Stimulus (psychology) facts for kids

A stimulus (say: STIM-yoo-lus) is something that causes a reaction or change. In psychology, which is the study of the mind and behavior, a stimulus is an energy change that your senses can pick up. Think of it like a signal your body receives. This signal could be light, sound, touch, smell, or taste.

Different types of psychology use the word "stimulus" in slightly different ways:

What is a Stimulus?

Stimulus in Learning and Behavior

In a type of psychology called classical conditioning and behaviorism, a stimulus is the main reason why someone or something acts in a certain way. For example, if a dog hears a bell (the stimulus) right before it gets food, it might start to drool (the behavior) just from hearing the bell, even without the food. The bell becomes a signal that causes a reaction.

Stimulus and How We See Things

In perceptual psychology, a stimulus is what helps us see, hear, or feel things around us. Here, scientists talk about two kinds of stimuli:

• The distal stimulus is the actual object out in the world. For example, a tree in a park.
• The proximal stimulus is the energy from that object that reaches your senses. For the tree, this would be the light rays from the tree hitting your eyes. Your brain then uses this light to create an image of the tree.

Stimulus in Experiments

In experimental psychology, a stimulus is something that is shown or given to people in a test, and then their reaction is measured. Not everything shown in an experiment is called a stimulus. For example, a small cross on a screen that just helps you focus your eyes isn't usually called a stimulus, because it's not what the experiment is testing a reaction to. Also, very long events are usually not called stimuli, even if people react to them.

Stimuli and Health

Sometimes, doctors use different stimuli to check if a person is in a coma and how serious it is. They might use light, sound, or touch to see if the person shows any response, which helps them understand the person's condition.

See also

In Spanish: Estímulo para niños