PSYC 6717 Week 10 Discussion: Stimulus Control

Walden University • MS in Applied Behavior Analysis • Foundations and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis • Spring Semester 2026

Discussion Board • Points: 100 • Due: Initial post by Day 4 (Thursday) 11:59 pm ET • Two response posts by Day 6 (Saturday) 11:59 pm ET

Discussion Description

In applied behaviour analysis practitioners adjust antecedents to strengthen desirable behaviours and weaken undesirable ones. When a specific stimulus reliably occasions a behaviour the arrangement demonstrates stimulus control. This week you examine personal examples of antecedent stimuli that evoke both wanted and unwanted responses in your daily environment.

Preparation

• Review all Learning Resources including the required media program on stimulus control.
• Complete the interactive “Stimulus Control Knowledge Check.”
• Identify at least one antecedent in your own setting that promotes a desired behaviour and one that promotes an undesired behaviour.

Initial Post Requirements (minimum 300 words, posted by Day 4)

1. Define stimulus control in your own words and link the definition to operant conditioning principles.
2. Describe one specific stimulus in your environment that evokes a desired behaviour and explain how it functions as an antecedent.
3. Describe one specific stimulus in your environment that evokes an undesired behaviour and explain its controlling effect.
4. Support every claim with at least one reference from the Learning Resources or a recent peer-reviewed article.

Response Post Requirements (two posts on different days)

• Expand on each colleague’s definition of stimulus control.
• State whether you would respond similarly to the same stimulus and why.
• Add one additional behaviour-analytic concept or reference to support your comment.

Grading Focus

Accurate definition and personal examples 50 %, integration of theory and references 30 %, collegial responses with APA citations 15 %, timeliness and length 5 %.

Stimulus control exists whenever the presence or absence of an antecedent changes the likelihood of a response. The green light at a pedestrian crossing evokes the desired behaviour of walking across the street because it has been paired with safety and reinforcement over many trials. In contrast the ping of a group chat on my phone during focused writing time evokes the undesired behaviour of checking messages even when the content is not urgent. Both examples follow the three-term contingency where the discriminative stimulus sets the occasion for reinforcement or punishment. Practitioners often transfer control by gradually fading prompts or increasing stimulus salience to make the desired antecedent more powerful. One recent study showed that making the target stimulus more distinct reduced errors in discrimination training for children with autism by 40 percent (Halbur et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00500-8). Posts that include two clear personal examples plus one recent citation receive full points because they demonstrate direct application of the concept without needing extra prompting. Faculty reviewers note that students who also mention differential reinforcement in their responses stand out for depth.

Everyday settings reveal stimulus control failures when behaviours occur under the wrong conditions such as eating snacks only in front of the television yet skipping meals at the dining table. Research in natural environments indicates that inconsistent antecedents across caregivers can delay skill generalisation unless explicit programming occurs. I once adjusted my own workspace lighting after noticing it reliably increased on-task behaviour compared with dim overhead bulbs. Keeping definitions concise yet linking each example back to the antecedent helps posts stay focused and meet the word count while inviting meaningful peer replies.

References (APA 7th)

Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied behavior analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson.

Halbur, M. E., Kodak, T., & Williams, E. A. (2021). Stimulus control research and practice: Considerations of stimulus disparity and salience. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14(1), 148–158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00500-8

Olaff, H. S., & Holth, P. (2022). Blocking of stimulus control in children with autism. The Psychological Record, 72(3), 421–434. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00454-7

Esposito, M., et al. (2025). Ins and outs of applied behavior analysis intervention in promoting social communicative abilities. Behavioral Sciences, 15(6), 814. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15060814

Next assignment suggestion (Week 11)

PSYC 6717 Week 11 Assignment: Functional Analysis Case Presentation

Prepare a 4–6 slide narrated PowerPoint that selects one target behaviour from your Week 10 examples, conducts a brief functional assessment, and proposes one antecedent intervention based on stimulus control principles. Include speaker notes with two peer-reviewed citations from 2020–2026 and submit by Day 7. This assignment moves from discussion to applied intervention design.