Which term describes something that occurs directly, with no other person involved?

Which term describes something that occurs directly, with no other person involved?

• A. Contiguity
• B. Automatic
• C. Contingency
• D. Punishment

Answer: (B)

Automatic describes consequences that happen directly, without any other person involved. In behavior terms, the outcome is not mediated by someone else; it comes from the person’s own behavior or from the natural environment. For example, if a behavior produces a sensation or relief immediately, that reinforcement is automatic because no social agent is delivering it. Similarly, automatic punishment would occur when the behavior leads to unpleasant effects without another person administering them. This differs from contiguity, which is about how close in time the consequence follows the behavior, and contingency, which is about the dependency between the behavior and its consequence, not specifically who is involved. It also differs from punishment as a category, since the key idea here is the source being non-social rather than the effect on the behavior.

Automatic describes consequences that happen directly, without any other person involved. In behavior terms, the outcome is not mediated by someone else; it comes from the person’s own behavior or from the natural environment. For example, if a behavior produces a sensation or relief immediately, that reinforcement is automatic because no social agent is delivering it. Similarly, automatic punishment would occur when the behavior leads to unpleasant effects without another person administering them. This differs from contiguity, which is about how close in time the consequence follows the behavior, and contingency, which is about the dependency between the behavior and its consequence, not specifically who is involved. It also differs from punishment as a category, since the key idea here is the source being non-social rather than the effect on the behavior.