Maria, a middle manager, enjoys talking over work situations with Daniel, her subordinate, who is a first-line supervisor. However, she notices that Daniel frequently brings problems to her that he expects her to solve, rather than solving them himself. Since Daniel has been a supervisor for a significant length of time, he should be more independent in his actions. She stops acting interested in the problems Daniel brings to her and makes her responses brief. Maria is practicing ________.
A) positive reinforcement
B) negative reinforcement
C) punishment
D) extinction

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to operant conditioning theory, all behavior is controlled or determined by its consequences; one way for managers to curtail the performance of dysfunctional behaviors is to eliminate whatever is reinforcing the behaviors. This process is called extinction.

Maria, a Middle Manager, Enjoys Talking Over Work Situations with Daniel