Meeku was pulled up by his teachers for missing classes to play cricket during school hours. To modify his behaviour, Meeku's class-teacher applauded him every time his home work was submitted or when he answered in class. Gradually Meeku started enjoying his teacher's class and stopped missing it. Which behavioural technique did the class teacher use?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Positive reinforcement
Option (1) Aversion therapy — Incorrect. Aversive conditioning is the repeated association of an undesired response with an aversive consequence, as when an alcoholic is given a mild electric shock while smelling alcohol. The teacher added nothing unpleasant; she gave praise.
Option (2) Token economy — Incorrect. In a token economy the person is given a token every time a wanted behaviour occurs, and the tokens are later exchanged for a reward. Meeku received no tokens; the applause itself was the reward.
Option (3) Positive reinforcement — Correct. If an adaptive behaviour occurs rarely, positive reinforcement is given to increase it, as when a mother prepares the child’s favourite dish whenever homework is done at the appointed time. The class teacher applauded Meeku every time he submitted his homework or answered in class, and the wanted behaviour, attending her class, increased.
Option (4) Systematic desensitisation — Incorrect. Wolpe introduced it for phobias or irrational fears: the relaxed client imagines anxiety-provoking situations step by step, from the least to the most frightening. Meeku had no fear to be treated.
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.” “Behavioural Techniques … Systematic desensitisation is a technique introduced by Wolpe for treating phobias or irrational fears.…” |