Question

question 1

andre is afraid of public speaking. he avoids giving presentations in class as much as possible. his fear is associated with being unprepared or not knowing what to say.

which of the following is an example of avoidance learning?

andre asks his friend to give his presentation for him.
andre gives himself pep talks, telling himself that he will be great.
andre practices giving presentations in front of a mirror at home.
andre drops the class that requires him to give presentations.

Explanation:

Define avoidance learning

In Operant Conditioning, avoidance learning is a process where an organism learns a behavior to prevent the occurrence of an unpleasant or aversive stimulus. By performing the behavior, the individual completely avoids encountering the negative situation.

Analyze the scenario

Andre's fear is associated with being unprepared or not knowing what to say during public speaking. The aversive stimulus is the anxiety and potential embarrassment of giving a presentation while unprepared.

Evaluate the options

• Andre asks his friend to give his presentation for him: This is an attempt to escape or delegate, but does not prevent the underlying academic requirement or the situation itself in a structured behavioral learning sense.
• Andre gives himself pep talks, telling himself that he will be great: This is a cognitive coping mechanism, not avoidance.
• Andre practices giving presentations in front of a mirror at home: This is active preparation (coping/skill-building) to reduce the fear, rather than avoiding the situation.
• Andre drops the class that requires him to give presentations: By dropping the class, Andre completely prevents the possibility of having to give a presentation, thereby entirely avoiding the aversive stimulus (public speaking anxiety). This is a classic example of avoidance learning.

Answer:

• Andre asks his friend to give his presentation for him.
• Andre gives himself pep talks, telling himself that he will be great.
• Andre practices giving presentations in front of a mirror at home.
• Andre drops the class that requires him to give presentations. (Correct answer)