Opponent-process theory

For its application to color theory, see Opponent process. The color opponent process is a Color theory that states that the human Visual system interprets information about Color by processing signals from

Opponent-process theory is a universal psychological and neurological model proposed by Leo Hurvich and Dorothea Jameson 1957 and expanded by his co-worker at the University of Pennsylvania, Richard Solomon to account for a wide range of behaviors including color vision. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Richard Lester Solomon ( October 2, 1918 - October 12, 1995) was a psychologist well known for his work with in Comparative psychology

The most important contribution is Solomon's work on work motivation and addictive behavior. The term " addiction " is used in many contexts to describe an obsession compulsion or excessive Physical dependence or psychological dependence such as This model asserts that emotions are paired, and that when one emotion in a pair is experienced, the other is suppressed. It also predicts an opponent reaction in the opposite direction after the suppression has been habituated. In effect emotions modulate around a point of neutrality when stimulated or technically speaking when the opponent forces or emotions have cancelled each other out.

The theory was supported in a study Solomon conducted along with J. D. Corbit in 1974, in which the researchers analyzed the emotions of skydivers. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. It was found that beginners have greater levels of fear than more experienced skydivers, but less pleasure upon landing. Fear is an Emotional response to Threats and Danger. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific Stimulus, such as Pleasure is commonly conceptualized as a positive experience Happiness, Entertainment, Enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria, but is hard In the opponent process model, this is the result of a shift over time from fear to pleasure in the fear-pleasure emotion pair.

According to opponent-process theory, drug addiction is the result of an emotional pairing of pleasure and the emotional symptoms associated with withdrawal. Withdrawal, also known as withdrawal/abstinence syndrome, refers to the characteristic signs and symptoms that appear when a drug that causes Physical dependence is Initially, there are high levels of pleasure and low levels of withdrawal. Over time, however, as the levels of pleasure from using the drug decrease, the levels of withdrawal symptoms from not taking the drug increase, thus providing motivation to use the drug despite a lack of pleasure from it. Motivation is the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior especially Human behavior as studied in Philosophy, Conflict, Economics

Hurvich & Jameson neurological model of a general theory of neurological opponent processing proposed in their ground breaking paper written in (1974), "Opponent processes as a model of neural organization" published in the American Psychologist, lead to Ronald C. Blue and Wanda E. Blue’s general model of Correlational Holographic Opponent Processing. This model proposes that habituation is a neurological holographic wavelet interference of opponent processes that explains learning, vision, hearing, taste, balance, smell, motivation, and emotions.

Further reading