Question

When Roxie the dog was a puppy, she would jump excitedly on anyone who entered the house; receiving praise for her actions. Now that Roxie weighs 65 pounds, Roxie's owner has asked everyone who enters the house to ignore the dog until she settles down. This scenario illustrates the use of ____.

a.
latent inhibition
c.
extinction
b.
discrimination
d.
generalization

Answer 1

The scenario with Roxie the dog receiving no attention for jumping on people entering the house illustrates the use of 'extinction' in operant conditioning.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Roxie the dog was a puppy, she would jump excitedly on anyone who entered the house; receiving praise for her actions.

Roxie's owner has asked everyone who enters the house to ignore the dog until she settles down and now that roise weighs 65 pounds. This scenario illustrates the use of extinction.

Extinction in operant conditioning is the process by which a previously reinforced behavior is weakened by the discontinuation of reinforcement. In the case of Roxie, the owner is trying to reduce the jumping behavior by not providing the previously given attention (positive reinforcement), hoping that the behavior will decrease over time.