6.1 Non-Associative Learning Processes

Non-associative learning processes are fundamental ways organisms adapt to their environment. Habituation and sensitization allow us to tune out irrelevant stimuli and stay alert to potential threats.

These processes involve changes in response magnitude over time. Through repeated exposure, we can become familiar with new stimuli, generalize our learning, and recover responses when needed.

Habituation and Sensitization

Repeated Stimulus Exposure and Response Changes

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• Habituation occurs when an organism's response to a stimulus decreases with repeated exposure over time
  • Involves learning to ignore a stimulus that is not meaningful or threatening
  • Allows organisms to filter out irrelevant stimuli and focus on important ones (loud noises in a city)
• Sensitization is the opposite process where an organism's response to a stimulus increases with repeated exposure
  • Heightened sensitivity or responsiveness, often to potentially harmful stimuli
  • Helps organisms remain vigilant to threats in the environment (increased startle response after a traumatic event)
• Both habituation and sensitization are simple forms of non-associative learning that do not involve forming associations between stimuli

Changes in Response Magnitude and Recovery

• Response decrement refers to the gradual decrease in the magnitude or intensity of a response with repeated stimulus presentations during habituation
  • Occurs as the organism learns the stimulus is not significant and stops responding to it
  • Rate of response decrement can vary based on factors like stimulus intensity and presentation frequency
• Response amplification describes the increase in the magnitude or intensity of a response that occurs with repeated exposure to a stimulus during sensitization
  • Strengthens defensive responses to potentially dangerous or threatening stimuli
  • Helps ensure the organism remains reactive to important stimuli even with repeated occurrences
• Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously habituated response after a rest period without further stimulus exposure
  • Demonstrates habituation is not permanent and the response can return in the absence of the stimulus
  • Spontaneous recovery is usually not to the full original magnitude of the response before habituation occurred

Stimulus Exposure and Generalization

Familiarization and Stimulus Recognition

• Stimulus exposure involves presenting an organism with a new or unfamiliar stimulus
  • Can elicit orienting responses like alerting or exploratory behavior as the organism investigates the stimulus
  • Repeated exposure without harmful consequences leads to familiarization and decreased responding
• Familiarization is the process of becoming accustomed to a new stimulus through repeated exposure
  • Leads to a reduction in orienting responses and increased recognition of the stimulus as non-threatening
  • Allows organisms to learn about safe versus harmful stimuli in the environment (investigating a new object)
• Stimulus generalization occurs when habituation or sensitization to one stimulus transfers to similar stimuli
  • Organism shows a similar decreased (habituation) or increased (sensitization) response to related stimuli
  • Allows learning about one stimulus to apply to a broader range of comparable stimuli (habituating to one loud sound generalizing to others)

Dishabituation and Response Recovery

• Dishabituation is the reappearance of a habituated response to a stimulus following presentation of a different, usually strong stimulus
  • Demonstrates habituation is stimulus-specific and not just fatigue or sensory adaptation
  • The strong dishabituating stimulus may be in a different modality from the original stimulus (loud noise disrupting habituation to a light)
• Dishabituation is different from spontaneous recovery in that it is triggered by exposure to a novel or intense stimulus rather than just the passage of time
  • Can be used experimentally to show a habituated response is still intact and can be reinstated
  • Dishabituation is temporary and the re-habituated response will decrement again with further repetition of the original stimulus