ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter we found that cues could possess either or both conditioned reinforcing properties and discriminative properties. Since the focus of the discussion was on the psychological nature and effect of cues, we necessarily examined the reinforcing or motivational properties more closely. However, the discriminative properties of cues are as important and probably more important as one goes up the phylogenetic scale. In these latter species, the capacity to learn about cues not closely linked to the occurrence of primary reinforcement is vastly expanded. Thus, discriminative properties of cues are often more relevant for an understanding of more complex behaviors in these species.
