While at the airport, 7-year-old Ethan discovers a quarter in the coin return of a pay telephone. Ever since, Ethan checks the coin return of any pay telephone he sees. Using operant conditioning terms, the sight of a pay telephone is a discriminative stimulus.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is true. The sight of a pay telephone serves as a discriminative stimulus because it signals the potential availability of a reinforcer (a coin in the coin return) for Ethan's behavior of checking the coin return. Over time, Ethan's behavior of checking the coin return has been positively reinforced by finding coins in the past.

While at the Airport, 7-Year-Old Ethan Discovers a Quarter in the Coin