Applied Behavior Analysis Technician (ABAT) 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Higher-order conditioning refers to a process in classical conditioning where a neutral stimulus becomes conditioned by being paired with an already conditioned stimulus. This means that a new stimulus can begin to elicit a conditioned response not through direct association with an unconditioned stimulus, but rather through its association with another conditioned stimulus.

The term "higher-order conditioning" is primarily associated with the concept of "second-order conditioning." In this context, once a first conditioned stimulus has been established to elicit a conditioned response, it can be joined with a new neutral stimulus, further extending the conditioning process. For example, if a bell is used to condition a dog to salivate (the bell is paired with food), then after the dog salivates to the bell, you could pair a light with the bell. The light, although it has never been directly paired with food, can eventually elicit the salivation response as well, due to its pairing with the conditioned stimulus of the bell.

This background clarifies that the concept of "secondary conditioning" aptly describes the process involved in higher-order conditioning. The other terms are not typically used in this context: third-order conditioning implies a level beyond second-order which is not commonly recognized as a standalone term; primary conditioning refers to