Thad returns home from class on a hot summer’s evening, turns on the air conditioner full blast, and sits down to watch televisi
on. His roommate Sean returns home an hour later and wonders how Thad can hear the television above the loud noise of the air conditioner. Thad remarks that he doesn’t even notice the sound. Which process causes the air conditioner to seem louder to Sean than to Thad?
In psychology, the term sensory adaptation refers to the process by which the body sensory receptors adapt to certain stimuli after being constantly exposed to them and therefore it makes them less noticeable for the person. In other words, the person is exposed to a particular stimulus and after some time of exposure, the person stops noticing said stimulus.
In this example, Thad turns on the air conditioner and starts watching television. One hour later Sean comes and wonders how Thad can hear the tv considering the loud noise the air conditioner makes, Thad doesn't even notice the sound. We can see that <u>Thad was exposed to the sound of the air conditioner for an hour and he stopped noticing it at all after this time. </u>Therefore, this example would be a good example of sensory adaptation.
