A unit secretary is chronically late returning from breaks. The rest of the secretary's work is excellent and he is always helpful and supportive of nurses and client families. The nurse manager has discussed the lateness with him, but it has not stopped. Thinking this might be an attention-seeking behavior, the manager decides to use extinction as a strategy. What should the manager do? Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected. Select all that apply.
A) Offer the secretary a free lunch if he can go 1 week without being late.
B) Ignore the behavior.
C) Place a large alarm clock in the break room and set it each time the secretary takes a break.
D) Plan to be away from the secretary's area during his break times.
E) Tell the secretary that one more late return will result in a written critical incident report.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

1. This is a reward, not extinction.
2. Extinction occurs when the stimulus to continue the behavior is removed. In this case, the secretary will no longer get the manager's attention.
3. This is not the way an adult should be disciplined.
4. If the manager is not there to see the lateness and "reward" the employee with attention, perhaps the behavior will stop.
5. If the manager is correct and this is an attention-seeking behavior, a written critical incident is reinforcing the behavior.

A Unit Secretary Is Chronically Late Returning from Breaks