Final answer:
The father losing custody of his children after failing to pay child support is an example of negative punishment in operant conditioning.
Step-by-step explanation:
The father losing custody of his children after failing to pay child support is an example of negative punishment in operant conditioning.
In operant conditioning, positive and negative do not mean good and bad. Instead, positive means you are adding something, and negative means you are taking something away. Reinforcement means you are increasing a behavior, and punishment means you are decreasing a behavior.
In this case, the father losing custody of his children is an example of negative punishment because a pleasant stimulus (custody of the children) is being removed to decrease the behavior (failing to pay child support).