Which term describes social positive reinforcement via attention following behavior?

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

Answer: (B)

Attention is a social positive reinforcer used when someone’s behavior is followed by another person giving attention, such as praise, eye contact, or interaction. This makes the behavior more likely to occur again because the individual has received a favorable social consequence. The idea is that the consequence is added after the behavior and comes from another person, which strengthens the behavior.

Escape describes getting away from an aversive demand, which is a different type of reinforcement (negative). Access refers to gaining possession of preferred items or activities, a tangible form of reinforcement rather than social attention. Self-stimulation involves automatic reinforcement driven by the individual’s own sensory experience, not social interaction.