While at the airport, seven-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 because the sight of a pay telephone triggers a specific behavior in Ethan (checking the coin return) due to his previous experience of finding a quarter in one. The sight of the pay telephone is the discriminative stimulus in this scenario, as it signals the availability of a potential reward (finding money in the coin return).

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