A teacher's students were asking for individual assistance at a high rate when they were instructed to work independently using their textbooks and other resource material available in the classroom. The teacher posted a "No Questions" sign and systematically ignored the students' questions when the sign was up. The rate of question-asking decreased to zero. Now the teacher simply puts up the sign whenever the students are to work independently and removes it when the students can ask questions. With respect to asking questions, the sign functions as:
Mrs. Carr's 4-year-old son, Jack, often interrupted her and asked her to play with him. Mrs. Carr would tell Jack that she would play later, but she often followed him and played for a few minutes. On a very busy day, Mrs. Carr told Jack that she could not play with him. Jack began to cry and ran out of the room. Mrs. Carr followed him, calmed him down, and played for a few minutes. This pattern was repeated several times so Mrs. Carr decided to be firm with Jack and to ignore future interruptions. The next day Jack came in sobbing and screaming, “Play now!” Mrs. Carr gave in and played with him. The most likely explanation for Jack’s increasingly disruptive behavior is that:
Why should extinction be used in combination with reinforcement-based procedures?
After saying, "ball," Kelly presents five objects to her student, Bryan. When Bryan selects the ball, Kelly delivers a high-preference item. Bryan is learning to: