Tomas and Eric have both developed a habit of walking over to each other's offices when they want to take a break from their work.However these breaks have increasingly gotten longer and louder because they enjoy talking to each other.Recently both Tomas and Eric have had to take more and more work home to finish plus getting the "evil eye" stare from the boss several times.Tomas and Eric have decided to only see each other at lunch and after work and to not go to each other's offices unless it is required by office business.By doing this, Tomas and Eric have removed the reinforcement for "hanging out" at the office and also increased their productivity during working hours.This strategy for breaking bad habits is known as
A) modeling.
B) extinction.
C) shaping.
D) latent learning.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Extinction is the process of removing the reinforcement for a particular behavior in order to decrease the frequency of that behavior. In this case, by eliminating the reinforcement (in the form of socializing with each other during work hours), Tomas and Eric were able to diminish the habit of taking long breaks and increase their productivity. Modeling, shaping and latent learning do not accurately describe this process.

Tomas and Eric Have Both Developed a Habit of Walking