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Brad did not do his chores this week, so his parents have told him he cannot go to the football game this weekend. This is an example of:

a) Positive reinforcement
b) Negative reinforcement
c) Positive punishment
d) Negative punishment

User MonTea
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

Brad not being allowed to go to the football game is an example of negative punishment, a concept in operant conditioning where removing a favorable stimulus decreases an unwanted behavior.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the context of operant conditioning, negative punishment is used to decrease an unwanted behavior by removing a favorable stimulus after the behavior occurs. In Brad's case, his parents are using negative punishment by taking away the opportunity to attend a football game because he failed to do his chores. This removal is aimed at decreasing the likelihood that Brad will neglect his chores in the future. It's a practice based on the principle that if a person experiences a negative consequence for a behavior, they are less likely to repeat that behavior.

Considering the various operant conditioning strategies, this scenario contrasts with positive reinforcement, where a desirable stimulus would be added to increase a desired behavior, or negative reinforcement, where an undesirable stimulus is removed to increase a desired behavior. The difference between reinforcement and punishment is integral to understanding this concept: reinforcement always aims to increase a behavior while punishment aims to decrease behavior.

User Andreas Neumann
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