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-	In [[psychology]], a '''stimulus''' is any object or event that elicits a sensory or behavioral response in an organism.	+
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-	*In [[perceptual psychology]], a stimulus is an energy change (e.g., light or sound) which is registered by the [[sense]]s (e.g., vision, hearing, taste, etc.) and constitutes the basis for [[perception]].	+
-	*In [[behavioral psychology]] (i.e., [[classical conditioning|classical]] and [[operant conditioning|operant]] conditioning), a stimulus constitutes the basis for [[behavior]]. In this context, a distinction is made between the ''distal stimulus'' (the external, perceived object) and the ''proximal stimulus'' (the stimulation of sensory organs).	+
-	*In [[experimental psychology]], a stimulus is the event or object to which a response is measured. Thus, not everything that is presented to participants qualifies as stimulus. For example, a [[cross mark]] at the center of a screen is not said to be a stimulus, because it merely serves to center participants' gaze on the screen. Also, it is uncommon to refer to longer events (e.g. the [[Trier social stress test]]) as a stimulus, even if a response to such an event is measured.	+
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-	==History==	+
-	In the second half of the 19th century, the term ''stimulus'' was coined in [[psychophysics]] by defining the field as the "scientific study of the relation between stimulus and [[Sensation (psychology)|sensation]]". This may have led [[James J. Gibson]] to conclude that "whatever could be controlled by an experimenter and applied to an observer could be thought of as a stimulus" in early psychological studies with humans, while around the same time, the term stimulus described anything eliciting a [[reflex]] in animal research.	+
-	===In behavioral psychology===	+
-	The concept ''stimulus'' was essential to [[behaviorism]] and the behavioral theory of [[B. F. Skinner]] in particular. Within such a framework several kinds of stimuli have been distinguished (see also [[classical conditioning]]):	+
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-	An '''eliciting stimulus''' was defined as a stimulus that precedes a certain behavior and thus causes a response. A '''discriminative stimulus''' in contrast increases the probability of a response to occur, but does not necessarily elicit the response. A '''reinforcing stimulus''' usually denoted a stimulus delivered after the response has already occurred; in psychological experiments it was often delivered on purpose to reinforce the behavior. '''Emotional stimuli''' were regarded as not eliciting a response. Instead, they were thought to modify the strength or vigor with which a behavior is carried out.	+
-	==See also==	+
-	* [[Psychophysics]]	+
-	* [[Sensory cue]]	+
-	* [[Stimulation]]	+
-	* [[Stimulus (physiology)]]	+
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-	{{GFDL}}	+

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