Whenever she sees a bolt of lightning streak across the sky, Maria quickly unplugs her computer equipment to keep it from being damaged by an electrical surge. Using operant conditioning terms, Maria's behavior is being maintained by:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Maria's behavior is being maintained by negative reinforcement by avoidance because she unplugs the computer equipment to avoid the potential damage caused by an electrical surge. By doing so, she is reinforced by the absence of the negative consequence (i.e., the computer equipment being damaged).

Whenever She Sees a Bolt of Lightning Streak Across the Sky