Backward conditioning is defined as

• A. Giving the cue before the behavior has occurred
• B. Reinforcing after a random delay
• C. Giving the cue after the behavior has occurred
• D. Pairing two neutral stimuli to create a new response

Answer: (C)

Backwards conditioning means you present the cue after the behavior has already occurred. When the signal comes after the action, it can’t reliably predict that action, so the animal doesn’t learn to anticipate the behavior from the cue. In conditioning, cues need to precede the response to build a clear prediction, which is why presenting the cue after the behavior is considered backward.

For context, presenting a cue before the behavior is forward conditioning and helps the learner anticipate what will happen next. Reinforcing after a random delay describes a reinforcement schedule rather than cue timing. Pairing two neutral stimuli to create a new response is a different form of conditioning (stimulus-stimulus pairing) that links two stimuli rather than establishing a predictive cue relative to a behavior.