Correct Answer:
C. Extinction
The correct answer is C: Extinction. When a teacher ignores a minor attention-seeking behavior, they are employing the behavioral principle of extinction. Extinction involves withdrawing or withholding the reinforcement that is maintaining an undesirable behavior. In the context of attention-seeking behaviors, the desired reinforcement is usually attention from the teacher or peers. By consistently ignoring the behavior, the teacher removes this reinforcement, which, over time, is intended to decrease the frequency of the behavior and eventually cause it to stop entirely. For extinction to be effective, the reinforcement must be consistently and completely withheld.
- A: Positive reinforcement is incorrect. Positive reinforcement involves adding a desirable stimulus (e.g., praise, a reward) immediately after a behavior occurs to increase the likelihood of that behavior happening again. Ignoring a behavior does the opposite; it removes a potential reinforcer (attention).
- B: Negative reinforcement is incorrect. Negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive stimulus after a behavior to increase the likelihood of that behavior recurring. For example, a student might clean their desk to avoid losing privileges. Ignoring a behavior does not involve the removal of an unpleasant stimulus.
- D: Punishment is incorrect. Punishment involves either adding an aversive stimulus or removing a desirable one to decrease the likelihood of a behavior recurring. While the goal of extinction is to decrease behavior, simply ignoring is not typically classified as punishment because it does not actively apply something aversive or take something away in a punitive sense; rather, it withholds a pre-existing reinforcer.