Which term describes the contingent loss of reinforcers that reduces behavior frequency?

• A. Repertoire
• B. Respondent Conditioning
• C. Replication
• D. Response Cost

Answer: (D)

Contingent loss of reinforcers that reduces how often a behavior occurs is called a response cost. This is a form of negative punishment, where something valued is removed as a consequence of the behavior, making that behavior less likely to happen again. For example, losing access to tokens or privileges after a misbehavior decreases the chance of repeating it, because the person no longer has those reinforcing items or opportunities.

The other terms describe different concepts. Repertoire is the collection of behaviors a person can perform. Respondent conditioning involves automatic, reflex-like responses to a stimulus. Replication refers to repeating a study or its procedures. None of these capture the idea of losing a reinforcer to reduce behavior like response cost does.