Which reinforcer is described as cues the dog knows and enjoys doing; the doing is the reinforcer?

• A. Primary Reinforcer
• B. Secondary Reinforcer
• C. Tertiary Reinforcer
• D. Discriminative Stimulus

Answer: (C)

When the dog finds the act itself rewarding, reinforcement comes from the behavior itself rather than from an external item. That intrinsic value given to the doing reflects a higher-order form of reinforcement—what many sources call a tertiary reinforcer. In this case, the dog knows and enjoys performing the task, so the action itself becomes the reward, not the food, praise, or a cue signaling reinforcement. This differs from primary reinforcers (which satisfy a biological need), secondary reinforcers (learned cues like praise or a clicker that gain value through association), and from a discriminative stimulus (which is simply a cue that reinforcement is available).