The process of desensitization was developed by psychologist Mary Cover Jones, and is primarily used to assist individuals in unlearning phobias and anxieties. Joseph Wolpe (1958) developed a method of a hierarchal list of anxiety evoking stimuli in order of intensity, which allows individuals to undergo adaption.

What is the root of desensitize?

The word originally referred to photographic development, from de-, "do the opposite of," and sensitize, with its Latin root sentire, "feel or perceive." Definitions of desensitize.

What is the theory of desensitization?

Desensitization refers to the process whereby the repeated exposure to violence in the media results in less and less emotional and physiological response on the part of viewers.