Psychology Reinforcement Type Negative Reinforcement Questions

Part 1: Setting the Scene

You are a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) who is supervising a new, entry-level behavior technician, specifically a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT). You are training the RBT to work with three of your clients. Two of the clients engage in escape behavior, while one engages in avoidance behavior. You have decided to cement the RBT’s understanding of escape behavior versus avoidance behavior using simple examples.  

• Write a scenario in which you describe a target behavior that functions to escape an aversive stimulus. What type of reinforcement is at work in this scenario? Explain how this reinforcement maintains the target behavior.
• Write a scenario in which you describe a target behavior that functions to avoid an aversive stimulus.
• How do your explanations of escape versus avoidance meet the law of parsimony?
• Explain the difference between escape versus avoidance and demonstrate your understanding of this difference by completing the contingency diagrams for your escape and avoidance scenarios. 

Part 2: Complete the Discussion Question Worksheets

Complete diagrams for each of the contingencies you created for this week’s primary discussion post. Attach your finalized worksheets as part of your final primary post.

Avoidance Contingency Worksheet

Escape Contingency Worksheet