stimulus

Examples of stimulus in the following topics:

• Basic Principles of Classical Conditioning

  • Classical conditioning is a form of learning whereby a conditioned stimulus (CS) becomes associated with an unrelated unconditioned stimulus (US), in order to produce a behavioral response known as a conditioned response (CR).
  • The conditioned response is the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus.
  • The unconditioned stimulus is usually a biologically significant stimulus such as food or pain that elicits an unconditioned response (UR) from the start.
  • The unconditioned stimulus was the sight or smell of the food itself.
  • The conditioned stimulus was the ringing of the bell.

• Classification of Receptors by Stimulus

  • Sensory receptors can be classified by the type of stimulus that generates a response in the receptor.
  • Adequate stimulus can be used to classify sensory receptors.
  • A sensory receptor's adequate stimulus is the stimulus modality for which it possesses the adequate sensory transduction apparatus.
  • A tonic receptor is a sensory receptor that adapts slowly to a stimulus, while a phasic receptor is a sensory receptor that adapts rapidly to a stimulus.
  • Sensory receptor cells differ in terms of morphology, location, and stimulus discriminated.

• Conditioned Behavior

  • Conditioned behaviors are types of associative learning where a stimulus becomes associated with a consequence.
  • In classical conditioning, a response called the conditioned response is associated with a stimulus that it had previously not been associated with, the conditioned stimulus.
  • The response to the original, unconditioned stimulus is called the unconditioned response.
  • The conditioning stimulus that researchers associated with the unconditioned response was the ringing of a bell.
  • Thus, the ringing of the bell became the conditioned stimulus and the salivation became the conditioned response.

• Sensory Absolute Thresholds

  • The absolute threshold is the lowest intensity at which a stimulus can be detected.
  • The recognition threshold is the level at which a stimulus can not only be detected but also recognized; the differential threshold is the level at which a difference in a detected stimulus can be perceived; the terminal threshold is the level beyond which a stimulus is no longer detected.
  • However, perhaps the most important sensory threshold is the absolute threshold, which is the smallest detectable level of a stimulus.
  • The absolute threshold is defined as the lowest intensity at which a stimulus can be detected.
  • Because you are focused on one stimulus, the absolute threshold (in this case, the minimum volume at which you can hear) is lower for that stimulus than it would have been otherwise.

• Sensory Adaptation

  • Sensory adaptation is the decrease in the responsiveness of a sensory system that is confronted with a constant stimulus.
  • This change can be positive or negative, and does not necessarily lead to completely ignoring a stimulus.
  • These corpuscles rapidly change and adapt when a stimulus is added.
  • Then they quickly decrease activity, and eventually cease to react to the stimulus.
  • When the stimulus is removed, the corpuscles regain their sensitivity.

• Basic Principles of Classical Conditioning: Pavlov

  • The unconditioned stimulus is usually a biologically significant stimulus such as food or pain that elicits an unconditioned response (UR) from the start.
  • Extinction is the decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with the conditioned stimulus.
  • Before conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus (food) produces an unconditioned response (salivation), and a neutral stimulus (bell) does not have an effect.
  • During conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus (food) is presented repeatedly just after the presentation of the neutral stimulus (bell).
  • After conditioning, the neutral stimulus alone produces a conditioned response (salivation), thus becoming a conditioned stimulus.

• Reception

  • Reception is the first step in the processing of sensation and is dependent on the receptor type, stimulus, and receptive field.
  • In one, a neuron works with a sensory receptor, a cell, or cell process that is specialized to engage with and detect a specific stimulus.
  • For the sense of touch, a stimulus must come into contact with body.
  • For the sense of hearing, a stimulus can be a moderate distance away.
  • For vision, a stimulus can be very far away; for example, the visual system perceives light from stars at enormous distances .

• Transduction and Perception

  • They are specialized according to the type of stimulus they sense; thus, they have receptor specificity.
  • Four aspects of sensory information are encoded by sensory systems: the type of stimulus, the location of the stimulus in the receptive field, the duration of the stimulus, and the relative intensity of the stimulus.
  • Thus, an intense stimulus will produce a more rapid train of action potentials.
  • Reducing the stimulus will likewise slow the rate of production of action potentials.
  • An intense stimulus might initiate action potentials in a large number of adjacent receptors, while a less intense stimulus might stimulate fewer receptors.

• Unconscious Perception

  • Priming occurs when an unconscious response to an initial stimulus affects responses to future stimuli.
  • When information from an initial stimulus enters the brain, neural pathways associated with that stimulus are activated, and a second stimulus is interpreted through that specific context.
  • The presentation of an unattended stimulus can prime our brains for a future response to that stimulus.
  • When information from an initial stimulus enters the brain, neural pathways associated with that stimulus are activated, and the stimulus is interpreted in a specific manner.

• Evaluating the Recent United States Stimulus Package

  • The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), otherwise known as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, was an economic stimulus package was signed into law on February 17, 2009.
  • The primary justification for the stimulus package was to minimize unemployment.
  • One year after the stimulus, several independent firms, including Moody's and IHS Global Insight, estimated that the stimulus saved or created 1.6 to 1.8 million jobs and forecast a total impact of 2.5 million jobs saved by the time the stimulus is completed.
  • Since the stimulus only is impactful when the money is actually spent, delays could have reduced the overall effectiveness of the stimulus.
  • Summarize the effects of the use of stimulus in the wake of the Great Recession