What term describes an event that precedes an operant and sets the occasion for operant behavior?

What term describes an event that precedes an operant and sets the occasion for operant behavior?

• A. Environment
• B. Establishing Operation
• C. Discriminative Stimulus (SD)
• D. Emitted

Answer: (C)

A discriminative stimulus is an antecedent cue that signals reinforcement is available for a specific response. It sets the occasion for the operant by informing the organism that, if it emits the target behavior, reinforcement will follow. This cue helps the behavior occur more readily when present because the reinforcement contingency is active for that response. Think of a light in a Skinner box: when the light is on, pressing the lever will be reinforced; when the light is off, pressing the lever is unlikely to be reinforced. The light’s presence in this example is what makes the lever-press behavior more likely to occur, not because the light itself is valuable, but because it signals that reinforcement is available for that action. This is different from an establishing operation, which changes how much the reinforcer is valued but doesn’t serve as a cue that reinforcement is available, and from an SΔ, which signals that reinforcement is not available. The environment is a broader context and doesn’t specify the specific contingency that cues a particular response.

A discriminative stimulus is an antecedent cue that signals reinforcement is available for a specific response. It sets the occasion for the operant by informing the organism that, if it emits the target behavior, reinforcement will follow. This cue helps the behavior occur more readily when present because the reinforcement contingency is active for that response.

Think of a light in a Skinner box: when the light is on, pressing the lever will be reinforced; when the light is off, pressing the lever is unlikely to be reinforced. The light’s presence in this example is what makes the lever-press behavior more likely to occur, not because the light itself is valuable, but because it signals that reinforcement is available for that action.

This is different from an establishing operation, which changes how much the reinforcer is valued but doesn’t serve as a cue that reinforcement is available, and from an SΔ, which signals that reinforcement is not available. The environment is a broader context and doesn’t specify the specific contingency that cues a particular response.