Final answer:
In operant conditioning, a core component of a behavior reduction plan is extinction. Extinction involves no longer reinforcing a behavior that was previously reinforced, which leads to a decrease in the behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
In operant conditioning, a core component of a behavior reduction plan is extinction. Extinction occurs when a behavior that was previously reinforced no longer receives reinforcement, causing the behavior to decrease.
For example, if a student is rewarded with praise for talking out of turn in class, implementing extinction would involve no longer providing the praise when the student talks out of turn. Over time, the behavior of talking out of turn will reduce.
Reinforcement (a) and punishment (b) can also be components of a behavior reduction plan, but they are not specifically related to the process of extinction. Reinforcement involves rewarding a behavior to increase the likelihood of its occurrence, while punishment involves applying a consequence to decrease a behavior.
Habituation (d), on the other hand, is the process of becoming accustomed to a stimulus and no longer responding to it.