matching to sample

a conditional-discrimination procedure that involves both successive discrimination and simultaneous discrimination. Each trial begins with presentation of a sample stimulus. Once the organism responds to that sample, two or more additional stimuli appear, only one of which matches the sample. Reinforcement is contingent on responding to the stimulus that matches. See also arbitrary matching to sample; delayed matching to sample; oddity from sample.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

node of Ranvier

node of Ranvier

any of successive regularly spaced gaps in the myelin sheath surrounding an axon. The gaps permit the exchange of ions across the plasma membrane at those points, allowing the nerve impulse to leap from one node to the next in so-called saltatory conduction along the axon. [Louis A. Ranvier (1835–1922), French pathologist]