Many psychiatric hospitals offer patients the chance to perform chores in exchange for tokens.The patients can use these tokens to purchase items at the hospital store.This system is an example of
A) secondary reinforcement.
B) primary reinforcement.
C) negative reinforcement.
D) cognitive restructuring.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Secondary reinforcement refers to a situation where a stimulus is associated with a primary reinforcer (such as food, water, or sex) and then acquires reinforcing properties of its own. In this case, the tokens are associated with the ability to purchase items at the hospital store, which serves as the primary reinforcer. The patients perform chores (a behavior) to earn tokens (a secondary reinforcer) that can be exchanged for the primary reinforcer (items at the hospital store).

Many Psychiatric Hospitals Offer Patients the Chance to Perform Chores