Jennifer has been the top sales person in her department for years.It seems that every other month she wins the department's award for reaching sales goals.The department recently installed a new software program for entering sales.Jennifer has not taken time to learn the new system, preferring to spend her time on the phone making sales.Last month, the department manager decided that only sales entered into the new software would count toward the monthly award.Jennifer did not win an award this month.What Jennifer experienced was _________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Jennifer's lack of award due to not using the new software can be considered punishment, as she lost something (the award) as a consequence of her behavior (not using the new software). Positive reinforcement would have been if Jennifer had received an award or some form of reward for using the new software. Extinction would involve the behavior being ignored or not rewarded, which is not the case in this scenario. Negative reinforcement would have been if something unpleasant (e.g. a reduction in commission) had been removed once Jennifer started using the new software. Alternative reinforcement involves providing a different option or reward, which is not applicable here as the same award was available but with a different condition.

Jennifer Has Been the Top Sales Person in Her Department