overconditioning

Overconditioning is a term used in behavioral sciences to describe a state in which learned associations become excessively strong or overly broad as a result of conditioning processes. It is not a formal diagnostic category, but is used descriptively to discuss situations in which the strength, persistence, or generality of conditioned responses exceeds what is adaptive or useful.

Causes and mechanisms: High reinforcement density, brief interstimulus intervals, highly salient unconditioned stimuli, or extensive repetition can strengthen conditioned responses beyond typical levels. Insufficient discrimination training—where the subject cannot distinguish the conditioned stimulus from similar cues—can lead to generalization, so a wider range of stimuli elicit the response. Extinction learning may be slow or context-specific, allowing the conditioned response to persist.

Effects: Strong or generalized conditioned responses can interfere with flexible behavior. In animals, this may present as broadly directed fear or arousal to many environmental cues. In humans, overconditioned fear or anxiety may contribute to phobias, PTSD triggers, or generalized anxiety, with resistance to extinction and relapse after apparent recovery.

Relation to other concepts: Overconditioning overlaps with overgeneralization and perseveration. It differs from ordinary conditioning by the excessive strength or breadth of the response, rather than the mere presence of a learned association.

Management and research: Approaches that promote adaptive extinction and discrimination—such as systematic desensitization, context-specific extinction training, and reducing reinforcement density—are used to counter overconditioning. The concept remains informal and is typically studied within broader work on conditioning, extinction, and generalization.