Question

After getting cactus needles stuck in her hand, 2-year-old Rachel no longer touches cactus plants. Using operant conditioning terms, this is an example of:

a. punishment by removal (negative punishment).
b. higher order conditioning.
c. punishment by application (positive punishment).
d. negative reinforcement.

Answer 1

Rachel's avoidance of cactus plants after experiencing the pain of needles is an example of positive punishment in operant conditioning, where an unpleasant stimulus decreases a behavior.

Step-by-step explanation:

The situation with 2-year-old Rachel learning not to touch cactus plants after getting needles stuck in her hand is an example of operant conditioning. Specifically, this is an instance of positive punishment. The cactus needles represent an unpleasant stimulus (the pain) that was added after the behavior of touching a cactus, which led to a decrease in that behavior. Positive punishment works by presenting an unfavorable outcome or event following an undesirable behavior.