Whenever Stephanie changes the engine air filter in her car, she unscrews the two bolts that hold the filter cover on, then places the two bolts by the car's front tire to avoid dropping (and losing) them in the car's engine. Using operant conditioning terminology, placing the bolts by the tire is:
A)an unconditioned response that is being positively reinforced.
B)an operant that is being reinforced on a fixed-interval schedule.
C)the operant that is being negatively reinforced.
D)the operant that is being positively reinforced.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Placing the bolts by the tire is an action (operant) that Stephanie performs to avoid a negative outcome (losing the bolts in the engine), which is an example of negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior by removing or preventing a negative outcome.

Whenever Stephanie Changes the Engine Air Filter in Her Car