An environmental event/condition that increases the value or effectiveness of a consequence.

An environmental event/condition that increases the value or effectiveness of a consequence.

• A. Stimulus Control
• B. Abolishing Operation
• C. Motivating Operation
• D. Establishing Operation

Answer: (D)

Motivation in the moment changes how valuable a consequence is. An environmental event or condition that increases the value or effectiveness of a consequence is an establishing operation. It makes a reinforcer more potent and makes the behavior that has produced that reinforcer more likely to occur. For example, hunger makes food more reinforcing, so the presence of hunger functions as an establishing operation that strengthens eating or seeking food. The other terms don’t fit as precisely here. An abolishing operation would reduce the value of a reinforcer (like being full after a meal decreasing the appeal of more food). Stimulus control involves signals that indicate when reinforcement is available and influence behavior accordingly, not the immediate change in reinforcer value. Motivating operation is the broader category that includes both establishing and abolishing operations, but the statement specifically describes the establishing side—the increase in value.

Motivation in the moment changes how valuable a consequence is. An environmental event or condition that increases the value or effectiveness of a consequence is an establishing operation. It makes a reinforcer more potent and makes the behavior that has produced that reinforcer more likely to occur. For example, hunger makes food more reinforcing, so the presence of hunger functions as an establishing operation that strengthens eating or seeking food.

The other terms don’t fit as precisely here. An abolishing operation would reduce the value of a reinforcer (like being full after a meal decreasing the appeal of more food). Stimulus control involves signals that indicate when reinforcement is available and influence behavior accordingly, not the immediate change in reinforcer value. Motivating operation is the broader category that includes both establishing and abolishing operations, but the statement specifically describes the establishing side—the increase in value.