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classical conditioning

noun

Simple meaning

Conditioning that pairs a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that evokes a reflex.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

klasihkuhlkuhndishuhning

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈklæsɪkəlkənˈdɪʃənɪŋ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. psychology

    Conditioning that pairs a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that evokes a reflex; the stimulus that evokes the reflex is given whether or not the conditioned response occurs until eventually the neutral stimulus comes to evoke the reflex

  2. psychology

    A learning process in which a previously neutral stimulus (such as a bell) is paired with a potent stimulus (such as food in the case of a dog), so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response (salivation) similar to the one elicited by the potent stimulus.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

This meaning: Conditioning that pairs a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that evokes a reflex; the stimulus that evokes the reflex is given whether or not the conditioned response occurs until eventually the neutral stimulus comes to evoke the reflex

Used this way, classical conditioning is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.