Parents Are Interested in Getting Their Son to Play Piano

question 498

Multiple Choice

Parents are interested in getting their son to play piano. In order to do this, they decide to reinforce him by paying him $1.00 for every hour that he practices. Shortly after this, the son decides that he also wants to learn how to play guitar and, since his parents are still paying him, he continues practicing both instruments. After a couple of months, the parents decide that the important thing is that their son is involved in music and so they quit paying him to practice the piano, whereupon the son gradually quits playing the piano and continues playing the guitar. The weakening and disappearance of the son's piano-playing behaviour would best be considered as an example of

• A)operant extinction
• B)negative reinforcement
• C)positive reinforcement
• D)classical extinction

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Definitions:

Salvage Value

The estimated residual value of an asset at the end of its useful life, which is considered when calculating depreciation.

Useful Life

The estimated duration over which an asset is expected to be usable and productive.

Incremental Analysis

Incremental analysis is a decision-making technique used in finance and accounting to determine the cost and benefits of a specific change in operations or business activity.

Direct Materials

Raw materials that can be directly traced to the production of a specific good or service, considered a variable cost in manufacturing.