Satiation is best described as which concept?

• A. To be at capacity or over-supplied
• B. An establishing operation due to scarcity
• C. An abolishing operation due to over-exposure
• D. A stimulus that is aversive or non-preferred

Answer: (C)

Satiation is the point at which a reinforcer loses its value because it has been experienced or consumed too much. In ABA terms, this is an abolishing operation: the amount of exposure to the reinforcer temporarily reduces its reinforcing effectiveness, making the behavior that produces it less likely to occur. For example, after a child drinks juice repeatedly, juice becomes less reinforcing and the child may stop asking for more.

This is different from scarcity, which would increase the value of a reinforcer (an establishing operation) and from an aversive or non-preferred stimulus, which would not be reinforcing in the first place. Being “at capacity or over-supplied” is related to fullness but doesn’t specifically describe the behavioral function of the reinforcer’s value changing due to exposure, which is what satiation captures.