Which statement best describes the process of fading prompts and training discrimination to achieve consistent responding across settings?

• A. It is the maintenance of a behavior after reinforcement ends.
• B. It is the gradual elimination of reinforcement.
• C. It is the replacement of the target stimulus with a distractor.
• D. It is the fading of prompts and training discrimination to achieve consistent responding to the target stimulus across settings.

Answer: (D)

This item concerns fading prompts and discrimination training to produce consistent responding to the target stimulus across different settings. By gradually reducing prompts, the learner becomes less dependent on guidance and begins to respond correctly on their own when the target stimulus is present. Training discrimination reinforces choosing the target stimulus and resisting non-targets, so the response is controlled by the actual stimulus rather than by cues or prompts. Together, these steps promote generalization: the same correct behavior appears across settings, people, and circumstances without heavy prompting.

The other ideas describe different processes. Maintaining a behavior after reinforcement ends is about persistence without ongoing reinforcement, not prompt fading or generalizing across settings. Thinning reinforcement involves reducing how often reinforcement is given, which is about reinforcement schedules rather than transferring stimulus control. Replacing the target with a distractor would undermine accurate responding to the target rather than promote consistent discrimination.