Negative Punishment is

Negative Punishment is

• A. Stimulus taken away so behavior happens less often
• B. Stimulus added to increase behavior
• C. Reward given to increase behavior
• D. Aversive stimulus removed to increase behavior

Answer: (A)

Negative punishment means taking away something valued after a behavior occurs to make that behavior less likely in the future. When a desirable stimulus is removed, the consequence reduces the chance of the behavior happening again because the individual loses access to something they value. The statement that describes removing a stimulus so the behavior happens less often matches this idea exactly—for example, losing access to a favorite privilege after misbehavior. For contrast, adding a stimulus to increase behavior is positive reinforcement, and adding an aversive stimulus to decrease behavior is positive punishment. Removing an aversive stimulus to increase behavior is negative reinforcement.

Negative punishment means taking away something valued after a behavior occurs to make that behavior less likely in the future. When a desirable stimulus is removed, the consequence reduces the chance of the behavior happening again because the individual loses access to something they value. The statement that describes removing a stimulus so the behavior happens less often matches this idea exactly—for example, losing access to a favorite privilege after misbehavior.

For contrast, adding a stimulus to increase behavior is positive reinforcement, and adding an aversive stimulus to decrease behavior is positive punishment. Removing an aversive stimulus to increase behavior is negative reinforcement.