Good grades are reinforcing to some children but not to others. Someone explaining this fact from an early operant conditioning perspective would say that good grades are most likely to be reinforcers to children who:
A) Have never received a grade above C
B) Come from middle-income or upper-income backgrounds
C) Have previously associated those grades with primary reinforcers
D) Have been told that good grades are important for getting a college scholarship

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to operant conditioning, a reinforcer is anything that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again. Children who have previously associated good grades with primary reinforcers (such as praise, recognition, or tangible rewards), are more likely to perceive good grades as reinforcing and therefore be motivated to work hard to achieve them. A and B are not necessarily factors in determining whether good grades are reinforcing to a child, and while D may be a factor, it is not the most significant one according to the operant conditioning perspective.

Good Grades Are Reinforcing to Some Children but Not to Others