they may take each other for granted, leading to a decrease in overt expressions of love or appreciation.
• Enjoyment: Read a book, see a movie, hear a joke—usually, the first time is the best.
• Love: The intense passion and excitement that characterize the early stages of a romantic relationship often give way to a more stable and less intense form of affection as partners become habituated to each other.
• Pain: Chronic pain sufferers can sometimes become habituated to their pain, meaning that their psychological response to the pain decreases even though the physical sensation may remain constant.
• Anger: Frequent exposure to situations that trigger anger can lead to habituation, where the individual’s emotional response to such triggers becomes less intense over time. Visualize our current vs. past responses to mass shootings.
• Fear: Habituation is often used in therapy to help individuals overcome phobias. By gradually and repeatedly being exposed to the feared object or situation without any negative consequences, the individual’s fear response can diminish.
• Hope: While not typically discussed in the context of habituation, it’s possible for individuals to become habituated to hope if they are repeatedly exposed to situations where their hopeful expectations are met, potentially leading to a decreased emotional response to positive outcomes.

Habituation is related to expectations and is a normal and often adaptive process. But it can also contribute to negative behaviors if it reduces the emotional impact of harmful actions.

If someone regularly lies, cheats, or steals, the latest instances seem to draw less reaction from those who know them.

The recent debate between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump provides an example.

Biden enumerated his accomplishments; Trump lied and smirked.

Both drew yawns from the media because they were nothing new.

Biden’s twenty-second stumble and hoarse voice were all the media could remember of the entire ninety-minute debate, and that is what they promulgated.

Interestingly, the opposite of habituation can occur under certain circumstances. It’s called sensitization, and it, too, can be related to expectations. Pain, for example, can be felt more intensely in subsequent experiences.

Visualize a dentist’s drilling. The patient might begin to flinch even before the drill touches.

SUMMARY

Habituation plays a greater part in our lives than we often realize. The same circumstance may elicit different emotional responses, depending on whether and how we have experienced them earlier.

It partly has to do with expectations. Something that falls within the parameters of our expectations might cause less emotion than something unanticipated. 

A joke with a new twist is funnier than one you’ve heard before. Horror movies and music rely on expectations for emotional impact. All the arts do. 

We are programmed to pay more attention and be more emotional with the new and different and to ignore the usual. It is the appeal of games (each is different), infidelity (a different partner), and news. It supports curiosity. All lack the habituation that would dull our responses.

Habituation is why Trump’s lies and criminality don’t draw the public outrage that historically has followed other politicians’ misdeeds.

Habituation desensitizes. It’s why there was no outcry when Trump’s lawyer, accountant, and other associates have been jailed for doing what Trump ordered.

Though the public is habituated to Trump’s transgressions, his associates’ crimes are new.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Monetary Sovereignty Twitter: @rodgermitchell Search #monetarysovereignty Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell; MUCK RACK: https://muckrack.com/rodger-malcolm-mitchell

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