For example, in Pavlov’s famous experiment, dogs were conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell. The bell was initially a neutral stimulus, but after being paired with food (an unconditioned stimulus) repeatedly, the dogs began to salivate at the sound of the bell alone. The bell then became a conditioned stimulus.
Neutral stimuli can be any type of stimulus, including sights, sounds, smells, tastes, or touch. They can be either internal or external stimuli. Internal stimuli are stimuli that come from within the body, such as pain or hunger. External stimuli are stimuli that come from the environment, such as the sound of a bell or the sight of food.
The characteristics of a neutral stimulus that make it more likely to be conditioned include:
- Proximity to the unconditioned stimulus: The closer the neutral stimulus is to the unconditioned stimulus in time and space, the more likely it is to be conditioned.
- Intensity of the neutral stimulus: The more intense the neutral stimulus is, the more likely it is to be conditioned.
- Repetition of pairings: The more often the neutral stimulus is paired with the unconditioned stimulus, the more likely it is to be conditioned.
Neutral stimuli are an important part of classical conditioning. They allow us to learn to associate different stimuli with different outcomes. This can be helpful in many situations, such as when we learn to associate the smell of food with the taste of food, or when we learn to associate the sound of a fire alarm with the danger of fire.
However, neutral stimuli can also be used to manipulate people’s behavior in negative ways. For example, advertisers use neutral stimuli, such as beautiful people or happy music, to create positive associations with their products. This can lead people to buy products that they don’t really need or want.
It is important to be aware of the power of neutral stimuli. By understanding how they work, we can protect ourselves from being manipulated by others.
A Neutral Stimulus is a stimulus that produces no response other than catching your attention. For example, let’s say you have to bring your child to the pediatrician for a shot. Prior to the shot, the pediatrician presses a buzzer to call her assistant to come in and help her administer the vaccine. In this case, the sound of the buzzer is the neutral stimulus because it doesn’t produce any response from the child, but the child does notice it.
Each time your child goes to the pediatrician to get a shot, the doctor presses the buzzer before the shot. Now, every time your child hears the buzzer, she cries.
The first time she rang the buzzer to call the assistant, your child had no relevant response. The assistant came in and the pediatrician proceeded to give the shot, which caused your child to cry. After several visits where the doctor would always buzz to call her assistant and then administers the shot, your child began to associate the ringing of the buzzer with the shot. Now, as soon as the doctor rings the buzzer, your toddler starts to cry. The previously neutral stimulus of the buzzer has become what is called a conditioned stimulus, triggering a conditioned response (crying).