What type of consequence is experienced when a puppy stops following children due to lack of attention?

The scenario describes a situation in which a puppy stops following children because it is not receiving any attention from them. This aligns with the concept of extinction, which occurs when a behavior that was previously reinforced no longer receives reinforcement, leading to a decrease or elimination of that behavior.

In this case, the puppy's behavior of following children was likely maintained by receiving attention or engagement from them. When the children stop providing that attention, the puppy receives no reinforcement for its behavior. Over time, as the behavior goes unreinforced, the puppy learns that following the children is no longer effective in getting the desired outcome, which is attention. As a result, the puppy begins to stop the behavior altogether.

This process illustrates the principle of extinction in behavior modification: when a previously reinforced behavior is no longer reinforced, the behavior diminishes. Other options involve different concepts, such as positive reinforcement involving adding something to increase a behavior or negative reinforcement removing an aversive stimulus to increase a behavior, neither of which apply to this situation.