The opponent process theory: what it is and what it explains

The body tends to seek balance, both physiological and mental. When we take a drug, at first we feel happy, uninhibited. However, after a while, and after leaving her, come the negative emotions, the headache, in short, aversive sensations.

The same thing happens when we are in the company of someone. At first everything is joy but, after a while being with that person, if we separate from him or lose him, we will feel terribly empty and sad.

The opponent process theory tries to explain these phenomena, that is, how the presentation of a stimulus at the beginning implies some emotions and, after a while, causes others. Let's see it a little more clearly below.

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The opponent process theory

The opponent process theory, applied to emotions and motivations, It was developed by Richard Solomon and John D. corbit in 1978. This model has its origins in Ewald Hering's opponent processes, although Hering used this term to explain human visual perception.

Looking at him far above, Hering argued that visual perception is based on the activation of cones and rods of the eye in an antagonistic way.. Without going into much detail, his ideas would allow us to understand why when we look at an object of a specific color, let's say green, when looking away after a long time and looking at a white or black surface we see the opposite color, red.

Solomon and Corbit transferred this idea to the psychology of emotions and motivation. In opponent process theory he tries to explain Why, when we are presented with a stimulus that arouses some kind of emotion, over time an antagonistic emotion is aroused in us at first. That is, it aims to explain the process followed by an affective response to a stimulus, which can be both aversive and pleasant, from its appearance to its disappearance.

Thus, according to the model, the presentation of a stimulus implies the activation of an opponent process mechanism. At first, a stimulus awakens in us an affective response, let's say a positive one. After a while, the organism, in order to recover emotional homeostasis, activates a second response, opposite symbol to the first.

So that it is understood. Imagine that we have a beer. Alcohol produces us, at first, a positive emotion: we are happy, uninhibited and we are more sociable. However, once the can is finished and after a few minutes, some sensations begin to appear that, although not very serious, are annoying, such as a slight headache or "downing." With this example we can see that at first that positive emotion was awakened but, later, a negative one came, counteracting the first one.

Model Assumptions

The opponent process theory is based on the following three assumptions.

The first is that emotional responses have a biphasic pattern. That is to say, we find that, after giving these responses to the presentation of a stimulus, another emotional response is accompanied, but with the opposite sign to that of the primary reaction.

The second assumption is that the primary reaction, whether positive or negative, it loses strength as the contact time with the stimulus that triggered this response passes.

The third assumption is that the loss of intensity of the first emotional response is offset by an increase in the opposite reaction. That is to say, in the long term, the emotionality of the subject recovers the balance.

The primary reaction loses strength as the contact time with the stimulus that triggered this response passes. The loss of intensity of the first response is compensated by the increase of the opposite reaction.

Process A and process B

Before the presentation of a stimulus that elicits emotional responses, we have two different processes.

The first process, which is the one that makes the person move away from emotional neutrality, is process A or primary process, that is, the first emotional response. It is, in itself, the direct effect that the affective stimulus arouses, be it a substance such as drugs or the presence of a loved one. Subsequently, the process that counteracts the action of the first occurs, called process B or opponent process.

If the force of process B is subtracted from the force of process A, we obtain, as a result, the visible emotional expression, that is, the emotional reaction observed externally by the individual. Although at the beginning of process B the opposing emotion tends to be weaker than that of process A, as the exposure to the eliciter becomes more continuous, process B gains strength, being able to counteract the primary emotional reaction.

Initial and brief exhibition

When a stimulus is first presented, process A arises independently, without being accompanied by process B. It is in this first phase that the first emotional reaction reaches its maximum intensity, since there is nothing to neutralize it. After this, process B begins to emerge, opposing process A, although at first it does not have much force.

If the stimulus that started the response is withdrawn, process A stops, but not process B, which remains for a while. that's when the response of the opponent process, also called affective post-reaction, can be observed for the first time, leading to emotions opposite to those observed in the primary process. If the exposure to the stimulus has been brief, process B will occur with very little intensity, which will not allow said affective post-reaction to be too aversive.

To better understand this idea, let's imagine a person smoking a cigarette for the first time. It is possible that this first cigarette will trigger some positive feeling in you and, when you have finished it, causes minor discomfort such as a slight sore throat, a little nervousness and a bad taste of mouth.

She is not yet a smoker, so quitting cigarettes does not awaken her, neurologically speaking, the desire to consume. Process B is weak, involving very little craving or needing to take another cigarette.

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Prolonged exposure to the stimulus

As we have seen, process B gains strength as the contact time with the stimulus elapses. If the stimulus has been presented for a longer time, process B takes more time to decrease..

That is, as the exposure time to the specific stimulus increases, the ability of the opponent process to compensate for the primary reaction also increases. As a consequence of this, the affective post-reaction will also be greater once we eliminate the eliciting stimulus.

Returning to the case of tobacco. Let's imagine that, instead of smoking for the first time, you've been smoking a pack a day for years, but you've decided to quit. Quitting smoking abruptly causes process A to disappear and gives way to process B, with great intensity.

This is where the typical symptoms of smokers who are trying to quit, such as irritability, nervousness, bad mood, lack of concentration... Having been exposed to the stimulus for so long, ceasing to be active throughout this process.

Practical applications of the theory

Once the theory is understood, it can be related to two cases that have been widely studied in psychology.

1. substance addiction

As we have already seen, the first time a drug is consumed, it induces a primary process or A that entails a series of varied effects, depending on the drug itself.

At this point, where the substance has just been consumed, the opponent process is not yet able to balance the organism by counteracting the parent process, with which the drug causes us the desired effects, the pleasant effects.

If it is the first time you have taken the drug or you have not been exposed to it for too long, there will be no affective after-reaction or, at least, it will not be very intense.

But the opposite case occurs when the consumption of substances is continued. By being exposed for a longer time, the opponent process has already taken on remarkable strength., enough to be able to bring the body to equilibrium.

If at this moment we eliminate the eliciting stimulus, that is, the drug, the subject will be submerged in a series of unwanted symptoms, which we call withdrawal.

To avoid withdrawal in a habitual drug user, although it depends, of course, on the type of substance consumed, the simplest and most plausible solution is the administration of the substance, but in an increasingly reduced formgradually abandon it.

With this new administration, a pleasant A or primary process will be activated, which will be accompanied by a process B or opponent, less intense and aversive, an affective post-reaction that will not imply abstinence.

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2. Duel

Opponent process theory can be applied to dueling as well. In this process, which It can occur both in the face of the death of a loved one and in a breakup or the loss of any relationship, you can see the appearance of process B, missing the person who has left.

From the first moment we meet a person who offers us something emotionally important, we feel positive emotions, such as joy, sexual satisfaction, warmth...

In this phase of the relationship, the affective post-reaction is weak, but also, having been exposed to that person, which is an emotional stimulus, the breakup of the relationship would not be something so serious.

However, if the relationship continues over time, continued exposure to the person's presence becomes like a drug. We are exposed to him or her, and if he or she suddenly leaves, process B is triggered, with negative emotions.

Bibliographic references:

• Vargas R., Jimenez R.. (2018) Opponent process theory as a model to explain addictions. Rev Elec Psych Izt.;21(1):222-236.
• Domjan, M. (2007). Principles of learning and conduct. Madrid: Thompson.
• Pellegrini, S. (2009). Incentive effects on sugar water consumption responses in rats: an interpretation in terms of opponent process theory. In I International Congress of Investigation and Professional Practice in Psychology. Faculty of Psychology – University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires.