Amp Up Your Skills with the New CED Sensation 2025 Practice Exam – Get Ready to Shine!

Sensory adaptation refers to the process through which our sensory receptors become less responsive to constant or unchanging stimuli over time. This phenomenon can be observed in various senses, such as smell, taste, touch, and hearing. For instance, when you enter a room with a strong odor, you may initially notice it, but after a while, you may no longer sense it as strongly due to the sensory receptors in your nose adapting to the constant presence of that odor.

This adaptation allows us to become more attuned to changes in our environment rather than being constantly aware of stimuli that remain the same. It is a crucial mechanism that helps our brains focus on more relevant or variable stimuli, which can be more significant for our survival and functioning.

The other options describe different sensory processes or mechanisms. For example, an increase in sensitivity to changing stimuli pertains more to the idea of contrast or emphasis on new or novel stimuli rather than the adjustment to constant ones. Ignoring unimportant stimuli relates to selective attention and is not exclusively about adaptation. Lastly, learning through sensory experiences represents a broader cognitive process that transcends mere adaptation. Thus, the accurate definition of sensory adaptation is the decrease in sensitivity to a constant stimulus over time.