What does conditioning mean?
Conditioning refers to the process of shaping behaviour or response through repeated experience, reinforcement, or association. Its most famous sense comes from psychology, where classical conditioning describes learning by association — as when Pavlov's dogs learned to salivate at a bell — and operant conditioning describes learning through rewards and punishments. Beyond the laboratory, the word appears in physical fitness, where 'strength and conditioning' denotes structured athletic preparation, and in everyday care, as with hair conditioner or air conditioning, though those products are usually named by their related forms rather than the noun itself. Conditioning can also describe the subtler way culture instils habits and assumptions in people, a usage that often carries a critical tone. Derived from the Latin 'condicio' via Old French, the word entered English alongside 'condition' and remains central to how psychologists, trainers, and critics talk about learned behaviour.
nounThe process of training or accustoming a person or animal to behave in a particular way through repeated exposure or reinforcement; also, the treatment of hair, skin, or other material to improve its condition.
- The psychological process of learning through association or reinforcement, in which repeated pairing of stimuli shapes behavior (e.g. classical and operant conditioning).
- Physical training that prepares the body for athletic performance or endurance.
- The treatment of hair, skin, air, or materials to improve their state or quality.
- The process by which social or cultural attitudes are instilled in a person over time.
"The dog's conditioning was evident — at the sound of the bell, it salivated before any food appeared."
"Through careful conditioning, the rats learned to press the lever whenever the green light came on."
"Months of strength and conditioning left the marathon runner feeling prepared for race day."
"She applied a deep conditioner, letting the rich cream restore moisture to her sun-damaged hair."
Conditioning is almost always used as an uncountable (mass) noun and has no standard plural form; specific instances are described periphrastically, e.g. 'types of conditioning' rather than 'conditionings'.
"Psychologists distinguish several types of conditioning, including classical and operant forms."
Pavlov didn't set out to study conditioning at all — he stumbled onto it while researching digestion, and his accidentally famous dogs changed psychology forever.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of conditioning
Conditioning derives from 'condition', which traces back to Latin 'condicio', meaning agreement or terms, from 'condicere' ('to agree upon'), itself built on 'dicere', 'to say'. The term passed into English via Old French 'condicion'. As a gerund-like form of 'condition', 'conditioning' came to denote the ongoing process implied by the noun, and its modern psychological sense was cemented in the early twentieth century through the work of Pavlov and later behaviourists such as Watson and Skinner. Cognates include French 'conditionnement' and Italian 'condizionamento', both carrying similar meanings.
Related word forms
How conditioning is actually used
In psychology and everyday speech alike, 'conditioning' often carries a slightly neutral-to-clinical register; when applied to human beliefs or social habits ('cultural conditioning'), it can carry a critical connotation, implying unexamined influence.
Easily confused with conditioning
'Condition' is the state or circumstances of something, while 'conditioning' is the process of training someone or something to respond in a particular way.