Question

Habituation and sensitization

Answer 1

• Habituation is a decrease in behavioral response that results from repeated presentation of a stimulus, whereas sensitization is a heightened behavioral response that results from a stronger stimulus. These two processes differ physiologically and are the most fundamental and widespread forms of learning in the animal kingdom.
• Habituation occurs when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change, punishment, or reward.Sensitization occurs when a reaction to a stimulus causes an increased reaction to a second stimulus. It is essentially an exaggerated startle response and is often seen in trauma survivors.
• Habituation helps us to distinguish meaningful information from the background. For example, an animal may be startled when it hears a loud noise, but if it is repeatedly exposed to loud noises and experiences no associated consequence, such as pain, it will eventually stop being startled.
• Sensitization is the strengthening of a neurological response to a stimulus due to the response to a secondary stimulus. For example, if a loud sound is suddenly heard, an individual may startle at that sound. If a shock is given following the sound, then the next time the sound occurs, the individual will subsequently react even more strongly to the sound.