A student receives attention after raising their hand and speaking in class. This demonstrates which function?

• A. Attention Function
• B. Access Function
• C. Escape Function
• D. Automatic Reinforcement

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that the consequence after a behavior determines its function. When the student raises a hand and speaks and then receives attention from the teacher, the consequence reinforcing that behavior is social attention. So the behavior is being maintained by attention from others, which is a social positive reinforcement function.

This isn’t about obtaining a tangible item (that would be an access function), nor about avoiding or escaping tasks (that would be an escape function), nor about reinforcement that comes from within the student (that would be automatic reinforcement). The key here is the clear, external social response—attention—that follows the behavior.