According to the Premack Principle, what is the relationship between a desirable task and a lower level task?

Study for the Licensed Educational Psychologist Exam. Prepare with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each offering hints and explanations. Ace your test!

The Premack Principle posits that more probable behaviors can reinforce less probable behaviors. In the context of the provided question, a higher-level, more desirable task can serve as a reinforcer for a lower-level, less desirable task. This means that when individuals are allowed to engage in a task they find more enjoyable or rewarding after completing a task they find less enjoyable, their motivation to complete the lower-level task increases.

For instance, if a student finds playing a video game to be a highly desirable activity (the higher-level task), they might be more inclined to complete their homework (the lower-level task) if they know they can then play the video game afterward. This illustrates how reinforcement is based on the relationship between tasks of different desirability levels, supporting the idea that a desirable task can motivate engagement in less desirable tasks.

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