Technical definition, clinical ABA application, discriminative non-examples, and test-day traps for behavior analysis candidates.
An environmental variable that alters the effectiveness of some stimulus as a reinforcer (value-altering effect) and alters the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced by that stimulus (behavior-altering effect). Includes Establishing Operations (EO) and Abolishing Operations (AO).
Running outside in 95-degree heat creates thirst deprivation, establishing water as a powerful reinforcer (EO) and evoking all behaviors that historically accessed water (running to the fountain, asking for water).
Seeing a vending machine with a lit-up 'Diet Coke' button. The machine is a discriminative stimulus (SD) signaling the availability of soda, not the physical need for it.
Do not confuse an MO with an SD. An SD signals whether a reinforcer is AVAILABLE. An MO determines whether the reinforcer is VALUED.
A client has had free access to chocolate all morning during a family celebration. During the afternoon therapy session, the analyst presents chocolate as a consequence for following instructions, but the client does not respond. What environmental condition best explains this lack of responding?
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