What term describes the state of an organism with respect to how much time has elapsed since it last consumed or contacted a reinforcer, and is also used to increase reinforcer effectiveness?

• A. Satiation
• B. Deprivation
• C. Extinction
• D. Punishment

Answer: (B)

Deprivation describes the organism’s motivational state based on how long it has been since the last reinforcer was consumed or contacted. When a reinforcer hasn’t been available for a while, its value increases, making it more potent and more effective at strengthening behavior. This is why deprivation is used to boost reinforcer effectiveness—hunger for food, for example, makes food more reinforcing and motivates greater effort to obtain it. In contrast, satiation occurs after the reinforcer has been consumed and reduces its value, lowering the motivation to obtain it. Extinction involves withholding reinforcement to reduce a behavior, not altering the organism’s current motivational state. Punishment introduces an adverse consequence to decrease behavior, which is a different process altogether. So deprivation best fits the description and its role in increasing reinforcer effectiveness.