{{other uses|Preconditioning (disambiguation)}} {{dictionary definition|date=January 2014}} '''Preconditioning''' occurs when an animal is exposed to a [[stressor]] or [[Stimulus (psychology)|stimulus]] in order to prepare it for a later encounter with a similar stressor or stimulus.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Holmes |first1=Nathan M. |last2=Wong |first2=Francesca S. |last3=Bouchekioua |first3=Youcef |last4=Westbrook |first4=R. Fred |date=January 2022 |title=Not "either-or" but "which-when": A review of the evidence for integration in sensory preconditioning |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0149763421004747 |journal=Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews |language=en |volume=132 |pages=1197–1204 |doi=10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.032|pmid=34718047 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
For example, in [[vaccination]]s, a human is exposed to an artificially weakened [[virus]] in order to stimulate the body's [[immune system]] to produce [[antibodies]] that fight the virus. Then, when the live virus is encountered, the body can vigorously defend against it, already having produced the relevant antibodies. See [[pre-exposure prophylaxis]].
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:Behaviorism]]
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