MCAT Psychological Social Foundations Flashcards: 7c Habituation Dishabituation

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This deck focuses on 7c Habituation Dishabituation, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for MCAT Psychological Social Foundations.

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Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.

Flashcard 1: Identify the process: repeated loud tone leads to decreased startle response over trials.

Answer: Habituation. Repeated exposure reduces startle through nonassociative learning.

Flashcard 2: What is habituation in learning and behavior?

Answer: Decreased response after repeated exposure to a benign stimulus. Organism learns to ignore irrelevant stimuli through CNS changes.

Flashcard 3: What is dishabituation?

Answer: Recovery of a habituated response after a novel stimulus appears. Novel stimulus temporarily restores the habituated response.

Flashcard 4: Which type of learning best describes habituation: associative or nonassociative?

Answer: Nonassociative learning. No pairing with other stimuli required; response changes to single stimulus.

Flashcard 5: Which type of learning best describes dishabituation: associative or nonassociative?

Answer: Nonassociative learning. Response changes without stimulus pairing or reinforcement.

Flashcard 6: What is the key difference between habituation and sensory adaptation?

Answer: Habituation is central; sensory adaptation is peripheral receptor change. Habituation involves CNS learning; adaptation is receptor fatigue.

Flashcard 7: What is the key difference between habituation and extinction in classical conditioning?

Answer: Habituation is nonassociative; extinction is loss of a learned association. Habituation needs no pairing; extinction removes CS-US association.

Flashcard 8: Which option best defines stimulus specificity in habituation?

Answer: Reduced response is strongest for the repeated stimulus, not all stimuli. Response decreases specifically to habituated stimulus, not others.

Flashcard 9: What is spontaneous recovery in the context of habituation?

Answer: Response returns after a rest period without exposure to the stimulus. Time away allows habituated response to recover without retraining.

Flashcard 10: What is meant by “habituation is not sensory fatigue”?

Answer: Reduced responding reflects CNS processing, not exhausted receptors. Brain processes change, not receptor exhaustion or damage.

Flashcard 11: Which stimulus pattern produces faster habituation: frequent predictable or rare unpredictable?

Answer: Frequent predictable stimulation. Predictable patterns allow faster learning to ignore stimulus.

Flashcard 12: Which stimulus intensity generally leads to slower habituation: weak or strong?

Answer: Strong (high-intensity) stimuli. Intense stimuli remain biologically relevant longer.

Flashcard 13: What is the typical effect of a novel stimulus introduced during habituation training?

Answer: It produces dishabituation (temporary return of responding). Novel stimulus alerts system, reversing habituation temporarily.

Flashcard 14: Which outcome best reflects generalization rather than stimulus specificity in habituation?

Answer: Reduced response spreads to similar stimuli, not just the repeated one. Generalization shows response decrease extends beyond specific stimulus.

Flashcard 15: Identify the key feature of dishabituation that supports habituation as learning, not fatigue.

Answer: A novel stimulus restores responding despite continued stimulation capacity. If fatigue caused decrease, novel stimulus couldn't restore response.

Flashcard 16: Identify the process: after habituating to a tone, a flash of light restores startle to the tone.

Answer: Dishabituation. Novel light stimulus reverses habituation to tone.

Flashcard 17: Which option best indicates habituation rather than sensory adaptation: response decreases only for that sound?

Answer: Habituation (stimulus-specific decrease suggests central learning). Specific decrease indicates central processing, not receptor fatigue.

Flashcard 18: Identify the concept: infant looks less at a repeated image, then looks more at a new image.

Answer: Habituation followed by dishabituation. Decreased looking shows habituation; new image causes dishabituation.

Flashcard 19: Identify the best interpretation: response returns after a break with no new stimulus introduced.

Answer: Spontaneous recovery of habituation. Response recovers after rest without new stimulation.

Flashcard 20: Which option best distinguishes extinction from habituation: loss of CR after CS-only trials?

Answer: Extinction. CR loss after removing US shows associative learning breakdown.

Flashcard 21: Identify the process: A baby startles less to a repeated tone across trials.

Answer: Habituation. Shows decreased responding to repeated benign stimulus.

Flashcard 22: Which type of learning does dishabituation represent: associative or nonassociative?

Answer: Nonassociative learning. Like habituation, it involves single stimulus exposure without pairing.

Flashcard 23: Which type of learning does habituation represent: associative or nonassociative?

Answer: Nonassociative learning. No stimulus pairing or association formation occurs.

Flashcard 24: Identify the process: After a loud clap, the baby startles again to the same tone.

Answer: Dishabituation. The loud clap acts as a novel stimulus, restoring the startle response.

Flashcard 25: Identify the best interpretation: Responding drops to tone A, but returns to tone B.

Answer: Habituation to tone A (stimulus-specific), not fatigue. Response returns to tone B shows specific learning, not general fatigue.

Flashcard 26: Which option best supports habituation over sensory adaptation: response returns to the same stimulus after a break?

Answer: Spontaneous recovery after a rest period. Recovery shows CNS learning, not permanent receptor changes.

Flashcard 27: Which option best supports dishabituation: response returns after introducing a novel stimulus?

Answer: Novel stimulus restores the response to the original stimulus. Dishabituation specifically requires a novel stimulus to restore responding.

Flashcard 28: Which stimulus pattern typically produces faster habituation: frequent and predictable or rare and unpredictable?

Answer: Frequent and predictable stimulation. Regular exposure allows faster learning of stimulus irrelevance.

Flashcard 29: What is stimulus specificity in habituation?

Answer: Reduced response is strongest for the repeated stimulus, not all stimuli. Shows the response decrease is learned, not due to general fatigue.

Flashcard 30: Which option best indicates true habituation rather than fatigue: stimulus-specific or generalized decrease?

Answer: Stimulus-specific decrease in responding. Fatigue would reduce all responses equally, not selectively.