conditioning

[kuhn-dish-uh-ning]

noun

Psychology.

1. Also called operant conditioning, instrumental conditioning. a process of changing behavior by rewarding or punishing a subject each time an action is performed until the subject associates the action with pleasure or distress.

2. Also called classical conditioning, Pavlovian conditioning, respondent conditioning. a process in which a stimulus that was previously neutral, as the sound of a bell, comes to evoke a particular response, as salivation, by being repeatedly paired with another stimulus that normally evokes the response, as the taste of food.

conditioning

1. See classical conditioning

Other Word Forms

• self-conditioning adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of conditioning¹

First recorded in 1915–20; condition + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

And poorer people are more likely to live in aging buildings without duct systems or air conditioning units.

From Los Angeles Times

After the Canoga Park outing, about two dozen volunteers sat around a table in a Starbucks, resting in the air conditioning.

From Los Angeles Times

Those without air conditioning should take cool showers or baths, use their stoves and ovens less and visit a place that does have air conditioning, such as a library or mall.

From Los Angeles Times

A summer of soaring temperatures has come to an end with more Britons turning to air conditioning to cope with the heat - but should you buy one too?

From BBC

With air conditioning blasting all night, detainees have told her the floor is cold and they have gotten sick.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assignment 
• discipline 
• drilling 
• homework 
• preparation 
• repetition 
• training 
• tryout 
• warmup 
• workout