NEUTRAL STIMULUS

is a stimulus which whilst does stimulate a response from the nervous system, the response which is triggered is not the sort which would be measured in an index of conditioning.

Neutral stimulus in psychology

In psychology, a neutral stimulus is a stimulus that initially does not elicit any innate or learned response from an individual. This concept is crucial in classical conditioning, a learning process in which an association is formed between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response.

How does it work?

The learning process known as classical conditioning, which was first investigated and described by Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov, depends heavily on a neutral input. Understanding how people and animals associate various environmental cues with one another is based on the theory of classical conditioning.

By repeatedly pairing an unconditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus, the classical conditioning process functions. The establishment of a connection between the two stimuli is facilitated by this regular pairing, and eventually the neutral stimulus elicits a conditioned response that is comparable to the unconditioned response. This learning process serves as an example of the effectiveness of classical conditioning in influencing how both humans and animals respond to varied environmental cues.

What kind of response does a neutral stimulus elicit?

A neutral stimulus is an object, event, or situation that initially does not provoke any significant response from an individual or an organism. This is because the neutral stimulus has not yet been linked to any meaningful event or outcome that would typically trigger a particular reaction. In this context, the response to the neutral stimulus is generally considered insignificant or non-existent.

The process of classical conditioning, first described by Ivan Pavlov, demonstrates how a neutral stimulus can come to elicit a meaningful response. This occurs when the neutral stimulus is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus, which is a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned response.

Examples

For example, in Pavlov's famous experiment with dogs, the neutral stimulus was the sound of a metronome, which initially did not cause any significant reaction in the dogs. this experiment, Pavlov exposed dogs to a neutral stimulus, like a ringing bell, which at first did not cause any salivation. The dogs soon started salivating at the sound of the bell alone, showing that the neutral stimulus had evolved into a conditioned stimulus that evoked a conditioned response, after he repeatedly paired the sound of the bell with the presentation of food (the unconditioned stimulus).

Another example is in advertising, when neutral cues like brand logos or jingles are combined with uplifting ideas or memories. Consumers may form a favorable association with a brand over time, which could result in a conditioned preference or higher likelihood of purchase if they hear the company's jingle or see its emblem.

References:

Gleitman, H., Gross, J. J., & Reisberg, D. (2010). Psychology. W. W. Norton & Company.

Meyers-Levy, J., & Malaviya, P. (1999). Consumers' processing of persuasive advertisements: An integrative framework of persuasion theories. Journal of Marketing, 63, 45-60. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429990634s106

Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned Reflexes. Oxford University Press. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1927-02531-000