When Joe thinks about his sorely missed girlfriend, he drinks alcohol, which helps dull his feelings. This best illustrates
A) positive reinforcement.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) positive punishment.
D) negative punishment.
E) Stimulus generalization

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Negative reinforcement is the removal of something unpleasant (in this case, Joe's emotional pain) to increase the likelihood of a behavior (drinking alcohol). This is different from positive reinforcement (adding something pleasant to increase behavior), positive punishment (adding something unpleasant to decrease behavior), negative punishment (removing something pleasant to decrease behavior), and stimulus generalization (when similar stimuli elicit the same response).

When Joe Thinks About His Sorely Missed Girlfriend, He Drinks