Which term describes the relationship where an antecedent increases the probability of a response?

• A. Time sampling
• B. Stimulus control
• C. Temporal locus
• D. Topography

Answer: (B)

Stimulus control occurs when an antecedent stimulus makes a behavior more likely to occur because that stimulus has signals that reinforcement is available (an SD) or not available (an SΔ) based on past experience. In other words, the presence of the cue increases the probability of the response because the behavior has been reinforced in its presence before. That’s exactly what the question is describing: an antecedent that raises how likely the response is to happen.

Time sampling is a method for recording how often a behavior occurs by checking at specific time intervals, not about how an antecedent changes response likelihood. Temporal locus refers to when a response occurs in relation to a stimulus or event. Topography is about the physical form or shape of the behavior itself, not its likelihood under a cue. So stimulus control is the term that captures the relationship where an antecedent increases the probability of a response.