Harley tells a variety of offensive and inoffensive jokes to coworkers at lunchtime who laugh at all of the jokes, telling Harley that he's funny. When Harley tells jokes at the evening meal to housemates, they complain to Harley about the offensive jokes. If the behavior analyst wants the evening meal with housemates to become an SΔ for Harley's offensive joke-telling, she should instruct Harleys'?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To make the evening meal with housemates an SΔ for Harley's offensive joke-telling, the behavior analyst should instruct Harleys' housemates to provide no attention for Harley's offensive joke-telling. This means that they should not laugh, engage, or show any positive response whatsoever when Harley tells an offensive joke. By withholding attention, Harley will not receive reinforcement for his offensive jokes during the evening meal, which can decrease the likelihood of him telling them in that context in the future. Providing attention for Harley's inoffensive joke-telling is not necessarily relevant to the targeted behavior of offensive joke-telling during the evening meal, as it may not have any bearing on whether Harley tells offensive jokes during that particular time. Additionally, instructing coworkers to provide no attention for Harley's offensive joke-telling during lunchtime may be irrelevant to the targeted context of telling offensive jokes during the evening meal with housemates.

Harley Tells a Variety of Offensive and Inoffensive Jokes to Coworkers