ABSTRACT
This chapter describes stimulus control as the extent to which a stimulus influences the probability of response during its presence, as well as its absence. The discriminative stimulus and s-delta are described as antecedent stimuli that predict reinforcement and extinction, respectively. Differential reinforcement is the process by which stimulus control develops. Stimulus generalization is likely when only a discriminative stimulus is trained; discrimination develop with differential reinforcement. Peak shift may occur when differential reinforcement with stimuli that signal extinction or punishment is used. Behavioral contrast is also highlighted. Matching-to-sample, conditional discriminations, and delayed-matching-to sample are discussed as more complex stimulus control procedures. The process of remembering (memory) is treated as response probability in which information presented in the past affects a correct response in the present moment (a delayed conditional discrimination). Other forms of more complex stimulus control are reviewed, including relational stimulus control, concept learning, and stimulus equivalence. Several examples of training animals to make stimulus discriminations in everyday settings were given as evidence that operant procedures can be applied to important world problems.
