Consider an experiment in which a pigeon is placed in a Skinner box with a button on the wall. The cage contains a small green light that is turned on and off intermittently throughout the day. When the pigeon pecks the button when the green light is on, the behavior is reinforced with food. When it pecks the button when the green light is off, the behavior is not reinforced. The pigeon soon learns that button pecking will be rewarded only when the green light is on. In this scenario, the green light is a(n) __________.
A)unconditioned stimulus
B)discriminative stimulus
C)unlearned stimulus
D)aversive stimulus

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The green light serves as a discriminative stimulus, a stimulus that signals when a behavior is likely to be followed by reinforcement. The pigeon has learned to discriminate between when it is and is not appropriate to peck the button based on the presence or absence of the green light.

Consider an Experiment in Which a Pigeon Is Placed in a Skinner