Habituation is a decrease in response to astimulusafter repeated presentations.
As you become accustomed to this sound, you pay less attention to it, and your response diminishes.
This process is an example of habituation.
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Habituation Examples
To understand how habituation works, lets look at a few examples.
In fact, habituation is acommon form of learning.
It allows people to tune out non-essential stimuli and focus on the things that really demand attention.
For example, imagine that you are studying with the television playing in the background.
The unusual sound immediately draws yourattention, and you wonder what is going on.
Over the next few days, the banging noise keeps up at a regular pace.
Eventually, you just tune out the noise.
This is an example of habituation in perception.
It’s not only the sound that prompts habituationour other senses can also be affected.
Heres another example: Every morning, you spritz on some perfume when youre getting ready for work.
you’re free to also easily become habituated to the quirks of your surroundings.
Lets say you move to a new apartment in the city thats near the subway.
Pain Habituation
Can you habituate to pain?
Use in Psychotherapy
Some psychotherapy approaches rely on habituation.
Several factors can influence how quickly you become habituated to a stimulus.
In this key in, there’s no reward or punishment associated with the stimulus.
For example, you’re not experiencing pain or pleasure because of your neighbor’s banging noises.
Is Habituation Bad for Relationships?
Or maybe it is your partner who feels that they are being overlooked by you.
It’s a normal part of our experience of the world.
Habituation helps us function in environments where we are being inundated with sensory experiences and information.
APA Dictionary of Psychology.Habituation.
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