"Mere" exposure means that the stimulus is presented without any external motivators such as rewards or difficulties connected to it (Terry, 2006, p.42). Interestingly, it has been found that the preference affect is not connected to a conscious memory of the stimulus (p.43).
It has also been found that brief exposure often produces a more positive response than long exposures. One of the reasons why mere exposure makes a stimulus more pleasing is that an excess of habituation may cause boredom, whereas its absence may produce a type of fear that is associated with the unfamiliar. Brief exposure then provides enough time for the recipient to become familiar with the stimulus without being bored by it and therefore losing interest.
On the other hand, it is difficult to quantify the effect of varied stimuli upon the mind. A given stimulus event can for example indicate multiple and conflicting results in different human beings. Some consistency occur in habituation, where a repeated stimulus becomes familiar in terms of easier learning and connecting it with new aspects of the same phenomenon.
However, it is also possible that habituation can prevent new learning. Overexposure to a stimulus could for example lead to its being ignored. Later learning about the stimulus is then difficult, as there is no attention on the object of learning.
There are several applications of stimulus exposure in the world today, despite the difficulties related to consistency. Areas that have benefited from this phenomenon include education, advertising, and psychology.
Application of Simple Stimulus Learning
Simple stimulus learning can be applied to various situations in life. In psychology, for example, a therapist may use it to help patients overcome fears or phobias (Terry, 2006, p.43). By providing the patient with controlled and repeated exposure to the feared item, it is projected that the habituation process will reduce attention to, and therefore fear of the object or situation....
This is done in a very gradual way, with a mild form of the feared item presented initially. Gradually the stimulus is intensified, each time until habituation takes place. In this way, the patient becomes familiar with the feared item, and replaces the fear with a lack of attention. Some therapists combine the exposure with pleasant stimuli, such as relaxation exercises or soothing music. This is a form of counter-conditioning.
Simple stimulus learning occurs almost in all areas of life. As a person grows and learns from childhood, living and working in the world requires familiarity and habituation in terms of certain stimuli such as traffic lights. Habituation in such terms occurs only partially. Traffic lights act as warning signs. Being familiar with them prevents road users from making accidents. By lifelong simple exposure, every modern human being know the universal meaning of traffic lights and other road signs. However, complete habituation cannot take place, as this will lead to a dangerous and potentially fatal lack of attention. This is then an example of increased attention by means of simple stimulation.
Simple stimulus learning is also used when learning to drive, operate machinery, or in the academic disciplines. While it has obvious applications to the education industry, simple stimulus learning is by no means exclusive to this industry, as seen above. Advertisers have for example made profitable use of the effects of stimulus exposure. It is a vital part of how human beings and other organisms live and work in the physical world.
Sources
Terry, W. Scott. (2006). Learning and Memory: Basic Principles, Processes, and Procedures. Allyn and Bacon.
Sweatt, David J. (2003). Mechanisms of Memory. Academic Press.
Webb, Ben S., Roach, Neil W., and McGraw, Paul V. (2007, Dec. 19). "Perceptual Learning in the Absence of Task or Stimulus Specificity" Public Library of Science. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2147046
