Question

A supervisor told a salesperson who had not made any calls to clients and therefore did not make quota, "Well, if this continues in the next 30 days, you'll probably be let go." By presenting something negative, the supervisor provides an example of _____.

a. extinction
b. intrinsic motivation
c. positive reinforcement
d. punishment
e. negative reinforcement

Answer 1

The supervisor's warning to the salesperson about potential job loss for not making sales calls is an example of punishment, as it intends to decrease an undesirable behavior. option (E)

Step-by-step explanation:

The situation described by the student, where a supervisor warns a salesperson about being potentially let go due to not making any sales calls and thus not meeting the sales quota, is an example of punishment. In the context of operant conditioning, punishment refers to any change that occurs after a behavior that reduces the likelihood of that behavior occurring in the future. Since the supervisor's warning is aimed at decreasing the behavior of not making calls, it is a form of punishment.

Negative reinforcement, on the other hand, involves the removal of a negative condition to increase a desired behavior, such as turning off an annoying seatbelt alarm when the seatbelt is fastened. In this scenario, the supervisor's warning does not remove a negative condition to promote a positive action but presents a negative outcome to discourage a negative action. Therefore, the supervisor's statement does not constitute negative reinforcement.