Habituation vs. sensory adaptation
A man stops noticing a ticking clock in his office but notices immediately when it stops ticking. Which process best explains why he stopped noticing the ticking?
Answer B: explanation for every choice
Sensory adaptation is reduced receptor firing to a constant stimulus. Noticing the silence shows the ticking was still being registered, which points to a change in attention, not in the receptors.
Correct. Noticing when the ticking stops shows that his brain was still processing the sound. He had learned to ignore it, which is habituation.
Dishabituation is the return of a response after a change. It describes his noticing the silence, not his ignoring the ticking.
Sensitization is an increased response to a stimulus, the opposite of what happened.
Reviewed 2026-11-05 by a medical student. Spot an error? Report it with question ID ps147.