Question

Please write complete and coherent sentences. Please proof read your work before submitting this quiz.

Jeremy is concerned that his daughter is spending too much time playing video games and not enough time on her schoolwork. Based on your knowledge of operant conditioning, provide four specific suggestions for how Jeremy might modify his daughter's behavior using the following:

(a) positive reinforcement

(b) negative reinforcement

(c) positive punishment

(d) negative punishment

Answer 1

Reinforcement and punishment

In operant conditioning, Reinforcement is always meant to increase the likelihood of a particular behavior. On the other hand, punishment will always lead to decreasement in behavior. Positive and negative doesn't mean good or bad, instead ,positive means the addition of a stimulus and negative means the removal of a stimulus.

Positive reinforcement: Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase the likelyhood of a behavior.

Negative reinforcement: Removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase the likelyhood of a behavior.

Positive punishment: Adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease the likelyhood of a behavior

Negative punishment: Removal of a pleasant stimulus to decrease the likelyhood of a behavior.

a) Tell the daughter that if she completes her home work, she will get chance play adcanced video games. This is to increase the behavior( doing school work).

b) Removing the background noises to increase the behavior( doing school work).

c) Scolding the daughter for watching video games to decrease the behavior ( playing video game)

d) Take away the video game playing device to decrease the behavior (playing video game).