Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Case 2
Suppose a student witnessed a collision of a car and a truck just in
front of him a few years before he started his own driving lessons. He
saw the crush, the car driver being catapulted, a lot of blood on the
street, an ambulance coming, and so on. Now that he is driving a car
himself, he becomes extremely anxious each time another car driver
passes. The driving instructor needs to support this student to desensi-
tize the experience before he can become a good driver and pass the
driving exam. A very precise description of the memories can help the
student to become less sensitive.
3.3 THE COMBINED EFFECT OF NEWNESS AND SENSITIVITY
The combined effect of the learning/conditioning, together with habitu-
ation, can be as displayed in this graph: starting low because much
sensitivity still has to be learned. During the first five years, there is a
steep learning curve. After this period, habituation wins territory and
employees becomes less sensitive to stimuli again, although they know
the importance of them.
Sensitivity
Newness
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Years in function
Estimated effect of neurological process
Case 1
The mechanics may have been doing this for many years already and
habituation may have started to reduce their sensitivity.
