Withdrawal of Reinforcement is best defined as

• A. Removing Cues That Trigger Unwanted Behavior
• B. Introducing More Cues
• C. Punishing the Behavior
• D. Ignoring the Behavior Completely

Answer: (A)

Removing cues that set up or trigger the unwanted behavior reduces the opportunity for it to occur, which in turn minimizes the reinforcement that the behavior would otherwise gain. By changing the environment so the behavior isn’t prompted—for example, altering or removing signals, prompts, or triggers that lead to the behavior—the likelihood of the behavior happening drops because the occasion for it is less available. This approach focuses on antecedents to prevent the behavior before it starts, which is why it’s considered withdrawal of reinforcement in this context.

Introducing more cues would raise the chance of the behavior by giving it more triggers. Punishing the behavior focuses on consequences after the fact and does not remove the triggers that sustain the behavior. Ignoring the behavior can be part of extinction, but it doesn’t directly address the cues that initiate the behavior, so it’s not the best fit here.