In a laboratory experiment, mice who fail to pull a lever when cued are given a mild electric shock. This is an example of...

• A. Positive reinforcement.
• B. Negative reinforcement.
• C. Positive punishment.
• D. Negative punishment.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the key terms: Positive punishment involves adding an aversive stimulus to decrease a behavior, while negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus to decrease a behavior. Positive reinforcement adds a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior, and negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus to increase a behavior.
2. Identify the behavior in question: The behavior is the mice failing to pull the lever when cued.
3. Determine the consequence of the behavior: The mice receive a mild electric shock when they fail to pull the lever.
4. Analyze the consequence: The electric shock is an aversive stimulus that is being added as a result of the mice's failure to pull the lever. This is intended to decrease the likelihood of the behavior (failing to pull the lever) in the future.
5. Conclude the type of operant conditioning: Since an aversive stimulus (electric shock) is added to decrease a behavior, this is an example of positive punishment.