In operant conditioning, a discriminative stimulus is defined as a(n):
A) specific stimulus in the presence of which a particular response is more likely to be reinforced.
B) stimulus that evokes a wide variety of behaviors.
C) consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.
D) reinforcer that is naturally reinforcing for a given species.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A discriminative stimulus is a specific stimulus or set of stimuli that signals to an organism that a specific behavior will be reinforced (or punished). For example, in a pigeon experiment, a red light may signal to the pigeon that pecking a button will result in food reinforcement, whereas a green light may signal that pecking the button will result in no reinforcement.

In Operant Conditioning, a Discriminative Stimulus Is Defined as A(n)