Antecedent (behavioral psychology)

An antecedent is a stimulus that cues an organism to perform a learned behavior. When an organism perceives an antecedent stimulus, it behaves in a way that maximizes reinforcing consequences and minimizes punishing consequences. This might be part of complex, interpersonal communication.

The definition of antecedent is a preceding event or a cause- in this case it is the event that causes the learned behavior to happen.