What is stimulus control characterized by?

Stimulus control is characterized by the influence of specific stimuli on behavior, which means that certain stimuli can evoke particular responses or behaviors depending on the context and the prior history of reinforcement associated with those stimuli. When a behavior is under stimulus control, it tends to occur more frequently in the presence of the stimulus that has been reinforced in the past and less frequently in its absence.

For example, if a child has learned that a specific bell sound indicates it is time for lunch, they may respond to that sound by going to the lunch area. This illustrates how the presence of the bell (the stimulus) directly influences the child’s behavior (going to lunch). Understanding this concept is critical in applied behavior analysis, as it enables practitioners to identify and modify behaviors based on environmental cues.