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In psychology, habituation is an example of non-associative learning in which there is a progressive diminution of behavioral response probability with repetition stimulus.

An animal first responds to a stimulus, but if it is neither rewarding nor harmful the animal reduces subsequent responses.

One example of this can be seen in small song birds — if a stuffed owl ( or similar predator ) is put into the cage, the birds initially react to it as though it were a real predator.

Soon the birds react less, showing habituation.

If another stuffed owl is introduced ( or the same one removed and re-introduced ), the birds react to it again as though it were a predator, demonstrating that it is only a very specific stimulus that is habituated to ( namely, one particular unmoving owl in one place ).

Habituation has been shown in essentially every species of animal, as well as the large protozoan Stentor coeruleus.