In behavioral psychology, stimulus control is a phenomenon in operant conditioning that occurs when an organism behaves in one way in the presence of a given stimulus and another way in its absence. A stimulus that modifies behavior in this manner is either a discriminative stimulus or stimulus delta. For example, the presence of a stop sign at a traffic intersection alerts the driver to stop driving and increases the probability that braking behavior occurs. Stimulus control does not force behavior to occur, as it is a direct result of historical reinforcement contingencies, as opposed to reflexive behavior elicited through classical conditioning.
Some theorists believe that all behavior is under some form of stimulus control.[1] For example, in the analysis of B. F. Skinner, verbal behavior is a complicated assortment of behaviors with a variety of controlling stimuli.[2][3]
- ^ Baum, William M. (2005). Understanding behaviorism : Behavior, culture, and evolution (2. ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. ISBN 140511262X.
- ^ Skinner, B.F. (1992). Verbal behavior. Acton, Mass.: Copley. ISBN 1583900217.
- ^ Skinner, Burrhus Frederick (1957). Verbal Behavior. Acton, MA: Copley Publishing Group. ISBN 1-58390-021-7