The behavioral approach consists of creating associations between stimuli and responses, regardless of the mental process that may give rise to a certain behavior. Classical conditioning can be defined as the process by which an unconditioned stimulus that produces known effects is associated with a neutral stimulus, while the neutral stimulus alone produces effects similar to those of the unconditioned stimulus.
In particular, in this Psychology-Online article we want to delve deeper into what is the neutral stimulus in psychology. We will tell you how a neutral stimulus is converted into a conditioned one and examples applied in psychology of the neutral stimulus.
What is a neutral stimulus according to Pavlov?
He aims to demonstrate the existence of the conditioned reflex, that is, that a natural (neutral) stimulus can provoke a certain involuntary reaction (response).
In the case of the Russian physiologist’s famous experiment, the food (unconditioned stimulus) made the dog salivate (unconditioned effect). By associating food with the sound of a bell (neutral sound) the same effect was achieved. If after a while he tried to ring the bell alone (conditioned stimulus), the dog would salivate even without food (conditioned effect).
Therefore, if you wonder what a neutral stimulus is, it is one that when present in the environment it does not cause any type of response in the body and it has no meaning for the body, like, for example, the sound of a doorbell.
How does a neutral stimulus become a conditioned stimulus?
When associated with a , the neutral stimulus can become a . Indeed, an initially neutral stimulus, often presented in close temporal proximity with a stimulus that by its nature evokes a reflexive response, is capable of evoking a similar reflexive response.
Conditioned reflexes are acquired, that is, they represent the fruit of life experiences and, in a certain sense, they can be considered for all purposes as creators. The condition for the birth and maintenance of conditioned reflexes is that a neutral stimulus serves as an anticipatory signal of the arrival of an unconditioned stimulusuntil it is completely replaced.
It can be said that the conditioned reflex is a form of learning in which a neutral stimuluslike a green light or the ringing of a bell, associated with an unconditioned stimuluslike an electric shock, can replace it and evoke the same response, in this case the retraction of the hand.
In summary, we speak of a conditioned reflex to describe an acquired response, that is, one that responds to an initially neutral stimulus, which is first associated with and finally replaces another unconditioned stimulus, which instinctively provokes that reaction.
Examples of neutral stimuli in psychology
To better understand how a neutral stimulus works in psychology, below we will see different examples of it:
Fear of injections
It causes an initially neutral stimulus to be associated with another that causes a specific reaction. If, for example, individuals in white coats are the ones who usually cause pain from an injection, the mere sight of a white coat after a short time can trigger crying even without an injection.
Anxiety attacks
According to the , anxiety symptoms, such as panic, phobias and obsessions, represent abnormal behavioral reactions, in the sense that they are responses learned in the early phases of the individual’s development through processes of classical Pavlovian conditioning.
Here we can see another example of a neutral stimulus in psychology. The reaction that appears in combination with a neutral stimulus, for example, an anxiety attack in a supermarket, gives rise to conditioning in which the reaction tends to be repeated when faced with stimuli similar to the neutral one and it involves then avoiding the neutral stimulus by a conditioning mechanism that works.
Publicity communication
In the advertising field, it is known that conditioning can also be applied to . For example, associating a neutral product with an event, something that has strong affective resonances for the consumer.
The theory of classical conditioning has had important effects in the field of advertising communicationin which a sport with the actors and a scene represent an unconditioned stimulus: the positive attitude towards the message or positive emotions are the unconditioned response.
The idea is to combine the brand or the use of the brand, which is a neutral or conditioned stimulus, with the content of the spot, the unconditioned stimulus, with the objective that the unconditioned response becomes a conditioned response. In the end, the brand or its use suggests the same attitude or positive emotions shared by the advertisement.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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