Joey likes to watch wrestling on TV, but his mother usually does not allow him to do this. However, Joey has noticed that when his mom has a bad day at work and gets very tired, she usually doesn't mind if he watches wrestling. As a result, Joey usually will only ask to watch wrestling if his mother has had a hard day at work. In this instance, the kind of day that Joey's mother has at work would be considered a
A)conditioned stimulus
B)discriminative stimulus
C)negative reinforcer
D)consequence

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The kind of day that Joey's mother has at work acts as a discriminative stimulus because it signals to Joey when he is more likely to be allowed to watch wrestling without objection. This means Joey has learned to distinguish when it is appropriate to ask based on the condition (his mother's bad day), making it a cue or signal for his behavior.

Joey Likes to Watch Wrestling on TV, but His Mother