Question at position 25 Larry is in the habit of bullying his little brother by hitting and pushing him. Larry's parents try to stop this behavior by taking away Larry's video games whenever he hits his little brother. Over the next few weeks, Larry stops bullying his little brother. In this scenario, Larry's parents have used ________ in operant conditioning. positive punishment positive reinforcement negative punishment negative reinforcement

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To begin, let's restate the scenario to ensure clarity: Larry’s parents stop him from bullying by taking away his video games when he hits his brother, and after a few weeks the bullying ceases. Now, evaluate each option in light of operant conditioning terminology.

Option 1: positive punishment. This would involve presenting or adding an aversive stimulus after the undesired behavior to reduce it (for example, giving a spanking or a loud buzzer each time he hits). In the scenario, the parents are removing a stimulus (video games), not adding one, so this is not positive punishment. Therefore, this option describes the opposite manipulation.

Option 2: positive reinforcement. This involves presenting a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior (such as giving a reward when he stops hitting). Here, the goal is to decrease the hitting, not increase a behavior, and there is no new desirable stimulus being added for good behavior. Hence, this does not fit.

Option 3: negative punishment. Negative punishment means removing a reinforcing stimulus to decrease a behavior. By taking away Larry’s video games (a source of direct reinforcement for him) whenever he hits, the parents are reducing the likelihood of the hitting behavior occurring again. This aligns with negative punishment concepts.

Option 4: negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive stimulus to increase a desired behavior (for example, letting Larry skip chores if he stops hitting). In the given case, the behavior reduction is achieved by removing his video games as a consequence of hitting, not by removing an aversive condition to encourage something else. Thus, this is not negative reinforcement.

Putting it together, the only option that matches the described procedure—removing a reinforcing item to reduce the unwanted behavior—is negative punishment. The other options propose adding a punishment, rewarding compliance, or removing aversive conditions to increase behavior, none of which accurately describe the scenario.

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