Stimulus (psychology)

Stimulus (psychology)

In <a href="/en/Psychology" title="Psychology" class="wl">psychology</a>, a stimulus is any object or event that elicits a sensory or behavioral response in an organism. In this context, a distinction is made between the distal stimulus (the external, perceived object) and the proximal stimulus (the stimulation of sensory organs).<a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a>

<ul><li>In <a href="/en/Perceptual_psychology" title="Perceptual psychology" class="wl">perceptual psychology</a>, a stimulus is an energy change (e.g., light or sound) which is registered by the <a href="/en/Sense" title="Sense" class="wl">senses</a> (e.g., vision, hearing, taste, etc.) and constitutes the basis for <a href="/en/Perception" title="Perception" class="wl">perception</a>.<a href="#cite_note-stimulus-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a></li>
<li>In <a href="/en/Behavioral_psychology" title="Behavioral psychology" class="mw-redirect wl">behavioral psychology</a> (i.e., <a href="/en/Classical_conditioning" title="Classical conditioning" class="wl">classical</a> and <a href="/en/Operant_conditioning" title="Operant conditioning" class="wl">operant</a> conditioning), a stimulus constitutes the basis for <a href="/en/Behavior" title="Behavior" class="wl">behavior</a>.<a href="#cite_note-stimulus-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a> The <a href="/en/Stimulus–response_model" title="Stimulus–response model" class="wl">stimulus–response model</a> emphasizes the relation between stimulus and behavior rather than an animal's internal processes (i.e., in the <a href="/en/Nervous_system" title="Nervous system" class="wl">nervous system</a>).<a href="#cite_note-stimulus-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a></li>
<li>In <a href="/en/Experimental_psychology" title="Experimental psychology" class="wl">experimental psychology</a>, a stimulus is the event or object to which a response is measured. Thus, not everything that is presented to participants qualifies as stimulus. For example, a <a href="/en/Cross_mark" title="Cross mark" class="mw-redirect wl">cross mark</a> at the center of a screen is not said to be a stimulus, because it merely serves to center participants' gaze on the screen. Also, it is uncommon to refer to longer events (e.g. the <a href="/en/Trier_social_stress_test" title="Trier social stress test" class="wl">Trier social stress test</a>) as a stimulus, even if a response to such an event is measured.</li></ul>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Object or event that elicits a response</div>
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In psychology, a stimulus is any object or event that elicits a sensory or behavioral response in an organism. In this context, a distinction is made between the distal stimulus and the proximal stimulus . 