I’ve read up on habituation and a few examples; however I still have a few questions.
#1: The person has moved into a house on a busy street. Initially, the person is distracted every time a loud car drives by. After living in the house for a while, the person is no longer distracted by the street noise. The person has become habituated.
#2: You put a stuffed owl into a cage with song birds. Initially, the song birds react to it as if it were a real predator. Soon, the birds react less, showing habituation as they become used to the stuffed owl. However, if another stuffed owl is introduced (or the same one is removed and re-introduced) the birds react to it as though it were a predator.
MY QUESTION: Although both are examples of habituation, why is that the songbirds still react to the stuffed owl as though it were a predator; even though it has been introduced once before? Meanwhile, the humans are not distracted every a new car drives by?
Do you get what I’m trying to ask? Sorry if it’s hard to understand.
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