Read the passage and answer the following questions:

Mrs. Sharma is a mother of two children aged 7 and 9 years. Both of them are very notorious and do not listen to her instructions. With every passing day, it is becoming difficult for her to regulate their behaviour. She is not able to discipline them, which she considers an important part of a successful life. One day, she comes across an article in which it is mentioned that if a mother observes behavioural issues in her child, she can apply a technique to modify the undesirable behavior of the child. According to this technique, Mrs. Sharma can give coupons to her children whenever they exhibit desirable behaviours. The coupons could later be exchanged by them for some tangible things such as candy, toys etc. Surprisingly, this technique worked very effectively with her children. In another article she came to know about another technique to modify behavior in which undesirable behavior can be reduced, and desirable behavior can be increased simultaneously.

Identify the technique from the following options in which undesirable behaviour can be reduced, and desirable behaviour can be increased simultaneously.

Differential reinforcement

The correct answer is Option (2) → Differential reinforcement

Differential reinforcement is a behavior modification technique that involves two main components:

1. Reinforcing (rewarding) a desirable behavior to increase its frequency.

2. Extinguishing (ignoring or not reinforcing) an undesirable behavior to decrease its frequency.

The second article Mrs. Sharma read likely described this technique. For example, if a child is being disruptive (undesirable behavior), the parent would ignore that behavior. However, when the child plays quietly and nicely (desirable behavior), the parent would praise them or give them a reward, thus reinforcing the good behavior and making it more likely to occur in the future.