Habituation
Modified: 2020-03-27
Habituation is one of the simplest forms of learning and consists of
NOT making a response to repetitively presented stimulus. Examples
include the motor responses such as a dog not flicking its ear while
sleeping while someone lightly strokes it, people who live near the
railroad not responding to the sounds of passing trains, or buying a
new, loud wall clock and habituating to the noise it makes.
Stimuli which lead to habituation are typically low in intensity
and repetitive. But, habituation can occur to stimuli without those
characteristics as well. For instance, a hunting dog can become
habituated to the loud and irregularly spaced sound of his hunter's
gun.
Habituation is a form of non-associative learning, meaning that
only one stimulus is being presented.
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