Whenever Milo had a tantrum,his father would pick him up and comfort him.Now that he is in preschool,his teachers ignore his tantrums,and over time his tantrums have decreased in frequency.Based on our understanding of operant conditioning,we would say that Milo's tantrum behavior is being __________ in preschool.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Milo's tantrum behavior is being extinguished in preschool. Extinction occurs when a behavior is no longer reinforced, resulting in a decrease in the frequency of that behavior. In this case, Milo's tantrums are no longer being reinforced by the attention of his teachers, causing them to occur less often. Negative reinforcement would involve the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior, punishment would involve adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior, and aversive conditioning involves associating a behavior with an unpleasant stimulus. None of these accurately describe the situation with Milo's tantrums decreasing in frequency due to lack of reinforcement.

Whenever Milo Had a Tantrum,his Father Would Pick Him Up