Whenever she sees a bolt of lightning streak across the sky, maria quickly unplugs her computer equipment to keep it from being damaged by an electrical surge. using operant conditioning terms, maria's behavior is being maintained by:?

Maria's behavior is being maintained by negative reinforcement.

Negative reinforcement refers to the phenomenon whereby individuals learn to behave in a particular way in order to remove or avoid the possibility of a negative consequence. In Maria's case, by quickly unplugging her computer equipment at the sight of lighting bolts, she is taking an action to avoid an undesirable consequence - damaged to the equipment by an electrical surge.