gewenning

Gehenning, in Dutch psychology, refers to habituation: a process in which an organism's behavioral response to a repeated, non-harmful stimulus decreases over time. It is a form of non-associative learning, distinct from sensitization (an increased response) and conditioning (associative learning).

Mechanisms underlying gewenning involve neural adaptations that reduce the salience or arousal associated with the stimulus. Changes may occur in sensory pathways or at synapses, leading to a diminished response. Habituation can be short-term or long-term, and its effects may be specific to the exact stimulus or generalize to similar stimuli.

Several factors influence the extent and rate of gewenning. Stimulus intensity, the frequency and placement of exposures, the interval between stimuli, and the context in which exposure occurs all matter. The organism’s motivational state, age, attention, and prior experiences can also shape the process.

Relation to related concepts: Habituation is distinct from sensory adaptation, which occur at the sensory receptor level, and from extinction in conditioning. In pharmacology and medicine, habituation is sometimes confused with drug tolerance, but tolerance often involves pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic changes rather than a straightforward decrease in response to a repeated non-drug stimulus.

Examples and applications: People living near noisy environments may gradually stop perceiving traffic sounds; laboratory animals may stop reacting to a repetitive, harmless stimulus after many trials. In clinical psychology, exposure therapies leverage habituation to reduce fear responses through repeated, controlled exposure. In research, habituation helps study attention, learning, and sensory processing.

Gevenning thus represents a fundamental, widely observed mechanism by which organisms adapt to recurring, inconsequential stimuli.