Habituation is the most basic form of learning. Learning is defined as a change in behavior that results from an experience. In habituation, a response to a stimulus weakens when the stimulus is presented over and over to the organism. For example, when you enter a bakery, you are aware of the smell of the bread. After some time, you habituate, or become accustomed to, the aroma. Similarly, when you jump into a pool, you are at first aware of the cold water, but then you “get used to it.” These are all cases of habituation, in which the repeated stimulation of the sensory receptors causes the receptors to fire less often, weakening the experience of the sensation. Interestingly, when the habituated stimulus is removed for some time, the response recovers fully or, at least, to some extent, when the stimulus is presented anew. This is called spontaneous recovery.

According to Ardiel et al. (2017), habituation has been historically regarded as a beneficial process that can “free up limited neuronal resources by allowing organisms to ignore irrelevant stimuli” (p. 1). Habituation may also benefit behavior in other, less obvious ways. It can occur in response to dangerous stimuli, which are far from irrelevant. According to Ardiel et al. (2017), habituation occurs in response to dangerous stimuli to spur a new, more effective response toward them: “…habituation to a noxious stimulus might not just represent a decrease in the........

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