Why is it that an orienting response tends to disappear after repeated exposure to a stimulus?
A) because the brain adjusts to the presence of the stimulus and no longer registers it as a sensation
B) because the stimulus becomes familiar and loses its novelty
C) because the attention that we pay to a stimulus increases as it becomes more familiar
D) because our mental hardware becomes inconsistent with our mental software as an object becomes less novel

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The orienting response is a physiological reaction to a novel stimulus, which includes increased heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension. When the stimulus becomes familiar through repeated exposure, the response tends to disappear because the stimulus has lost its novelty. The brain no longer sees the stimulus as something requiring attention or response, so the physiological reaction is not triggered.

Why Is It That an Orienting Response Tends to Disappear