Russ broke the rule about using outdoor equipment outdoors only. He threw the baseball and put a dent in the trashcan. Now he is giving up his baseball privileges for two weeks as a result of his infraction. What method of punishment is being used?

A) Negative reinforcement

B) Social isolation

C) Premack principle

D) Response cost

Answer:D) Response cost

Explanation:

Response cost is a type of negative punishment which is used to remove something that is resulting to a disruptive or undesirable behavior.

The removal of this favourite thing lead to a less likelihood of that disruptive behaviour being commited again.

By taking the favourite item in order to reduce the behavior this is meant to teach someone that their action was not good at all.

The aim of negative punishment or response cost is to discourage the behavior from happening again.

For example taking the basketball privileges away from Russ is meant to teach him that his behavior of using out door equipment for his basketball game is undesirable because he ended up leaving a dent on a trash can and if he continues he may break other things too.

Negative reinforcement on the other side is a way of removing aversive stimuli in order to strengthen a desired behavior for example a girl who is too shy to do class presentations individually but who seems to work well in a group removing individual speaking and encouraging group work will strengthen her behaviour.