Neutral stimulus
Neutral Stimulus
A Neutral Stimulus (pronounced: noo-truhl stim-yuh-luhs) is a term used in Classical Conditioning, a type of Behavioral Psychology. It refers to a stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response in an organism.
Etymology
The term 'Neutral Stimulus' is derived from the English words 'neutral' and 'stimulus'. 'Neutral' comes from the Latin 'neuter', meaning 'neither', and 'stimulus' comes from the Latin 'stimulus', meaning 'goad or spur'. In the context of psychology, it refers to a stimulus that neither spurs nor goads a response until it is associated with an Unconditioned Stimulus.
Definition
In the realm of Behavioral Psychology, a Neutral Stimulus is a type of stimulus that initially produces no specific response other than focusing attention. In classical conditioning, when used together with an unconditioned stimulus, the neutral stimulus becomes a Conditioned Stimulus.
Related Terms
- Unconditioned Stimulus: A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any learning process. For example, food is an unconditioned stimulus for a hungry animal.
- Conditioned Stimulus: A previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response.
- Conditioned Response: The learned response to the previously neutral stimulus.
- Classical Conditioning: A learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Neutral stimulus
- Wikipedia's article - Neutral stimulus
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