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Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

a.Marty knocks over his mother's prize aspidistra so she sends him to his room for the rest of the day.
b.Peter comes in late from his lunch for the third time in one week and is fired from his job.
c.Tara takes an aspirin, and 20 minutes later her headache begins to go away.
d.Gwen mows the lawn and her dad takes her out for an ice cream.

User HJED
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

Negative reinforcement is when an undesirable stimulus is removed to increase a behavior. Punishment always decreases a behavior. Examples of negative reinforcement include taking an aspirin for a headache and mowing the lawn to be taken out for ice cream.

Step-by-step explanation:

Negative reinforcement is when an undesirable stimulus is removed to increase a behavior. An example of negative reinforcement is car manufacturers using the seatbelt system, which beeps until you fasten your seatbelt. The annoying sound stops when you exhibit the desired behavior, increasing the likelihood that you will buckle up in the future.

Punishment, on the other hand, always decreases a behavior. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus to decrease a behavior, such as scolding a student to get them to stop texting in class. Negative punishment involves removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior, such as taking away a favorite toy when a child misbehaves.

Examples of negative reinforcement from the given options are (c) Tara taking an aspirin and her headache going away, and (d) Gwen mowing the lawn and her dad taking her out for ice cream. Both involve the removal of something unpleasant or undesirable to increase a behavior.

User Petermolnar
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