Skinner believed the social environment provides a variety of __________ to help shape human behavior.

• A. Consequences
• B. Reinforcements
• C. Punishments
• D. Stimuli

Answer: (A)

In Skinner’s operant conditioning, behavior is shaped by its consequences in the environment. The social environment provides a variety of consequences following a behavior—outcomes that can either increase or decrease the likelihood that the behavior will occur again. While reinforcement and punishment are specific kinds of consequences, the broader term that fits “a variety of” is consequences because it covers all possible outcomes the environment can provide. Stimuli are cues that precede behavior, not the consequences that shape it. So consequences is the correct choice.