Ronnie is 8 years old and loves candy. He has learned that when his parents are home whining and begging for candy does not work; however when his babysitter is with him the whining and begging always results in candy. In Ronnie's case his babysitter acts as
A) a generalizing stimulus for candy availability.
B) a discriminative stimulus for candy availability.
C) an unconditioned stimulus for candy availability.
D) a positive reinforcer for candy availability.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Ronnie has learned that his behavior of whining and begging is more likely to result in candy when his babysitter is present, but not when his parents are present. This shows that the babysitter serves as a discriminative stimulus for candy availability – meaning that Ronnie has learned to discriminate between two situations (when the babysitter is present vs. when she is not) and adjust his behavior accordingly to obtain the desired outcome (candy).

Ronnie Is 8 Years Old and Loves Candy