The manager of a large shopping mall was upset about the groups of rowdy teenagers who were hanging out by the mall entrance and scaring off his adult customers. He discovered that, if he played classical music over the loudspeakers by the door, the teenagers no longer gathered at the entrance. The mall manager's use of classical music to modify the teenagers' behavior is an example of:
A)the operant conditioning extinction procedure.
B)punishment by application.
C)punishment by removal.
D)negative reinforcement.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Punishment by application involves adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior. In this case, playing classical music (an unpleasant stimulus for the teenagers) was added to reduce the behavior of hanging out by the mall entrance.

The Manager of a Large Shopping Mall Was Upset About