Have you ever wondered why the more we are exposed to an object, the more familiar it generally tends to seem to us? This phenomenon is explained by our brain's remarkable ability to process information.
In fact, the more a subject is exposed to the same stimulus, the more they will develop a sense of familiarity with it, simply because information processing becomes increasingly fluid and easy for the lively band of neurons buzzing in our cortices. Technically, the subject can rely on a mental schema they have already established: this is called the "familiarity heuristic." By freeing up their attentional resources (in short, by having less and less to think about, since they already know the object), the subject will more easily tend to produce automatic actions and reactions – as opposed to controlled actions – that they would need to produce when faced with an unknown object. To put it simply: our brain gets used to and assimilates the stimulus as a given. But what happens if we see it too often?
Some studies suggest that the more we are exposed to the same stimulus, the higher the probability of ultimately appreciating it (a theory called the "mere-exposure effect" which, incidentally, doesn't necessarily work with your office colleagues or mother-in-law). So, yes... but no. Well, it depends. The two-factor theory explains that, in reality, being exposed very regularly to a stimulus or an object will lead to two opposing tendencies: EITHER increase the feeling of preference for the object by giving it a reassuring dimension (the habituation effect contributing to the reduction of uncertainty), OR, on the contrary, decrease this preference by generating weariness and boredom (a bit like reaching a point of satiety, belly full, thanks but I'm not hungry anymore).
Regularly seeing an object can therefore make us more attached or more indifferent to it. According to Stang (whom we don't know personally, but whose 1975 work on the subject we have studied extensively), all of this would intrinsically depend on the level of information learning by our brain.
Thus, when the latter is confronted with a complex or new stimulus, it would require a certain number of exposures before reaching a level of satiety and thus, weariness.
Conversely, a less complex stimulus would be more likely to be quickly perceived as familiar, and would require relatively fewer exposures for habituation, and thus boredom, to be reached.
Regularly seeing an object can therefore make us more attached or more indifferent to it. According to Stang (whom we don't know personally, but whose 1975 work on the subject we have studied extensively), all of this would intrinsically depend on the level of information learning by our brain.
Thus, when the latter is confronted with a complex or new stimulus, it would require a certain number of exposures before reaching a level of satiety and thus, weariness.
Conversely, a less complex stimulus would be more likely to be quickly perceived as familiar, and would require relatively fewer exposures for habituation, and thus boredom, to be reached.
Once the learning mechanism is complete, a feeling of satiety and boredom would therefore lead to a decrease in the pleasure felt towards the stimulus. The link between familiarity, habituation, and boredom... This is how the relationship we have with the objects around us works in our brain!
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