Question

Kristin, who works at a travel agency, had made an error while entering client details into the client's itinerary and the travel agency was forced to refund the client's money. As a consequence, Kristin's boss deducted the amount of the refund from her paycheck. This is an example of a(n) _____.

A. extinction
B. punishment
C. negative reinforcement
D. variable reinforcement

Answer 1

Option (C), The deduction from Kristin's paycheck can be classified as negative punishment, where a desirable stimulus is removed to decrease a behavior.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the scenario described with Kristin at the travel agency, the deduction of the refunded amount from her paycheck is an example of negative punishment. This is because a desirable stimulus (Kristin's pay) was removed in order to decrease the likelihood of a behavior (making the error) occurring again. In operant conditioning, punishment refers to any consequence that decreases the frequency of a behavior.

The difference between negative reinforcement and punishment is important to note: negative reinforcement involves the removal of an undesirable stimulus to increase a behavior, while punishment, whether positive or negative, always serves to decrease a behavior. In this case, the removal of money from her paycheck is intended to reduce the frequency of errors in client details.