Final answer:
In the given scenario, the parents' faces act as a discriminative stimulus (SD), signaling to the dog that licking their faces will likely result in scolding, as opposed to the positive reinforcement received when licking the children's faces. The correct option is c.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the scenario described, when the family dog licks the children's faces and receives positive reinforcement, but is scolded for licking the parents' faces, the parents' faces serve as a discriminative stimulus (SD).
A discriminative stimulus is a specific stimulus that signals whether a particular response is likely to be followed by a certain type of consequence (reinforcement or punishment).
In Pavlov's classical conditioning terms, a discriminative stimulus indicates the presence or absence of a reinforcement opportunity, thereby modifying the likelihood of a response.
Unlike classical conditioning, where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus, in this operant conditioning scenario, the response of the dog (licking) is being modified based on the consequence (positive or negative) and the cue or signal it receives (children's or parents' faces). The correct option is c.