Discriminative Stimulus

Discriminative stimulus is a term used in classical conditioning as a part of the process known as operant conditioning. A discriminative stimulus is a type of stimulus that is used consistently to gain a specific response and that increases the possibility that the desired response will occur. For example, in an experiment where a rat is being taught to navigate a maze it is easiest to train the rat with a highly desirable treat (such as peanut butter) rather than a less desirable reward such as a piece of broccoli.