What is likely to happen when an adult uses the ignore strategy with a child who pouts?

When an adult employs the ignore strategy with a child who is pouting, it is likely that the pouting behavior will escalate before it begins to diminish. This reaction occurs because the child, seeking attention or validation through their behavior, may initially react by intensifying their display of distress in an effort to get noticed.

Ignoring the pouting sends a clear message to the child that this behavior is not effective in gaining the desired attention. As a result, the child might pout more fervently in the short term because they are testing the boundaries and searching for a reaction from the adult. Over time, however, if the adult consistently ignores the pouting, the child may learn that this behavior does not yield the response they want, leading to a gradual cessation of the pouting behavior.

In contrast, the other options tend to suggest immediate or compliant outcomes that do not align with the dynamics of behavior reinforcement and response in children. Immediate cessation of pouting or increased compliance is less common when children are seeking attention through such behaviors and can lead to misunderstanding of emotional expressions in young children.