It is extremely difficult to achieve anything above second-order conditioning in classical conditioning. For instance, if a syringe has become a second-order conditioned stimulus that triggers nausea, attempting to pair a third stimulus—such as a ringing bell—with the syringe will likely fail to produce nausea in response to the bell.

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Higher-order conditioning, or second-order conditioning, occurs when an established conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, causing the new stimulus to also elicit the conditioned response. For example, if a doctor's office is already a conditioned stimulus that triggers nausea, learning to associate a syringe with the doctor's office can cause the syringe alone to produce nausea, even if it was never directly paired with the original unconditioned stimulus.

Higher-Order Conditioning

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Limits of Higher-Order Conditioning

A practical example of higher-order conditioning involves a cat that has already been conditioned to associate the sound of an electric can opener (the conditioned stimulus) with receiving food. If the cabinet storing the food develops a squeak (a new neutral stimulus), the cat hears the squeak followed immediately by the can opener. Eventually, the squeak alone will cause the cat to get excited. Attempting a third order of conditioning, such as ringing a bell before the cabinet squeaks, is unlikely to work because conditioning beyond the second order is difficult to achieve.

Higher-Order Conditioning Example

An example of higher-order conditioning involves a cat learning to salivate to the sound of a squeaky cabinet door. Initially, an electric can opener (conditioned stimulus) paired with a dish of food (unconditioned stimulus) elicits salivation (unconditioned response). Next, a squeaky cabinet door (second-order stimulus) is repeatedly paired with the electric can opener. Eventually, the squeaky cabinet door alone elicits salivation (conditioned response).

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