Which statement best describes the influence on stimulus control development?

• A. It cannot be influenced by environmental factors.
• B. It is determined solely by genetic factors.
• C. It is fixed and unchangeable once learned.
• D. It can be influenced by the salience of stimuli in the environment.

Answer: (D)

Stimulus control development is shaped by environmental factors, and the salience of cues in the environment plays a key role in which stimuli come to control behavior. When a stimulus stands out or is more noticeable, it’s more likely to become a discriminative cue that signals reinforcement, guiding the organism’s responses. Through discrimination training and differential reinforcement, the organism learns to respond to salient cues and to ignore less noticeable ones. Salience isn’t fixed; it can be adjusted by how a stimulus is presented, its intensity, novelty, or relevance, which in turn can shift which stimuli exert control over behavior. That’s why recognizing the impact of environmental salience best describes how stimulus control develops.