Discrimination Trainingย is a teaching procedure inย behaviorย analysis where aย behaviorย is reinforced in the presence of one stimulusStimulusย is defined as any change in the environment or for... More (the discriminative stimulus or SD) and not reinforced in the presence of other stimuli (S-delta or Sโ). This method is used to teach an individual to respond differently to different stimuli by reinforcing the correctย behaviorย when the appropriate stimulus is present and withholding reinforcement when the incorrect stimulus is present.
Example
A therapist is teaching a child to differentiate between two shapes: a circle and a square. Duringย discrimination training, the therapist holds up a circle and asks, โWhat shape is this?โ If the child correctly identifies it as a circle, they are given praise or a small reward. If the child incorrectly says โsquare,โ no reinforcement is given, and the therapist moves on to the next trial. Over time, the child learns to only respond โcircleโ when the circle is shown, thus discriminating between the two shapes.