Differentiate stimulus control and discrimination training with an example.

Differentiate stimulus control and discrimination training with an example.

• A. Stimulus control occurs when a specific antecedent cue elicits the target response; discrimination training strengthens responding in presence of SD and reduces in similar stimuli.
• B. Stimulus control is reinforcement; discrimination training is punishment.
• C. Stimulus control is about generalization; discrimination training is about extinction.
• D. Stimulus control means responding occurs without any cues.

Answer: (A)

Stimulus control is the process by which a specific antecedent cue comes to elicit or strongly promote a target response. Discrimination training is the procedure that establishes that control by reinforcing the response only when the discriminative stimulus is present and not reinforcing it in the presence of other, non-SD cues. For example, train a dog to sit when a green ball is shown and not when a red ball or blue ball is shown. With reinforcement for sitting in the green-ball trials and not in others, the dog’s sit response comes under the green-ball cue, showing stimulus control and discrimination between the cues. The other descriptions misstate the relationship, suggesting reinforcement/punishment as stimulus control or confusing with generalization or extinction, which doesn’t capture how a specific cue governs the response through differential reinforcement.

Stimulus control is the process by which a specific antecedent cue comes to elicit or strongly promote a target response. Discrimination training is the procedure that establishes that control by reinforcing the response only when the discriminative stimulus is present and not reinforcing it in the presence of other, non-SD cues. For example, train a dog to sit when a green ball is shown and not when a red ball or blue ball is shown. With reinforcement for sitting in the green-ball trials and not in others, the dog’s sit response comes under the green-ball cue, showing stimulus control and discrimination between the cues. The other descriptions misstate the relationship, suggesting reinforcement/punishment as stimulus control or confusing with generalization or extinction, which doesn’t capture how a specific cue governs the response through differential reinforcement.