Which stimulus signals the availability of reinforcement for responding in its presence?
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When presenting some event or activity dependent on a response makes that response more likely in the future, we say that reinforcement of the response has occurred. This sometimes is described as the strengthening effect of a reinforcer. It is by far the most well- known reinforcer effect. There are, however, at least two other effects of reinforcers on responding that are less talked about, but important nonetheless.  These three different functions of the reinforcer – strengthening, discriminative stimulus, and response inducing - suggest the complexities of using reinforcers to change behavior. Sometimes, for example, when reinforcers have unexpected effects on behavior, it may not be because there is something “wrong’ with the reinforcer, but simply because we are not considering the multiple ways in which reinforcers might affect behavior. A discriminative stimulus is a stimulus that when it is present, generates a particular response and the response is usually faster, more frequent, and more resistant to extinction. The responding behavior is then subjected to discriminative stimulus control. A discriminative stimulus (Sd or SD) is created when the response is reinforced in its presence, but not when it is absent1. For example, a child requests to watch TV, and historically, he is granted more screen time when his Mom has to get on a conference call for work, but never when she doesn’t have to take a call. So having a work-related phone call is an Sd that controls the child’s requesting behavior. Discrimination and Classical ConditioningWhen an originally neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus to generate a response, the neural stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus for that response. Discrimination and Operant ConditioningDiscriminative stimuli have control over a particular behavior because the behavior is reliably reinforced through positive or negative reinforcement and punishment when the stimuli are present and not when they are absent. Stimulus Discrimination ExamplesHere are some discriminative stimulus examples.
Stimulus Discrimination vs GeneralizationStimulus generalization is defined as the extension of conditioning so that similar stimuli that have not been reinforced can act as a conditioned stimulus to generate a specific response2. Now an individual responds to not only the one stimulus that has been reinforced but also others that share similar characteristics. Generalization can occur in classical conditioning as well as operant conditioning. For example, the bee stings you. You will begin to fear it resulting in fear conditioning. But you will also begin to fear other insects that look similar. The more similar another insect is to a bee, the more you will fear it. Your conditioned response (fear) has generalized from the training stimulus (bees) to another stimulus (insects similar to a bee). Discriminative Stimulus in ParentingDiscriminating stimuli are often used in parenting to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and those with mental retardation2. A branch of non-mainstream psychology, called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), has emerged to teach Sd-based techniques to parents who have kids with ASD. These ABA techniques help children develop social skills and decrease behaviors that may interfere with their independence in life3. In ABA therapy, discriminative stimulus and differential reinforcement are used to teach children how to respond appropriately or give a correct answer. An ABA therapist will work with parents to make sure that they understand how to apply the correct techniques. References
What signals the availability of reinforcement?1.4.
In nontechnical terms, a discriminative stimulus tells the person what behavior is going to get reinforced—it signals the availability of a particular reinforcer for a particular behavior. The abbreviation for discriminative stimulus is “Sd.”
What kind of stimulus is associated with reinforcement?In an attempt to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future, an operant response is followed by the presentation of an appetitive stimulus. This is positive reinforcement.
What signals the absence of reinforcement?S- A discriminative stimulus that signals the absence of reinforcement for an instrumental response.
When responses are reinforced in the presence of one stimulus the SD but are not reinforced in the presence of another stimulus the SΔ the process is referred to as?When a response is reinforced in the presence of one stimulus and not in the presence of another, the stimulus during which reinforcement occurs is called a discriminative stimulus or SD (pronounced S-Dee). Those conditions in which the response is not reinforced are called S-Delta.
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