Question

​William has noticed that every time his dog sits quietly by his chair, he tends to scratch the dog's ears. As a result, the dog usually sits quietly by William's chair any time William sits in the chair. This is an example of

a. ​escape learning.
b. ​negative reinforcement.
c. ​positive punishment.
d. ​positive reinforcement.

Answer 1

William's dog receives ear scratches as a positive reinforcement for sitting quietly by the chair, which is intended to increase the likelihood of the dog repeating this behavior in the future.

Step-by-step explanation:

When William's dog sits quietly by his chair and is subsequently rewarded with ear scratches, this is an example of positive reinforcement. In operant conditioning, positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is followed by a pleasurable consequence, increasing the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated in the future. In this scenario, the quiet sitting is the behavior, and the ear scratch is the positive consequence that reinforces the dog's behavior. William has created a continuous reinforcement schedule where every instance of sitting quietly is rewarded, thereby quickly teaching the dog to repeat this behavior when William is in the chair.

Behavioral psychologists, such as B.F. Skinner, have shown that this method is an effective way to train animals and even shape human behavior. An example of this is offering a treat to a dog, such as Hodor, after he sits on command or providing immediate rewards to students in a classroom to encourage desired behaviors.