Final answer:
Operant conditioning is the theory that emphasizes that a person's behavior needs to be directly reinforced in order to change.
Step-by-step explanation:
The theory that emphasizes that a person's behavior needs to be directly reinforced in order to change is called Operant Conditioning. Psychologist B. F. Skinner proposed this theory, which suggests that behavior is motivated by the consequences we receive for the behavior. According to Skinner, behaviors that are followed by satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated.