Whenever there is a knock on the front door, Rex the dog runs down the hallway and barks at the door. For Rex, a knock on the door is a _____ for running down the hallway and barking.
A)conditioned stimulus
B)positive reinforcer
C)discriminative stimulus
D)primary reinforcer

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A discriminative stimulus signals the availability of reinforcement, meaning that it cues an individual to engage in a particular behavior that has been reinforced or punished in certain situations. In this case, the knock on the door is the discriminative stimulus that cues Rex to run down the hallway and bark, which has likely been reinforced in the past by the arrival of visitors or the departure of perceived intruders. A conditioned stimulus, on the other hand, is a previously neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus (a stimulus that elicits an innate response) to eventually elicit a conditioned response (a learned response). Neither positive reinforcer nor primary reinforcer accurately describe Rex's behavior in response to the knock on the door.

Whenever There Is a Knock on the Front Door, Rex