Question

Dawn teaches fourth grade. One student, Esteban, consistently misbehaves, getting up out of his chair regularly

and distracting the other children. Every time he starts to wander, Dawn tells him to go sit back down, but by the
third week of school Esteban is wandering more, not less. Dawn realizes she is accidentally reinforcing his
behavior. If Dawn wants to use punishment effectively to get Esteban to stop misbehaving, she should
O a. identify the antecedents of his behavior and eliminate them.
O b. shape a new, more appropriate behavior by reinforcing him as he gets closer to that behavior.
c. identify a consequence that Esteban doesn't want, and present it when he misbehaves.
O d. simply stop responding when he misbehaves until the wandering behavior is extinct.

Answer 1

Dawn should apply a consequence Esteban wants to avoid when he misbehaves, using the principles of operant conditioning. Positive reinforcement should be prioritized, and a token economy could be used for behavior modification.

Step-by-step explanation:

If Dawn wants to use punishment effectively to get Esteban to stop misbehaving, she should identify a consequence that Esteban doesn't want, and present it when he misbehaves. This aligns with the principles of operant conditioning, where a behavior is followed by a consequence that makes the behavior less likely to happen in the future. For instance, Dawn could use a time-out from a favorite activity as a form of negative punishment, where the absence of the activity is the consequence for Esteban's wandering.

It is crucial to understand that positive reinforcement should be prioritized over punishment. Through behavior modification, desired behaviors can be reinforced incrementally, leading to a more positive outcome. A token economy, such as a sticker chart, could also be implemented to encourage positive behaviors and discourage negative ones.