In behavior therapy, substituting punishment for reinforcement that maintains a bad habit is called?

• A. Reinforcement
• B. Flooding/exposure
• C. Aversive conditioning
• D. Operant conditioning

Answer: (C)

This asks about a method that changes a bad habit by replacing its reinforcing consequences with an unpleasant one to discourage the behavior. That approach is aversive conditioning. It specifically uses punishment or aversive stimuli to reduce the undesired behavior, rather than rewarding the behavior to increase it.

Reinforcement would aim to strengthen the habit, so it’s not the right fit. Flooding/exposure targets fear or anxiety by prolonged confrontation with the feared stimulus, not by altering the habit’s consequences. Operant conditioning is the broader framework that includes both reinforcement and punishment, but the term that captures substituting punishment for reinforcement to curb the habit is aversive conditioning.