During marital counseling, a man complains that his wife often "bombards" him with problems as soon as he settles down at home after work, which results in a prolonged argument
The wife admits that she does this but states she feels neglected and that her husband does not take the family problems seriously. She doesn't want her marriage to turn out like her parents' marriage. The wife admits that she sometimes provokes an argument in order to gain her husband's attention. How would a behaviorist most likely explain the wife's actions?
A) She has repressed painful memories about her emotionally distant father and is working out her anger at the parent in the marital relationship.
B) Her thoughts about her parents' unhappy marriage are a justification for her behavior.
C) She has an underlying anxiety disorder.
D) The long argument in which she and her husband participate positively reinforces her behavior.
Ans: D
Feedback:
Behavioral theory considers how reinforcement influences behavior. Through reinforcement, a person learns to perform a certain response (behavior) either to receive a reward or to avoid a punishment. The reward in this case is that the wife gets the needed attention from her husband even though it is in the form of an argument. A behaviorist would not likely emphasize the justifications for either person's behavior.
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