conditioning

[ kuh n-dish-uh-ning ]
/ kənˈdɪʃ ə nɪŋ /

noun Psychology.

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.
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.

Origin of conditioning

First recorded in 1915–20; condition + -ing1

OTHER WORDS FROM conditioning

self-con·di·tion·ing, adjective

Definition for conditioning (2 of 2)

condition
[ kuh n-dish-uh n ]
/ kənˈdɪʃ ən /

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

to make conditions.

Origin of condition

1275–1325; Middle English condicioun < Anglo-French; Old French < Latin condiciōn- (stem of condiciō) agreement, equivalent to con- con- + dic- say (see dictate) + -iōn- -ion; spelling with t by influence of Late Latin or Medieval Latin forms; compare French condition

SYNONYMS FOR condition

1 See state.
8 requirement, proviso.

OTHER WORDS FROM condition

con·di·tion·a·ble, adjective un·con·di·tion, verb (used with object)

Example sentences from the Web for conditioning

British Dictionary definitions for conditioning (1 of 2)

conditioning
/ (kənˈdɪʃənɪŋ) /

noun

psychol the learning process by which the behaviour of an organism becomes dependent on an event occurring in its environment See also classical conditioning, instrumental learning

adjective

(of a shampoo, cosmetic, etc) intended to improve the condition of something a conditioning rinse

British Dictionary definitions for conditioning (2 of 2)

condition
/ (kənˈdɪʃən) /

noun

verb (mainly tr)

Word Origin for condition

C14: from Latin conditiō, from condīcere to discuss, agree together, from con- together + dīcere to say

Medical definitions for conditioning (1 of 2)

conditioning
[ kən-dĭshə-nĭng ]

n.

A process of behavior modification by which a subject comes to associate a desired behavior with a previously unrelated stimulus.

Medical definitions for conditioning (2 of 2)

condition
[ kən-dĭshən ]

n.

A disease or physical ailment.
A state of health or physical fitness.

v.

To cause an organism to respond in a specific manner to a conditioned stimulus in the absence of an unconditioned stimulus.

Scientific definitions for conditioning

conditioning
[ kən-dĭshə-nĭng ]

See classical conditioning.

Idioms and Phrases with conditioning

condition

see in condition; mint condition; on condition that; out of condition.