Definition

Noun: A basic form of learning in which an originally neutral stimulus (one that does not naturally elicit a response) is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus (one that naturally and automatically triggers a reflex). After repeated pairings, the previously neutral stimulus alone comes to elicit a conditioned response, which is similar to the original reflex.

Usage

This term is used primarily in the field of psychology and behavioral science to describe a fundamental associative learning process. - It explains how automatic, involuntary responses can become linked to new stimuli. - It is a core concept for understanding learned behaviors and emotional reactions.

Examples

• In Psychology:
• In Everyday Learning:
• In Academic Writing:

Advanced Usage

• Higher-Order Conditioning: A process where a stimulus that has become a conditioned stimulus (CS) through classical conditioning is then paired with a new neutral stimulus, which in turn becomes a CS. For example, if a light is conditioned to predict a bell (which already predicts food), the light may eventually also elicit salivation.
• Extinction: The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
• Spontaneous Recovery: The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period.

Variants and Related Words

• Conditioning (n): The broader process of learning associations between environmental events and behavioral responses.
• Operant Conditioning (n): A different type of learning where behavior is strengthened or weakened by its consequences (rewards or punishments).
• Unconditioned Stimulus (US) (n): A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without prior learning.
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS) (n): An originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.
• Conditioned Response (CR) (n): The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Synonyms

• Pavlovian conditioning: A direct synonym, named after Ivan Pavlov, the physiologist who first described the phenomenon.
• Respondent conditioning: Another synonym emphasizing that the learned behavior is an automatic "response" to a stimulus.

Related Phrases

• To be conditioned to: To have learned a specific association through this process.
  • The patients had been classically conditioned to feel anxious upon hearing the dental drill.
• Conditioned reflex: The automatic response elicited by the conditioned stimulus.
  • The flinch at the sound of a slammed door was a conditioned reflex from past trauma.

Noun

1. conditioning that pairs a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that evokes a reflex; the stimulus that evokes the reflex is given whether or not the conditioned response occurs until eventually the neutral stimulus comes to evoke the reflex