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Chapter 16: Problem 3

Sandy had had a rough day, and his son's noisemaking was not helping him relax. Not wanting to resort to scolding, Sandy told his son in a serious manner that he was very tired and would like the boy to play quietly for an hour. This approach worked. For Sandy, the change in his son's behavior was a. Positively reinforcing. b. Negatively reinforcing.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The change in his son's behavior was negatively reinforcing for Sandy.

Step by step solution

01

Understand Reinforcement

In the context of psychology, reinforcement refers to the process of increasing the likelihood or intensity of a behavior. It can be positive, where a favorable outcome, event, or reward occurs after an action, or negative, where an unfavorable outcome, event, or reward is removed after an action.
02

Analyze the Scenario

In the scenario, Sandy's son changes his behavior, which brings about a favorable circumstance for Sandy - quiet. This situation improved because of the removal of an unfavorable condition (noise).
03

Conclusion

So, in this example, Sandy's experience would be considered negative reinforcement. The noisy behavior (unfavorable condition) is taken away, leading to an increase in Sandy's desired behavior (quiet). The removal of the unfavorable condition (noise) is considered to be reinforcing, thus it is negative reinforcement.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Fixed reinforcement schedules produce greater resistance to extinction than do variable reinforcement schedules. True or false?

Match the type of reinforcement schedule with its definition. 1\. Reinforcement occurs after a set time period. 2\. Reinforcement occurs after a set number of responses. 3\. Reinforcement occurs after a varying time period. 4\. Reinforcement occurs after a varying number of responses. a. Fixed-ratio b. Variable-interval c. Fixed-interval d. Variable-ratio

Match the type of operant learning with its definition: 1\. An unpleasant stimulus is presented to decrease behavior. 2\. An unpleasant stimulus is removed to increase behavior. 3\. A pleasant stimulus is presented to increase behavior. 4\. A pleasant stimulus is removed to decrease behavior. a. Positive reinforcement b. Negative reinforcement c. Positive punishment d. Negative punishment

_____________conditioning describes learning that occurs as a result of reinforcement.

In a ___________ reinforcement schedule, behavior is reinforced some of the time, whereas in a _____________reinforcement schedule, behavior is reinforced all the time.
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