Dishabituation

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Dishabituation (or dehabituation) is a form of recovered or restored behavioral response wherein the reaction towards a known stimulus is enhanced, as opposed to habituation.^[1] Initially, it was proposed as an explanation to increased response for a habituated behavior by introducing an external stimulus;^[2] however, upon further analysis, some have suggested that a proper analysis of dishabituation should be taken into consideration only when the response is increased by implying the original stimulus.^[3]

Based on studies conducted over habituation's dual-process theory which attributed towards dishabituation, it is also determined that the latter was independent of any behavioral sensitization.^[4]

An example of dishabituation is the response of a receptionist in a scenario where a delivery truck arrives at 9:00AM every morning. The first few times it arrives it is noticed by the receptionist, and after weeks, the receptionist does not respond as strongly. One day the truck does not arrive, and the receptionist notices its absence. When it arrives the next day, the receptionist's response is stronger when it arrives as expected.