6.13 Establishing Operation vs. Discriminative Stimulus Part 5

Likewise, the sign may be on, but you are not thirsty. Suddenly a small fire breaks out and you start pushing the button like crazy. The fire is an establishing operation. The fire is not a signal that you can now get water if you push the button; so it is not a discriminative stimulus. The sign is the discriminative stimulus. If the sign goes off, then you can’t get water; if the fire goes out (but the sign is still on), you can still get water. The sign discriminates between when button pushing will get water and when it won’t. The fire determines whether or not water would be an effective reinforcement for pushing the button.