Which of the following behaviors will be easiest to extinguish?
A) A little boy who helps with household chores is occasionally paid for his efforts.
B) A woman goes to her local market for four days in a row to get prime rib but finds it unavailable.
C) A teenage girl gets home before midnight so that her parents will not punish her.
D) A traveling salesman uses a particular come-on with considerable success in cities all across the country; it almost always works.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Extinction occurs when a behavior is no longer reinforced, so the behavior decreases in frequency. In option B, the woman's behavior of going to the market is not being reinforced because the desired item is not available. Therefore, it will be easiest to extinguish this behavior because it is already being negatively reinforced by not getting the desired outcome.

Which of the Following Behaviors Will Be Easiest to Extinguish