When a child was an infant, she received a lot of attention because of an illness. Now, although she is healthy, she still demands attention. When she is put to bed at night, she cries until her parents come and hold her. A behavioral psychologist's suggestion that her parents should ignore her crying is an example of

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The suggestion to ignore the child's crying is an example of an extinction strategy, which aims to reduce or eliminate a learned behavior (in this case, crying for attention) by withholding the reinforcement (parental attention) that previously maintained the behavior.  Extinction strategies are programs that withhold reinforcement of undesirable behaviors. When everyone who might inadvertently reinforce the unwanted behavior cooperates, extinction procedures work to eliminate the undesired behavior.

When a Child Was an Infant, She Received a Lot