What Is Habituation (Psychology)? Definition and Examples

Habituation is a psychological phenomenon where organisms become less responsive to a repeated stimulus over time. It is a simple form of learning that involves decreased responsiveness to a particular stimulus after repeated exposure.

In simple terms, habituation is the process of becoming less sensitive to a stimulus after repeated exposure. For example, you might be startled the first time you hear the loud bang of your neighbor’s door. After hearing the sound repeatedly, you may become less responsive to the sound and ignore it.

Habituation is an essential adaptive mechanism. It allows people to filter out irrelevant or non-threatening stimuli and focus on more important ones. However, it can also lead to desensitization and a lack of responsiveness to important stimuli. This lack of responsiveness can, at times, lead to negative consequences.

Examples of Habituation

You can learn more about how habituation works by considering a few of the following examples:

• A person living near a train station may initially be disturbed by the loud sound of trains passing by, but over time, they may become habituated to the noise and no longer find it disruptive.
• A baby who is repeatedly exposed to a particular toy may initially be fascinated by it and play with it for a long time. Still, eventually, they may become habituated to the toy and lose interest in it.
• A person who works in a noisy environment may initially find it difficult to concentrate, but over time, they may become habituated to the noise and work efficiently despite the distractions.
• A person who is repeatedly exposed to a particular smell may initially find it strong and unpleasant, but over time, they may become habituated to the scent and no longer notice it.
• A person who wears a ring may initially feel its weight on their finger at first. Over time, they may become habituated to the feeling and no longer be aware of the ring on their finger.

The opposite of habituation is sensitization, which means that a person becomes more reactive to a stimulus after repeated presentation.

Imagine hearing a noise that you initially tune out. As the sound persists, you become increasingly annoyed, eventually getting to the point where you cannot focus on anything else because of the obnoxious noise.

Factors That Impact Habituation

Habituation doesn’t occur at the same rate or to the same degree in every situation. Several factors can affect how it happens:

Intensity and duration of the stimulus: The stronger or more intense a stimulus is, the longer it may take to habituate. Similarly, the longer the stimulus is presented, the more likely habituation will occur.

The novelty of the stimulus: Novel or unfamiliar stimuli are less likely to be habituated to quickly than familiar stimuli.

Frequency of presentation: The more frequently a stimulus is presented, the quicker habituation will occur.

Individual differences: Individuals may differ in their susceptibility to habituation based on factors such as age, temperament, and genetic makeup.

Learning history: Previous experience with a stimulus can affect how quickly habituation occurs. For example, a person previously exposed to a loud noise may habituate to it more quickly than someone who has not.

Context: Habituation may be context-dependent, meaning that a stimulus may be habituated to in one context but not in another. For example, a loud noise may be habituated to in a busy city street, but not in a quiet library.

Motivation and attention: Motivation and attention can affect habituation. A person who is motivated to attend to a stimulus may not habituate to it as quickly as someone who is not motivated to attend to it.

What Causes Habituation?

A few different theories have been introduced to understand what causes behavioral habituation.

Inhibitory Model

According to one theory, the brain develops a model of the type of response that is expected. When repeated presentations match that initial model, the brain then inhibits the response to help conserve resources.

Neural Model

Another theory suggests that habituation has underlying neural mechanisms that help control how people respond to events in their environment.

Habituation vs. Sensory Adaptation

Habituation is somewhat similar and may be related to a process called neural adaptation, also known as sensory adaptation.

Neural adaptation is a process in which neurons become less responsive to a repeated stimulus over time.

When a stimulus is repeatedly presented, the sensory neurons that respond to it become less active, and the brain receives less information about the stimulus. This leads to a decrease in the neural response to the stimulus, and as a result, the individual becomes less sensitive to it.

This can play an important role in survival and adaptation to the environment. By habituating to things that don’t require attention, people are able to use their available resources to focus on what really matters. 

However, it is important to note that people have more conscious control over habituation, while sensory adaptation occurs automatically without conscious control.

Becoming habituated to familiar or repetitive stimuli allows us to conserve mental and physical resources and allocate them to more important or novel stimuli in the environment.

However, habituation can also have negative consequences, such as desensitization to important stimuli or failure to notice environmental changes. Therefore, it is important to balance the benefits of habituation with the need to remain sensitive to relevant and important stimuli.

Applications for Habituation in Therapy

While habituation often happens in everyday life without us noticing, it can also be utilized deliberately to help people change behavior or reduce psychological distress. Some of the ways that habituation can be utilized in therapy include:

Exposure Therapy

Habituation can be useful in the treatment of anxiety conditions. This type of therapy involves gradually exposing a person to a feared or anxiety-provoking stimulus in a controlled environment. Over time, the person becomes habituated to the stimulus, and their anxiety or fear diminishes. 

Exposure therapy has been found to be effective in treating anxiety disorders such as phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Sensory Integration Therapy

This type of therapy is used to help individuals with sensory processing disorders. It involves gradually exposing the person to stimuli they are hypersensitive to in a controlled environment. Over time, the person becomes habituated to the stimuli, and their sensory processing improves.

Habit Reversal Training

This type of therapy is used to help individuals who have unwanted habits, such as tics or compulsions. Habit reversal training involves teaching the person to become aware of their habit and then replacing it with a more adaptive behavior. 

Over time, the person becomes habituated to the new behavior, and the unwanted habit diminishes.

Overall, habituation is utilized in therapy to help individuals become less reactive to stimuli that are causing distress or interfering with their functioning. By gradually exposing the person to the stimulus in a controlled environment, the therapist can help them become habituated to the stimulus and reduce their distress or unwanted behavior.

How Habituation Affects Your Life

Because habituation often happens naturally as we interact with the world, it can have good and bad effects on your life. Habituation can impact a person’s life and relationships in various ways:

Reduced Sensitivity

Habituation can lead to reduced sensitivity to stimuli, resulting in a decreased ability to detect environmental changes (change blindness) or to perceive important cues. This can impact a person’s ability to engage in social interactions or to respond to the needs of others.

Boredom

Habituation can lead to boredom or lack of interest in activities that were once pleasurable or engaging. This can impact a person’s motivation and sense of enjoyment in life, leading to feelings of disconnection from others.

Ignoring Problems

Habituation can lead to a tendency to ignore problems or to tolerate unpleasant situations rather than take action to resolve them. This can impact a person’s ability to advocate for themselves or to engage in constructive problem-solving.

Relationship Difficulties

Habituation can also affect relationships. For example, it can decrease interest or sensitivity to a partner’s needs or emotions. This can result in a lack of empathy, reduced communication, and diminished intimacy.

Decreased Learning

Habituation can lead to decreased learning or knowledge acquisition since repeated exposure to the same stimuli can lead to a lack of curiosity and exploration.

While habituation can be beneficial in certain contexts, it is vital to balance the benefits of habituation with the need to remain sensitive and responsive to important stimuli in our lives and relationships.

Key Points to Remember About Habituation

• Habituation is a process of becoming less responsive to a stimulus after repeated exposure to it.
• This adaptive mechanism allows individuals to conserve mental and physical resources and allocate them to more critical or novel environmental stimuli.
• However, habituation can also have negative consequences, such as desensitization to important stimuli or failure to notice environmental changes.
• Habituation is utilized in therapy to help individuals become less reactive to stimuli causing distress or interfering with their functioning. It can impact a person’s life and relationships by reducing sensitivity, boredom, ignoring problems, relationship difficulties, and decreased learning.

Sources:

Benito, K. G., & Walther, M. (2015). Therapeutic process during exposure: Habituation model. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 6, 147–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2015.01.006

Epstein, L. H., Temple, J. L., Roemmich, J. N., & Bouton, M. E. (2009). Habituation as a determinant of human food intake. Psychological Review, 116(2), 384–407. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015074

Rankin, C. H., Abrams, T., Barry, R. J., Bhatnagar, S., Clayton, D. F., Colombo, J., Coppola, G., Geyer, M. A., Glanzman, D. L., Marsland, S., McSweeney, F. K., Wilson, D. A., Wu, C.-F., & Thompson, R. F. (2009). Habituation revisited: An updated and revised description of the behavioral characteristics of habituation. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 92(2), 135–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2008.09.012

Schmid, S., Wilson, D. A., & Rankin, C. H. (2015). Habituation mechanisms and their importance for cognitive function. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2014.00097