Discriminative StimulusStimulusย is defined as any change in the environment or for... More (SD)ย is anย antecedentย stimulus that signals the availability of reinforcement for a specificย behavior. When aย behaviorย occurs in the presence of the SD, it is more likely to be reinforced, giving the stimulusย controlย over theย behavior. The SD sets the occasion for theย behaviorย by indicating that a particular responseAย responseย is a single occurrence or instance of aย behavi... More will be followed by reinforcement.
Example
In a classroom, the teacher says, โItโs time to raise your hand if you have a question.โ This statement acts as aย discriminative stimulus (SD)ย because it signals to the students that raising their hand will be followed by the teacher calling on them (reinforcement). When the teacher is not giving this cue, raising a hand may not result in the same reinforcement, so theย behaviorย of raising the hand is more likely to occur when the SD is present.