Habituation: meaning, definitions and examples

psychological process

Habituation is a form of learning in which an organism decreases or ceases its responses to a stimulus after repeated or prolonged exposure to that stimulus. It is a simple form of non-associative learning. In essence, the organism learns to stop responding to a repeated stimulus to conserve energy and focus on more relevant stimuli.

acclimatization, accustomization, adaptation

Examples of usage

• The habituation to the sound of traffic allowed the city dwellers to sleep peacefully at night.

• After weeks of habituation to the new office environment, the employees no longer noticed the background noise.

• The habituation to the smell of the bakery made it less noticeable over time.