Question

A couple is going to marital counseling. during a session, the husband states that, after working long hours at the office, he just wants to come home and relax. he reports that his wife often "bombards" him with problems as soon as he settles down, which results in a prolonged argument. the wife admits that she does this, but states that she feels neglected and that her husband does not take the family problems seriously. she doesn't want her marriage to turn out like her parents' marriage. how would a behaviorist explain the wife's actions?

Answer 1

A behaviorist would say that the wife is provoking the husband to engage in an argument because that way she is getting his attention. His wife has learned that through behaving in a certain way her husband will engage with her. It is called reinforced behavior and explains why the situation keeps happening over and over again. To the wife it's a type of reward as she gets the needed attention from her husband even though it is in the form of an argument.