Which statement about conditional discriminations is true?

• A. They rely on a single stimulus context.
• B. They use a two-term contingency.
• C. They require a three-term contingency.
• D. They do not involve discrimination learning.

Answer: (C)

Conditional discriminations depend on the relation among three elements: a contextual cue, the stimulus to be discriminated, and the response that leads to reinforcement. The key idea is that what counts as the correct response changes with the context, so the learner must form a rule that links context and stimulus to the appropriate behavior. That’s why a three-term contingency is involved: the context sets the condition, the target stimulus is the discriminanda, and the reinforced response follows only for the correct context–stimulus combination.

For example, imagine a task where the same target stimulus requires different responses depending on the color of a preceding context cue. If the context is red, the correct response is left; if the context is blue, the correct response is right, and reinforcement only occurs when the right response matches the context. This illustrates the three-term structure: contextual cue, discriminated stimulus, and the chosen response leading to reinforcement.

The other statements don’t fit because a conditional discrimination hinges on more than one cue and the specific context guiding the response, not a single context; it isn’t just a two-term contingency of stimulus–reinforcer; and it clearly involves discrimination learning, not the absence of learning about stimulus relations.