Final answer:
The three-term contingency in operant conditioning states that a discriminative stimulus leads to a response, which then produces a reinforcer. This principle is crucial for understanding how behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences.
Step-by-step explanation:
The three-term contingency in operant conditioning indicates that in the presence of a discriminative stimulus, a response produces a reinforcer. This concept is fundamental in the study of operant conditioning, a type of associative learning where behavior is modified by its consequences. When a discriminative stimulus is present, it signals that a certain response will lead to a reinforcer. For example, if a dog learns that sitting on command (the discriminative stimulus) will result in a treat (the reinforcer), it will be more likely to perform the behavior (the response) again in the future.
Operant conditioning involves several key processes, such as shaping, which involves rewarding successive approximations toward a target behavior, and extinction, which is the decrease in the conditioned response when the reinforcer is no longer presented after the response. Additionally, stimulus discrimination and stimulus generalization play significant roles in operant conditioning. These processes help organisms distinguish between similar stimuli and determine which stimuli will elicit the learned response.
In summary, the correct answer to the student's question is that in the presence of a discriminative stimulus, a response produces a reinforcer.