Which contingency increases operant behavior by removing an ongoing event or stimulus?

Which contingency increases operant behavior by removing an ongoing event or stimulus?

• A. Punisher
• B. Escape
• C. Mand
• D. Echoic

Answer: (B)

Escape is a negative reinforcement process: a behavior increases because it terminates an ongoing aversive stimulus. When the aversive event is present and the response ends it, that response is more likely to occur again in the future to relieve the unpleasant situation. For example, if a loud noise is happening, a learner who presses a lever to stop the noise experiences relief, so the lever-press becomes more frequent whenever the noise arises. The other terms describe different functions of behavior and do not involve terminating an ongoing aversive condition in the same way. A punisher would reduce behavior by adding or removing something aversive or reinforcing; a mand is a request for a specific item or action to obtain reinforcement; an echoic is a verbal imitation of what is heard.

Escape is a negative reinforcement process: a behavior increases because it terminates an ongoing aversive stimulus. When the aversive event is present and the response ends it, that response is more likely to occur again in the future to relieve the unpleasant situation. For example, if a loud noise is happening, a learner who presses a lever to stop the noise experiences relief, so the lever-press becomes more frequent whenever the noise arises.

The other terms describe different functions of behavior and do not involve terminating an ongoing aversive condition in the same way. A punisher would reduce behavior by adding or removing something aversive or reinforcing; a mand is a request for a specific item or action to obtain reinforcement; an echoic is a verbal imitation of what is heard.