conditioning

American

[kuhn-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.

conditioning Scientific

/ kən-dĭsh′ə-nĭng /

See classical conditioning

Other Word Forms

self-conditioning adjective

Etymology

Origin of conditioning

First recorded in 1915–20; condition + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He has been confined to a small room with a minibar, air conditioning and a television at a Federal Police headquarters in Brasilia.

From Barron's

We did a lot of conditioning hikes beforehand: Mt.

From Los Angeles Times

He trains out of a £3m converted warehouse in Puerto Rico, a full-time base with recovery suites, a strength and conditioning centre and high-end equipment used by elite professionals.

From BBC

Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, has led the way in setting up a network of climate shelters in libraries, schools and other public buildings with air conditioning.

From Barron's

Water conditioning to those specs eliminates filtration and chemical treatments as final tuning steps.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023