Exploring Habituation: Psychology Of Stimulus Response

Habituation is the process of becoming used to a recurring stimulus, like a repeated sound. Understanding how this form of learning occurs may help you in various areas of life, from stress management and relationships to creativity, attention, and more. For tailored support in these areas, consider working with a therapist online or near you.

What is habituation in psychology?

In the context of psychology, experts define habituation as “a decreased behavioral response to a repeated, benign stimulus.” Researchers believe that this orienting reflex is an evolutionary mechanism. It likely allowed our human ancestors to “filter out irrelevant environmental cues,” conserving cognitive resources to “focus on more pressing survival tasks” and more important stimuli. This process appears in animals too, such as snails no longer engaging their gill withdrawal reflex after you touch them a few times. This “response decrement” shows that they’ve learned that you’re not a threat.

It’s also possible for a previously habituated response to become “dishabituated” if you experience a “dishabituating stimulus” that’s similar to but not the same as the original. For example, even after becoming habituated to the sound of the train, you might notice one going by again if, one time, it blares its horn without stopping for an unusually long period. 

How habituation works in the brain

Habituation learning is an automatic operation that involves sensing a stimulus, processing it in the brain, and then deciding how to respond (or not). When it comes to the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, a key part of the nervous system that participates is the stimulus-response system. It involves neuronal circuits that connect our sensory organs (which take in information) to our muscles (which can respond if needed).

One of the effects of habituation is that the sensory neurons and postsynaptic glutamate receptors use various cellular mechanisms to gradually produce fewer neurotransmitters in response to a stimulus. As a result, the person will have little to no response to the habituated stimulus over time. This effect can be particularly lasting if there is consistent stimulus repetition over a long period of time.

Examples of habituation in psychological treatment

Abnormal habituation has been linked to certain mental illnesses. Some types of psychological treatment use the phenomenon of habituation to help people address certain mental health symptoms. 

One example is in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a talk therapy approach that helps people learn to reframe distorted thoughts. When used for stress management, CBT may involve habituating a person to a certain, reasonable stress level. It works by building resilience to promote a progressive decrease in one’s stress response, or a less frequent response to a certain level of stress in general. If you’re interested in getting support in managing stress, you can connect with a therapist online.

Another example of habituation in psychological treatment is exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), which may be used to treat specific phobias or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This treatment involves a professional using stimulus repetitions to gradually expose the person to the object of their fear over time. The goal is habituation, so that the person no longer experiences symptoms in response to that stimulus. 

Habituation vs. sensitization

In terms of response to stimuli, habituation and sensitization are often thought of as opposites, though dual process theory suggests that they may arise via different mechanisms. 

Sensitization is when you become more responsive to most stimuli—specifically, notes the American Psychological Association, “after being exposed to unusually strong or painful stimulation.” A person experiencing sensitization will usually show frequent responses to various stimuli, while a person experiencing habituation will usually be less sensitive to one stimulus in particular.

As an example of sensitization, imagine that you experienced a minor earthquake for the first time and felt frightened by it. After that experience, a sensitized response might involve feeling startled each time you hear the rumble of a truck passing by, a door slam, or any other loud noises during the next few days (or longer, depending on how much the initial experience affected you). 

Key characteristics of habituation

Health psychology researchers have identified several key characteristics that affect habituation and how it tends to work. They are: duration, spontaneous recovery, frequency, intensity, and change.

Duration 

The longer you’re exposed to a stimulus, the more likely you are to habituate to it. That’s why you might not even notice your neighbor's dog barking all night as he has done for years, but a guest who comes to stay with you might be kept up all night by the sound.

Spontaneous recovery

According to text published in ScienceDirect, more rapid spontaneous recovery refers to “the reoccurrence of a previously habituated response after the passage of time since the last stimulus presentation.” The example given of when a response recovers is becoming habituated to the sound of the train going by your window, but being startled by it once again after it had stopped for 24 hours or a few days. In other words, you may not “forget” the response to these stimulus presentations, even if the stimulus decreases for a period.

Frequency 

The more often you are exposed to a stimulus, the quicker you may become habituated to it. For example, if you wear the same perfume each day, you might become habituated to the scent, whereas someone else may smell it strongly as you walk by. 

Intensity 

Very intense stimuli may be more challenging to habituate yourself to. For certain stimuli, like a car alarm, habituation may never occur, because the stimulus is loud, jarring, intense, and presented irregularly. Intense stimuli tend to lead to slower habituation or no habituation at all. 

Change 

Changes in stimuli can make it harder to habituate. For example, if a sound continually gets louder and then softer, your initial response may continue, as there is uncertainty in the experience. You might experience faster habituation if you hear the same sound at a constant volume.

Why the concept of habituation matters

Understanding the concept of habituation can be useful for several reasons. First, if you’re undergoing mental health treatment like CBT or ERP, it may be useful to learn how these approaches may help you. To find out more about or receive habituation training and treatment for stress or anxiety, you can connect with a therapist online.

Habituation itself is an innate human learning process, as it involves realizing that a certain stimulus won’t harm us and adjusting our behavior accordingly. However, habituation can also be relevant in formal learning settings like classrooms because of its relation to forms of learning. In short, being habituated to something can make it harder for us to pay attention to it. That’s why many teachers try to diversify their teaching methods so that students don’t become habituated to their presentation style and lose interest in the content.

Finally, habituation can also affect relationships. For example, in a romantic relationship, you may become more habituated to your partner and their habits over time. This process can have various effects, such as potentially making you:

• More tolerant of your differences, like eventually becoming used to the way they organize the closet, even though it bothered you at first
• So accustomed to your partner’s good qualities that you take them for granted, though you may be able to prevent this by practicing mindfulness and expressing gratitude often
• Used to the emotions you feel around them, which may decrease happiness to pre-partnership levels unless, as one study suggests, you also view your partner as your best friend

Using habituation to your advantage in everyday life

Once you understand how habituation works, it may benefit you in various areas of your daily life, such as in:

• Managing irritation and stress
• Maintaining healthy relationships
• Learning new things
• Being creative

For instance, you might be better able to manage minor annoyances—such as the neighbor’s dog barking or a noisy street—in your daily life if you know you’ll likely become accustomed to them eventually. The same can be true for stress, such as giving yourself the chance to acclimate to working in a busy restaurant rather than letting your initial overwhelm lead you to quit right away. Knowing about this phenomenon may also help you be more intentional about not taking the people in your life for granted.

In addition, this concept might help you stay motivated to keep learning a skill, such as a new language. Mixing up the way you practice your vocabulary on different days—such as watching a show in the target language, then conversing with a native speaker, then studying your word list—may help keep your brain engaged.

Finally, being aware of how habituation works might inspire your creativity. It may help you resist becoming habituated to “the way things are” and instead explore new alternatives. For instance, this process could inspire you to create art that’s different and unique or fight against injustice—like “slow violence” or news topics that people can become desensitized to—instead of becoming accustomed to it.

Reaching out for mental health support

Habituation can affect various areas of life, and a therapist can provide support with many of them. Whether you’re having trouble with stress or anxiety, want to strengthen your relationships, or are looking to experience more joy or creativity, therapy may help. A mental health professional can offer a safe space to process your emotions, evidence-based treatment to help with symptoms, and emotional support and coping mechanisms for challenges along the way.

However, not everyone can regularly attend in-person therapy appointments. Whether you have an illness or disability that makes it hard to travel, few therapists nearby, or a schedule that’s too packed to allow for a commute, online therapy may be a more accessible option. With BetterHelp, you can get matched and then meet with a licensed therapist remotely, from home or anywhere with an internet connection. 

Does online therapy really work?

In many cases, online therapy can be similarly effective to traditional, face-to-face talk therapy. Consider one psychological review published in Psychotherapy Research, which suggests that online therapy may often offer “comparable outcomes" to in-person therapy. The study's authors also list additional potential benefits of virtual care, including:

• Lower cost of care
• No travel time
• No waitlists
• Trackable progress