A CFII is teaching a student to perform a non-precision approach. The student consistently descends below the Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) before reaching the Missed Approach Point (MAP). The CFII wants to use a reinforcement technique to immediately correct this dangerous habit. Which technique would be most appropriate?
- ALaw of Recency
- BNegative reinforcement
- CPositive transfer of learning
- DOperant conditioning
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Negative reinforcement
Negative reinforcement involves removing an unpleasant stimulus *after* a desired behavior occurs, thereby increasing the likelihood of that behavior. In this context, the CFII would remove the 'unpleasantness' (e.g., verbal correction, sim freeze, immediate cease of practice) when the student *stops* descending below MDA, thereby reinforcing the correct behavior of not descending past MDA. While operant conditioning is the umbrella, negative reinforcement is the specific technique.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. The Law of Recency states that things learned most recently are best remembered, which is a principle, not a direct corrective technique.
- C. Positive transfer of learning refers to how prior learning aids new learning, not a correction technique.
- D. Operant conditioning is a broad theory of learning; negative reinforcement is a specific technique within it, making 'Negative reinforcement' more precise for the immediate correction scenario.
Reinforcement: Negative Reinforcement
A technique in operant conditioning where an unpleasant stimulus is removed after a desired behavior occurs, thereby increasing the likelihood of that behavior being repeated.
- Not the same as punishment (which adds an unpleasant stimulus).
- Aims to increase a desired behavior.
- Often used in flight instruction to reinforce safe habits by removing undesirable consequences when correct actions are taken.
Memory trick: Positive and Negative Reinforcement help behavior CHANGE.