Jasons mom is attempting to establish praise as a generalized conditioned reinforcer GCR A GCR is a type of conditioned reinforcer that has been paired with many other reinforcers both primary and secondary and can therefore be used across a wide range of situations and maintain its reinforcing effectiveness regardless of the learners momentary deprivation state for any single reinforcer By consistently pairing praise which is initially neutral or a less potent reinforcer with a strong established reinforcer like dark chocolate the praise itself acquires reinforcing properties Lets break down the other options A primary reinforcer also known as an unconditioned reinforcer is something that is naturally reinforcing without any prior learning or conditioning eg food water warmth Praise is a learned reinforcer making it a secondary or conditioned reinforcer not a primary one A conditioned reflex refers to a learned involuntary response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus eg salivating at the sound of a bell after pairing it with food This concept belongs to respondent classical conditioning and while the pairing process involves conditioning the goal here is to establish a reinforcer which influences operant behavior not a reflex A novel stimulus is simply a new or unfamiliar stimulus While praise might become a more effective stimulus through conditioning the specific goal is to imbue it with reinforcing properties that can be generalized not merely to introduce a new stimulus