High School

Susie's mother asked her to clean her room. Susie began whining and complaining that she wanted to do it later. Her mother reprimanded her and then told her she better do it later or she would not be able to go out to play. Susie's whining behavior increased in the future when asked to clean the room. This is an example of:

a) Positive Punishment: Reprimands
b) Positive Reinforcement
c) Negative Reinforcement
d) Negative Punishment

Answer :

Final answer:

Susie's increased whining in the future when asked to clean her room is an example of negative reinforcement, as her mother's condition on allowing play indirectly supported Susie's delaying tactics.

Explanation:

The scenario described where Susie's whining behavior increased in the future when asked to clean her room is an example of c) Negative Reinforcement. In operant conditioning, negative reinforcement refers to the removal of an aversive stimulus (in this case, the possibility of not being able to go out to play) to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future. By telling Susie she could go out to play only if she cleans her room later, her mother inadvertently reinforced whining as a tactic to delay the task, therefore increasing the chances that Susie will whine again in similar situations.