The ability to make different responses to different stimuli is called which?

The ability to make different responses to different stimuli is called which?

• A. Response Discrimination
• B. Contingency-Shaped Behavior
• C. Stimulus Discrimination
• D. Rule-Governed Behavior

Answer: (A)

The main idea is distinguishing the actions you emit for different cues. When a person or animal learns to produce one specific response in the presence of one stimulus and a different response in the presence of another, that is response discrimination. This shows that behavior is controlled by which stimulus is present, mapping each stimulus to its appropriate response. For example, a learner might say a particular word when asked in one context and a different word in another, or a rat might press one lever for a green light and a different lever for a red light. This emphasis on producing distinct responses depending on the stimulus is what defines response discrimination. Contingency-shaped behavior involves learning from direct reinforcement histories, rule-governed behavior involves following explicit rules, and stimulus discrimination is the broader ability to tell stimuli apart; the term that most directly captures emitting different responses to different stimuli is response discrimination.

The main idea is distinguishing the actions you emit for different cues. When a person or animal learns to produce one specific response in the presence of one stimulus and a different response in the presence of another, that is response discrimination. This shows that behavior is controlled by which stimulus is present, mapping each stimulus to its appropriate response. For example, a learner might say a particular word when asked in one context and a different word in another, or a rat might press one lever for a green light and a different lever for a red light. This emphasis on producing distinct responses depending on the stimulus is what defines response discrimination. Contingency-shaped behavior involves learning from direct reinforcement histories, rule-governed behavior involves following explicit rules, and stimulus discrimination is the broader ability to tell stimuli apart; the term that most directly captures emitting different responses to different stimuli is response discrimination.