You are in a crowded supermarket with your 4-year-old nephew. When you are in the candy aisle, he asks you for a chocolate bar. You initially refuse, saying that it is not good for him to eat candy. He begins to cry and whine loudly. Embarrassed by all the attention you are attracting, you buy him the chocolate bar to stop him from crying. Now every time you go to the store, your nephew whines until you buy him something. This is an example of:
A)operant conditioning.
B)fear conditioning.
C)classical conditioning.
D)respondent conditioning.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of operant conditioning, where the nephew's whining behavior is reinforced by receiving a chocolate bar, increasing the likelihood of him whining in future similar situations to get what he wants.

You Are in a Crowded Supermarket with Your 4-Year-Old Nephew