Scenario A. Suppose that your employee Umberto has been having trouble with the paperwork he must do for his job. Your goal is for the employee to improve his performance; i.e. decrease his rate of errors. You are considering two approaches:
1. Option 1 is to spend time with Umberto every day helping him with his job. This is an appealing option to Umberto because he appreciates the attention and sees it as a positive reward.
2. Option 2 is to tell Umberto that has now lost his incentive option until his performance improves.
3. Option 3 is to tell Umberto that you are not taking away his incentive option for the coming quarter provided he makes improvements.

-Option 1 in the scenario above is an example of
A)positive reinforcement.
B)punishment.
C)negative reinforcement.
D)extinction.
E)none of the above

Question

Scenario A. Suppose that your employee Umberto has been having trouble with the paperwork he must do for his job. Your goal is for the employee to improve his performance; i.e. decrease his rate of errors. You are considering two approaches:
1. Option 1 is to spend time with Umberto every day helping him with his job. This is an appealing option to Umberto because he appreciates the attention and sees it as a positive reward.
2. Option 2 is to tell Umberto that has now lost his incentive option until his performance improves.
3. Option 3 is to tell Umberto that you are not taking away his incentive option for the coming quarter provided he makes improvements.

-Option 1 in the scenario above is an example of
A)positive reinforcement.
B)punishment.
C)negative reinforcement.
D)extinction.
E)none of the above

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Option 1 involves positive reinforcement as the employee is being rewarded with attention and assistance for improving his performance. Option 3 involves negative reinforcement as the employee's incentive option is being preserved if he makes improvements. Both of these options have the potential to motivate and improve the employee's performance. Option 2, on the other hand, involves punishment, which may not be as effective in motivating the employee and could potentially damage the employee-manager relationship.