What conditionings have you inherited over these years? First is ancestral. This is literally what we’ve inherited from our ancestors as best practices. The most notable conditioned element is the brain itself. It has evolved over years of evolution. The brain we have now is different than the brain our ancestors had thousands of years ago. So the way our brain is wired is a product of conditioning due to environmental conditions. We have the brain that’s best survived the conditions it has found around it.
Then we have fear conditioning. As we know our brain is triggered dramatically by fear. We actually have what is known as the “negativity bias”; fear as the brain’s primary focus. There is direct fear – a car headed right towards us, but there is also associated fear conditioning.
There was a scientific experiment in the 60’s known as Little Albert. Doctors wanted to see if fear could be transferred to objects that were previously innocuous. So they showed Little Albert fluffy white rabbits. Only every time they showed him a rabbit, they, simultaneously, made a horrible noise causing him to cry with fear.
After a series of exposures to the rabbit & the noise, together, they showed Little Albert the rabbit without the noise. By this time the rabbit had been associated with the noise so integrally, the rabbit alone was enough to cause Albert to cry. (This is known as classical conditioning). Little Albert’s brain had even cast a bet so wide that he showed the same fear response at any furry white object. Fear mongering at its finest.
This was in a controlled environment but this kind of classic associated fear conditioning happens every day, & touches every aspect of our lives. We see it in xenophobia, racism, neighborhoods, jobs etc. Anything that has been repeatedly associated with a fearful outcome to us – by our families, by society, by our friends, by our bosses – will have itself taken on the same fear properties.
If I told you, starting from childhood, that Spain is a horrid place where evil monsters live (it’s not – we love Spain) you would do your best to avoid Spaniards. If for years you heard that “not being a Dr. when you grow up” meant poverty (risk to your security) and parent’s disapproval (getting kicked out of the tribe) you’d be really hesitant to pursue that career as a musician that makes your heart sing. Next time we’ll talk more about “personal” conditioning.
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