Final answer:
The answer to the student's question is operant conditioning, a type of associative learning where behaviors are influenced by their consequences, as developed by B. F. Skinner. The correct option is B.
Step-by-step explanation:
The answer to the question is operant conditioning. This concept can be understood by the strength of the individual's perceived relationship between the person's behavior and subsequent outcomes. Developed by B. F. Skinner, operant conditioning is a type of associative learning where behaviors are controlled by consequences. Positive consequences reinforce the behavior, making it more likely to occur in the future, while negative consequences discourage it.
Learned helplessness is another concept, also related to behavior and outcomes, where an individual believes they have no control over the outcomes of their actions, often leading to a lack of attempt to change the situation. However, it does not directly fit the definition of the relationship between behavior and outcomes as asked in the question.
Rather than a consequence strengthening or weakening a behavior as in operant conditioning, learned helplessness is about the perception that no amount of effort will have an impact on the outcome.
Classical conditioning and social facilitation also involve learning and behavior, but they do not focus on the relationship between voluntary behavior and its consequences in the same way that operant conditioning does. Thus, operant conditioning is the correct answer to the question.