What is the term for a training session where responses are reinforced in the presence of a specific stimulus but not in its absence?

The correct answer is discrimination training. This process involves teaching an individual to respond differently to distinct stimuli, reinforcing the desired response when the specific stimulus is presented while withholding reinforcement in its absence. This helps develop the ability to recognize and respond to important cues in the environment, distinguishing them from non-relevant stimuli.

In discrimination training, the focus is on establishing a clear association between the behavior and the presence of a specific stimulus, thereby enhancing the precision of responses. For example, if a child is taught to raise their hand only when the teacher asks a question, the hand-raising behavior is reinforced during those instances, but not when the teacher is simply giving instructions. This method is foundational in behavior analysis as it fosters selective responding based on environmental cues, which is crucial for skill development.

Other options relate to different concepts in behavior analysis. Discrimination testing specifically assesses whether a subject can differentiate between similar stimuli to gauge their sensitivity to differences, which is not the same as the training process where reinforcement principles are applied. Stimulus generalization refers to the tendency for a learned behavior to occur in response to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus, resulting in broader responses rather than specific discrimination. Reinforcement training is a more general term that does not clearly denote the element of