Confronting Your A nx iety 81
b. Mae has social anxiety, but she rewards herself
for talking to at least two people who are new to
her at an office gathering.
A reward is being applied for increasing proso-
cial behavior.Negative Reinforcement (withhold or remove some-
thing to increase a behavior):
a. W hen Arissa, a five- year- old girl, screams and
cries fearfully while waiting in line to see Santa
Claus, her parents take her home.
The parents remove the anxiety of seeing Santa,
thereby increasing positive behavior in the moment,
but inadvertently increasing the likelihood that
Arissa will scream and cry again the next time she is
unhappy.b. W hen Malik, who is worried about his health,
calls his doctor’s office, the staff reassure him
about his symptoms.
The staff ’s reassurance assuages Malik’s
worries, thereby increasing the likelihood that he
will call the next time he is worried about his health.Positive Punishment (apply something to decrease a
behavior):
a. Claire’s mobile phone rings in the middle of a
work meeting, and her boss reprimands her for
not turning off her phone.
The boss’s reprimand was applied to decrease
the behavior of bringing a phone to meetings.