Which term describes social negative reinforcement where the behavior leads to removal of aversive stimuli?

• A. Escape
• B. Attention
• C. Access
• D. Self-stimulation

Answer: (A)

Negative reinforcement strengthens a behavior because something unpleasant is taken away. When a social context stops an aversive stimulus after a person engages in a behavior, that behavior is more likely to occur again in similar situations. Here, the person performs the behavior to remove or escape a disliked demand or other aversive condition, so the term described is escape.

Attention involves gaining attention from others (a social reinforcer but typically positive), access means obtaining access to a preferred item or activity (positive reinforcement), and self-stimulation is reinforcement that comes from the person’s own actions (automatic reinforcement), not from removing an external aversive stimulus.