Chapter 7 - Stimulus Control: Discrimination and

Generalization
- Antecedents: Stimuli or events that precede an operant response
- Present when it occurs or immediately before the behavior
Examples of Stimulus Control:

- In this case the mom’s presence is the antecedent for Jake’s behavior of asking cash
(behavior of asking for money is reinforced only when mom is present) and would have
stimulus control over Jake’s behavior of asking for money
- Jake only asks when an EO is present (establishing operation)

Defining Stimulus Control:

- A behavior was more likely to occur when a specific antecedent stimulus was present
(Jake and the mom, Ginny and the red strawberries)
- Behavior said to be under stimulus control when there’s an increased probability that the
behavior will occur in the presence of a specific antecedent stimulus or a stimulus from a
specific stimulus class (red strawberries are a class)
- It’s in reference to behaviors that occur only in specific situations or in certain
circumstances
Developing Stimulus Control: Stimulus Discrimination Training:
- Discriminative Stimulus (SD): Antecedent stimulus present when a behavior is reinforced
- Stimulus discrimination training: Process of reinforcing a behavior only when a specific
antecedent stimulus (SD( is present
Two Steps in Stimulus Discrimination Training:
1. When the SD is present - behavior is reinforced
2. When any other antecedent stimuli sans SD present - not reinforced - these are called
S-delta

-
SD increases the likelihood of the behavior in the present situation because it was
associated with reinforcement of the behavior in the past
Discrimination Training in the Laboratory:
- Holland & Skinner: Hungry pigeon in chamber - wall has round disk and green/red light
- When red light was on they delivered food, sometimes turned on green (S-delta)

Developing Reading and Spelling with Discrimination Training:

- Reading is developed through stimulus discrimination training
 - SD is the spelling word - behavior reinforced is the correct saying of a word
Stimulus Discrimination Training and Punishment:
- If behavior punished in presence of one antecedent stimulus - behavior will decrease and
stop occurring in the future when that stimulus is present
- The SD is the antecedent signaling a punishment
The Three-Term Contingency:
- Skinner: Stimulus discrimination training involves a three-term contingency where the
consequence behavior (reinforcer/punisher) is contingent on the occurrence of the
behavior only in the presence of the specific antecedent stimulus (SD)
- Involves relationship between antecedent stimulus, behavior and the consequence
of the behavior - ABCs

Stimulus Control Research:

- Azrin and Powell (1968) conducted a study to help heavy smokers reduce cigarettes
smoked a day by developing a case that automatically locked for a period of time and
made a sound when it would open - SD sound
- Eventually stimulus control developed because only time would be then
- When signal wasn’t present trying to get cigarette wouldn’t be reinforced
cause the case was locked
- Schaefer (1970) demonstrated head-banging could be made and brought under stimulus
control
- Shaping - got them to engage and reinforced with food - when said “don’t do
that!” and the monkey hit it’s head - gave food and other wise didn’t
- Now the monkey hit its head only when Schaefer made the statements\
Generalization:
- Generalization: When a behavior occurs in the presence of stimuli that are similar in
some ways to the SD that was present during stimulus discrimination training
- The more similar another stimulus is to SD, the more likely it is that the behavior
will occur in the presence of that stimulus - generalization gradie

Examples of Generalization:
- Stimulus generalization has also occurred when a response occurs in different
circumstances - in a different context at a different time or with different people - from
those in which it was originally learned