Bill hates to clean up after dinner. One night, he volunteers to bathe the dog before cleaning up. When he finishes with the dog and returns to the kitchen, his wife has cleaned everything up for him. Which of the following statements is most accurate?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement is when a behavior is strengthened by the removal or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus. In this case, Bill dislikes cleaning up after dinner and was able to avoid it by volunteering to bathe the dog instead. When he returned, his wife had already cleaned up, which strengthened Bill's behavior of bathing the dog because he was able to avoid the unpleasant task of cleaning up.

Bill Hates to Clean Up After Dinner