An alcoholic is given a mild electric shock and asked to smell the alcohol. With the repeated pairings, the smell of alcohol becomes aversive as the pain of the shock is associated with it. Consequently, the person quits alcohol. This technique for behavioural change is known as:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Aversive conditioning
Option (1) Positive reinforcement — Incorrect. Positive reinforcement is used when an adaptive behaviour occurs rarely: a reward is given to increase it, as a mother cooking a child’s favourite dish whenever the child does homework on time. Here an unwanted behaviour is being removed with a painful stimulus, not a wanted one rewarded.
Option (2) Token Economy — Incorrect. In a token economy a person is given a token as a reward every time a wanted behaviour occurs; the tokens are later exchanged for a reward. No tokens or rewards are used on the alcoholic.
Option (3) Negative reinforcement — Incorrect. In negative reinforcement a response is learnt because it lets a person get rid of or escape a painful stimulus, as one puts on woollen clothes to avoid the cold. The shock here is not something the person escapes by a response; it is paired with the smell of alcohol.
Option (4) Aversive conditioning — Correct. Aversive conditioning is the repeated association of an undesired response with an aversive consequence. The shock is paired with the smell of alcohol again and again, so the smell itself becomes unpleasant and the person gives up alcohol.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2022 on 25-08-2022 (Slot 2), and in CUET (UG) 2024 on 19-07-2024 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2025-26): “Behavioural Techniques … Negative reinforcement and aversive conditioning are the two major techniques of behaviour modification. As you have already studied in Class XI, responses that lead organisms to get rid of painful stimuli or avoid and escape from them provide negative reinforcement. For example, one learns to put on woollen clothes, burn firewood or use electric heaters to avoid the unpleasant cold weather. One learns to move away from dangerous stimuli because they provide negative reinforcement. Aversive conditioning refers to repeated association of undesired response with an aversive consequence. For example, an alcoholic is given a mild electric shock and asked to smell the alcohol. With repeated pairings the smell of alcohol is aversive as the pain of the shock is associated with it and the person will give up alcohol. If an adaptive behaviour occurs rarely, positive reinforcement is given to increase the deficit. For example, if a child does not do homework regularly, positive reinforcement may be used by the child’s mother by preparing the child’s favourite dish whenever s/he does homework at the appointed time. The positive reinforcement of food will increase the behaviour of doing homework at the appointed time. Persons with behavioural problems can be given a token as a reward every time a wanted behaviour occurs. The tokens are collected and exchanged for a reward such as an outing for the patient or a treat for the child. This is known as token economy.” |