Which of the following scenarios exemplify negative punishment?
A) Astrid sends her daughter to her room alone when she misbehaves.
B) Jim makes his middle-schoolers run extra laps when they are unruly in gym class.
C) Carly yells at her husband when he comes home 'buzzed.'
D) Joanie takes several ibuprofen tablets when she has a headache.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Negative punishment refers to the removal of a desirable stimulus after a behavior to decrease the likelihood of that behavior occurring again. In this scenario, Astrid is sending her daughter to her room which is a removal of attention, which is a desirable stimulus, which decreases the likelihood of misbehavior happening again.

Answer: C
 This scenario is an example of positive punishment which refers to the presentation of an aversive stimulus in response to behavior to decrease the likelihood of that behavior occurring again. Carly yelling at her husband after he has been drinking is aversive and meant to decrease the likelihood of him repeating the same behavior in the future.

Note: Options B and D are not examples of negative punishment. In option B, Jim is imposing an additional punishment to decrease the likelihood of the behavior occurring again which is positive punishment. In option D, Joanie is simply taking medication to alleviate her headache which is not a consequence of any behavior.

Which of the Following Scenarios Exemplify Negative Punishment