Latent inhibition is a kind of filter that filters out information rubbish and does not allow overloading the brain. If this filter fails or does not work properly, then the mind is overwhelmed with information coming from outside through the senses. Information overload may well lead a person to insanity.
What happens to a person with a low level of latent inhibition
Latent inhibition as a phenomenon was identified by scientists in the middle of the 19th century. With the help of studies that were conducted in the field of studying the ability of the brain to filter out the information flow, it was possible to find out that a low level of latent inhibition indicates mental disorders. Based on studies of human behavior, scientists have shown that in the early stages of the development of schizophrenia, brain chemistry changes, after which the level of latent inhibition decreases sharply.
By a person's behavior, and even by appearance, it is easy to determine what his level of latent inhibition is. Concentration, the ability to concentrate, composure, attentiveness, responsibility speak of a high level. And vice versa: scattered in movements and thoughts, inability to keep attention on one subject for a long time, jumping from topic to topic when talking, wandering, often absent eyes and irresponsible behavior are all symptoms of low-level latent inhibition.
Latent inhibition as a defense mechanism
A living organism has many defense mechanisms. And the ability to discard information that is secondary to survival and a comfortable existence is one of them. For example, an ordinary person walking in a stream of people is focused only on not colliding with people moving nearby.
And a person with a low level of protection from the incoming flow of information will notice and remember what people walking nearby are wearing, their facial expressions, snatches of conversations, smells. At this time, their unfortunate brain will feverishly process the information that has fallen on it, not having time, getting confused, experiencing severe overload.
Latency in animals
Animals have practical intelligence. They are able to unconsciously ignore information that is not directly related to their survival and procreation. Scientists who have studied latent inhibition have done some experiments with rats.
During one of the experiments, the animals were given a signal, which was followed by no action. After a short periodtime, the rats stopped responding to the sound, as it did not carry any danger or any other circumstances.
Chance of survival
The human brain in most cases works the same as in animals. That is, latent inhibition, if it works correctly, helps a person to concentrate on the information necessary for practical application, namely, for survival and raising offspring in optimally comfortable conditions.
From this we can conclude that people with a sufficient level of latent inhibition have every chance of living to a ripe old age, dying in abundance and surrounded by numerous descendants. How to develop latent inhibition? Can it be done at all? If it is possible to improve the ability to concentrate, then probably yes.
Creativity or schizophrenia
It would seem that low latent inhibition contributes to the processing of more information, and hence the acquisition of more life experience. This increases a person's ability to think more openly, more broadly and creatively.
However, the creativity of thinking with low latent inhibition must be balanced by a high level of intelligence and a fair amount of willpower in order to be able to analyze the incessant flow of information.
Scientists conducted research by testing several student groups for the interconnectedness of the level of intelligence, creativity of thinking and latent inhibition. After processing the tests, it turned out that the level of latentinhibition among creative-minded students is seven times lower than the rest.
In one of the issues of the specialized edition of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, a scientific article was published, where eminent scientists from Harvard and the University of Toronto proved the relationship between the ability to think creatively and incorrect brain function.
That is, the ability to think creatively (creatively) is a state of abnormality, since the inability to filter information flows is a consequence of impaired human brain activity.
Scientists have also studied the level of latent inhibition in people with schizophrenia. It turned out that in a person with such a disease, it is negligible.
Low latent inhibition as a genius factor
The secret of genius is in the originality of thought and the ability to look at things from a different angle. The student subjects who had a high IQ with low latent inhibition had a very high level of creativity.
The same researchers, among whom were Jordan Peterson and Shelley Carson, made shocking conclusions based on the work done. Low latent inhibition, these scientists believe, may well be a genius factor. But this is only if you apply a high level of intelligence, excellent memory and willpower to it.
