What is the term for the procedure by which the application or removal of a stimulus decreases the strength of a behavior?

Unlock all questions

This demo includes only 20 questions. Upgrade to access hundreds of questions, flashcards, exam simulations, and disable ads.

Full question bankExam simulationsFlashcards
From $24.99Unlock all

Enhance your skills for the Combined MAPH, Learning, Intelligence, and Testing Test with interactive questions, flashcards, and thorough explanations. Prepare effectively for your examination to ensure success.

Multiple Choice

What is the term for the procedure by which the application or removal of a stimulus decreases the strength of a behavior?

Explanation:
The key idea here is how changing the consequence after a behavior changes how often that behavior happens. When the application or removal of a stimulus makes the behavior occur less frequently, that is called punishment. It lowers the likelihood of the behavior by presenting an aversive consequence (positive punishment) or by taking away a pleasant one (negative punishment). This differs from reinforcement, which aims to increase behavior by adding or removing a stimulus to strengthen the response. It also differs from extinction, which reduces a behavior because reinforcement is no longer given at all, not because a new unpleasant outcome is introduced. Shaping, on the other hand, involves reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior rather than reducing the behavior itself. So the term that describes decreasing a behavior through the application or removal of a stimulus is punishment.

The key idea here is how changing the consequence after a behavior changes how often that behavior happens. When the application or removal of a stimulus makes the behavior occur less frequently, that is called punishment. It lowers the likelihood of the behavior by presenting an aversive consequence (positive punishment) or by taking away a pleasant one (negative punishment).

This differs from reinforcement, which aims to increase behavior by adding or removing a stimulus to strengthen the response. It also differs from extinction, which reduces a behavior because reinforcement is no longer given at all, not because a new unpleasant outcome is introduced. Shaping, on the other hand, involves reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior rather than reducing the behavior itself.

So the term that describes decreasing a behavior through the application or removal of a stimulus is punishment.

More Multiple Choice Questions
Subscribe

Get the latest from Examzify

You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our privacy policy