A stimulus is something that generates the start of an action or causes the completion of something.
The notion of stimulus finds its root in the Latin word stimulus , one of whose curious meanings is sting . This word describes the chemical, physical or mechanical factor that manages to generate a functional reaction in an organism . The term also refers to the enthusiasm to carry out a certain action or work and gives its name to the iron-tipped rod that the herdsmen use to drive or guard the oxen.
In general, it can be stated that a stimulus is something that has an impact or influence on a system . In the case of living beings, the stimulus is what causes a response or reaction in the body.
The notion of stimulus is linked to the verb stimulate , which means to cause the realization of something or to start an activity, work, operation or function . For example, an economic stimulus constitutes an extra motivation for those who work; A sound stimulus , such as the firing of a firearm, can signal the beginning of a competition .
Stimulus in psychology
Psychology speaks of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli , associated with two types of responses, also conditioned and unconditioned. Numerous studies carried out by the Russian physiologist and psychologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, explain these concepts in detail with the help of canine volunteers. In short, we understand an unconditioned stimulus as that which generates in the subject an innate response, generally called a reflex. On the other hand, a conditional stimulus expects a specific result, which the organism would not know how to give before receiving the corresponding instructions.
Speaking specifically about Pavlov's research, the dog and food experiment is well known. Like humans, when placing food in their mouths, animals begin the process of salivation, which is an unconditioned or reflexive response to an unconditioned stimulus. But the Russian psychologist noticed that the dogs began to salivate before eating, just by understanding that their guardian was preparing their food. Starting from this situation, curious for him, he decided to carry out a test in which he rang a bell every time he gave food to a dog, making it associate both events. Once this relationship was achieved, the dog salivated at the mere tinkling.
Reaching a goal is a stimulus that encourages action.
The concept in communication and statistics
These studies are applied to communication between people, and establish that if there is no stimulus, there will be no response . The resulting linear model of human communication, which was developed by Harold D. Laswell, proposes a formula that chains five questions to analyze interaction in language : Who / says what / through which channel / to whom / with what effect? Given that languages require extensive and arduous learning and that differences in their interpretation lead to countless social and cultural problems, it is understandable that this research is so important for life in society.
At the level of statistics , the stimulus-response model pursues the purpose of establishing a mathematical function to reflect the link between the stimulus and the value expected in the response. In other words, we seek to find the necessary stimuli to obtain each type of result, thus allowing us to repeat a certain response every time we want.