Question

Mark, a high school student, dislikes the fact that his mother yells at him in the morning to wake him up. His mother usually wakes up at 5:30 A.M., and he tries to wake up at around 5:15 A.M. to avoid listening to his mother's yelling. In the context of operant conditioning, which of the following is exemplified in this scenario?A. spontaneous recovery
B. generalization
C. negative reinforcement
D. positive punishment

Answer 1

Answer:

C.

Explanation:

Negative Reinforcement was the term used by B. F. Skinner in his theory named Operant Conditioning. Operant Conditioning is a method of learning that includes rewards or punishment.

In Operant Conditioning, negative reinforcement is defined as a behavior trying to escape from negative outcomes or aversive stimuli. Aversive stimuli is the term used for the stimulus that a person usually wants to avoid or escape. In simple terms, a negative reinforcement can be defined as a behavior that is unpleasant is tend to be removed to create a favorable outcome.

In the given case, negative reinforcement is taking place, because Mark is trying to remove the behavior of getting up late to avoid being yelled by his mother as he dislikes it. So, Mark is trying to remove an unpleasant behavior to create a favorable outcome, that is that his mother may stop yelling at him.

Thus, the correct option is C.