Faulty Stimulus Control

Faulty stimulus control occurs when a behavior is triggered by an incorrect or irrelevant stimulus, rather than the appropriate one. In other words, the behavior is under the control of the wrong environmental cue, leading to inappropriate or inconsistent responses.

Example:

A child is learning to differentiate between shapes, but when shown a red triangle and a red circle, they consistently choose the red shape rather than focusing on the shape itself. In this case, the child’s response (choosing the shape) is under faulty stimulus control because it is controlled by the color (red) instead of the correct stimulus (the shape).

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