Terry and David have both learned that when they whine and complain, their teacher will hurry over to see what is wrong.Terry's teacher gives him attention every time he complains.However, David's teacher gives him attention only on some of the occasions he complains.Both teachers eventually realize that they are reinforcing the boys for inappropriate behaviour, and so they both stop attending to them when they whine and complain.From an operant conditioning perspective, we can predict that:

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Terry's behavior was reinforced on a continuous schedule (every time he complained, he received attention), making it more susceptible to extinction once the reinforcement stops. David's behavior, reinforced on a partial or intermittent schedule (only sometimes receiving attention), tends to be more resistant to extinction. Therefore, when both teachers stop attending to the whining, Terry's complaining is predicted to decrease more rapidly than David's, because behaviors reinforced continuously extinguish faster once reinforcement ceases.

Terry and David Have Both Learned That When They Whine