Joanne does not want to go to school because she didn’t do her calculus homework and isn’t ready for her test. She tells her mother that she has a terrible headache. Her mother shows concern, agrees to let her stay home, and makes Joanne her favorite breakfast. Define all of the following terms and explain how each applies to this situation.
Operant conditioning
Primary reinforcement
Negative reinforcemen
Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened or weakened based on the consequences that follow it. In this situation, Joanne is using operant conditioning by attempting to avoid going to school by claiming to have a headache. She is hoping that her mother will reinforce this behavior by allowing her to stay home.
Primary reinforcement is a form of reinforcement that is inherently rewarding, such as food or water. In this situation, Joanne's mother providing her favorite breakfast serves as a primary reinforcement for her claiming to be sick. This reinforces Joanne's behavior of feigning illness to avoid going to school.
Negative reinforcement is the removal of a negative stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring again in the future. In this situation, Joanne is trying to avoid the negative experience of going to school unprepared for her calculus test by pretending to have a headache. Her mother alleviates this negative stimulus by allowing her to stay home. This serves as a form of negative reinforcement for Joanne's behavior of pretending to be sick in order to avoid school.