Mrs Carr's 4-Year-Old Son, Jack, Often Interrupted Her and Asked

Mrs. Carr's 4-year-old son, Jack, often interrupted her and asked her to play with him. Mrs. Carr would tell Jack that she would play later, but she often followed him and played for a few minutes. On a very busy day, Mrs. Carr told Jack that she could not play with him. Jack began to cry and ran out of the room. Mrs. Carr followed him, calmed him down, and played for a few minutes. This pattern was repeated several times so Mrs. Carr decided to be firm with Jack and to ignore future interruptions. The next day Jack came in sobbing and screaming, "Play now!" Mrs. Carr gave in and played with him. The most likely explanation for Jack's increasingly disruptive behavior is that:

A) Mrs. Carr has used respondent conditioning to train Jack to scream for attention.
B) Jack is experiencing an extinction burst which will cease shortly.
C) Mrs. Carr has accidentally shaped a more intense interrupting behavior from Jack.
D) Mrs. Carr has negatively reinforced Jack's interrupting because he stops screaming when played with.

Correct Answer:

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