When Thomisina uses good table manners at dinner, her mother lets her skip clearing the table. Which conditioning technique is Thomisina's mother using to encourage her good table manners?单项选择题
A
positive reinforcement
B
negative reinforcement
C
positive punishment
D
negative punishment

Question

When Thomisina uses good table manners at dinner, her mother lets her skip clearing the table.  Which conditioning technique is Thomisina's mother using to encourage her good table manners?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior by removing or avoiding an aversive stimulus; here the removed aversive stimulus is the chore of clearing the table.

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Operant conditioning: behaviors are shaped by consequences (B.F. Skinner).  
- Reinforcement vs. punishment: reinforcement increases a behavior’s frequency; punishment decreases it.  
- Positive vs. negative: “positive” means adding a stimulus; “negative” means removing a stimulus.  
- Negative reinforcement specifically: a behavior is strengthened because it terminates or prevents an unpleasant event.

2. Step-by-step reasoning
- Situation: Thomisina uses good table manners.  
- Consequence: Her mother lets her skip clearing the table (an aversive chore).  
- Link: Skipping the chore is the removal of an unpleasant stimulus that follows the desirable behavior.  
- Effect: Because the removal of the chore follows good manners, Thomisina is more likely to repeat good manners in the future to avoid the chore.

3. Calculations/intermediate steps
- Not applicable (this is conceptual reasoning).

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- The mother’s action removes an aversive stimulus (table-clearing duty) contingent on the desired behavior (good manners). That removal increases the probability of the behavior occurring again, which exactly fits the definition of negative reinforcement.

5. Why the other options are incorrect
- Positive reinforcement: would involve adding a pleasant stimulus (e.g., giving dessert) after good manners; that is not what happens.  
- Positive punishment: would add an aversive consequence to reduce behavior (e.g., extra chores), but here the chore is removed, not added.  
- Negative punishment: would remove a pleasant stimulus to reduce behavior (e.g., taking away TV time), but here removal increases, not decreases, the behavior.

6. Conclusion
Because a disliked task is removed following good manners, the mother is using negative reinforcement. This matches the provided answer: negative reinforcement.

When Thomisina uses good table manners at dinner, her mother lets her skip clearing the table. Which conditioning technique is Thomisina's mother using to encourage her good table manners?单项选择题

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