Editing Supernormal stimulus (section)

{{Short description|Concept in biology and psychology}}
{{redirect|Supernormal stimuli|the book by Deirdre Barrett|Supernormal Stimuli}}
[[Image:Venus von Willendorf 01.jpg|right|thumb|150px|[[Venus of Willendorf]], figurine exaggerating body and breast stimuli.]]

A '''supernormal stimulus''' or '''superstimulus''' is an exaggerated version of a [[stimulation|stimulus]] to which there is an existing response tendency, or any stimulus that elicits a response more strongly than the stimulus for which it evolved.

For example, it is possible to create artificial bird eggs which certain birds will prefer over their own eggs,<ref name="Study of Instinct">{{cite book|title=The Study of Instinct|last1=Tinbergen|first1=Niko|publisher=Oxford, Clarendon Press|year=1951|isbn=978-0198573432|quote=Based on a series of lectures given in New York, 1947, under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History and Columbia University|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/studyofinstinct0000tinb}}</ref> particularly evident in [[Brood parasite|brood parasitism]]. Some speculate humans can be similarly exploited by [[junk food]].<ref name='waistland'>{{cite book | last1 = Barrett | first1 = Deirdre | author-link1 = Deirdre Barrett | title = Waistland: The (R)Evolutionary Science Behind Our Weight and Fitness Crisis | chapter = Supernormal Stimuli – Why Birds Are Cuckoo | publisher = W.W. Norton & Co | year = 2007 | location = New York, New York | pages = [https://archive.org/details/waistlandrevolut00barr/page/31 31–51] | isbn = 978-0393062168 | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/waistlandrevolut00barr | url = https://archive.org/details/waistlandrevolut00barr/page/31 }}</ref> Organisms tend to show a preference for the stimulus properties (e.g. size, colour, etc.) that have evolved in nature, but when offered an artificial exaggerated stimulus, animals will show behaviour in favour of the artificial stimulus over the naturally occurring stimulus.<ref>{{Cite book|date=2014-01-01|title=A Dictionary of Animal Behaviour|doi=10.1093/acref/9780191761577.001.0001|isbn=978-0191761577|last1=McFarland|first1=David}}</ref> A variety of organisms display or are susceptible to supernormal stimuli, including insects, birds, and humans.

Supernormal stimuli are present in areas of biology and psychology, but are also studied within other fields like sociology and art.

British academic [[Nigel Spivey]] demonstrates the effect in the first episode of the 2005 [[BBC]] documentary series ''[[How Art Made the World]]'' to illustrate neuroscientist [[Vilayanur S. Ramachandran]]'s speculation that this might be the reason for the exaggerated body image demonstrated in works of art from the [[Venus of Willendorf]] right up to the present day.