Final answer:
Following laws to avoid jail is an example of negative reinforcement in operant conditioning, where avoiding the undesirable stimulus (jail) reinforces the behavior of law compliance. The correct answer is a negative reinforcement.
Step-by-step explanation:
Following the laws to avoid jail is an example of negative reinforcement. In the context of operant conditioning, developed by B. F. Skinner, negative reinforcement refers to the removal of an undesirable stimulus (the threat of jail time) to increase the likelihood of a behavior (law-abiding actions). This concept is different from punishment, where an undesirable behavior is decreased by adding an unpleasant consequence (positive punishment) or removing a pleasurable one (negative punishment).
Latent learning and positive reinforcement are different in that latent learning occurs without reinforcement and may not be immediately evident, while positive reinforcement involves adding a desirable stimulus to encourage a behavior. Therefore, when a person follows laws to avoid imprisonment, they engage in an avoidance behavior reinforced by the removal of the negative outcome—jail.