Reinforcement is defined as which of the following?

Reinforcement is defined as which of the following?

• A. A neutral stimulus paired with a reward to decrease a behavior
• B. A punishment that reduces behavior
• C. A stimulus removed to reduce a behavior
• D. Positive rewarding event behavior occurs more often

Answer: (D)

Reinforcement means increasing the likelihood that a behavior will occur again by presenting something pleasant after the behavior. The option describing a positive rewarding event that happens and makes the behavior occur more often matches this idea exactly. The other statements describe actions that reduce or weaken behavior (punishment or removal of a stimulus) or mix conditioning concepts, which do not fit reinforcement. In practice, giving a reward after a desired behavior strengthens that behavior, making it more likely to appear again.

Reinforcement means increasing the likelihood that a behavior will occur again by presenting something pleasant after the behavior. The option describing a positive rewarding event that happens and makes the behavior occur more often matches this idea exactly. The other statements describe actions that reduce or weaken behavior (punishment or removal of a stimulus) or mix conditioning concepts, which do not fit reinforcement. In practice, giving a reward after a desired behavior strengthens that behavior, making it more likely to appear again.