Question

Ben’s father, Sean, is very authoritative. He often puts Ben in a time-out for fighting with his sister, takes away his favorite toy when he stays up past his bedtime, and restricts his daily TV time if he does not get good grades. Ben’s mother, Tanya, is friendly and supportive. She frequently takes Ben for ice cream when he does well on his homework assignments, praises him when he comes home from tennis practice, and gives him a weekly allowance if he completes his chores.A) Write a definition of operant conditioning. B) Are Sean and Tanya using reinforcement or punishment? Be specific in explaining your answer. How do you know which one each parent is using? C) Give one example of how Sean could use the Premack principle to get Ben to go to bed on time.

Answer 1

Answer:

a) operant conditioning is a method for learning based on punishment or rewards to change or learn certain behaviors.

b) Sean is using punishment, such as grounding and taking away valuable things, and Tanya is using reinforcement, like taking him for ice cream and praising him.

c) Sean could settle with Ben an deal on, for example, 30 minutes of television before bedtime, counting that he would go to bed imediatelly after the 30 minutes ended and it was bed time.