Select a procedure and a strength of preceding behavior below to view an example of reinforcement or punishment. Continue to select different combinations to view all of the examples. | ||||||
Strength of preceding behavior | ||||||
Increased | Decreased | |||||
Usually Positive (Presented) |
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Procedure | ||||||
Usually Negative (Removed) | ||||||
The definition of reinforcement and punishment depends upon whether an event is presented or removed after a response is made, and whether the subject's responding increases or decreases. Any event that increases responding is called reinforcement and any event that decreases responding is called punishment; any event that is presented is called positive and any event that is removed is called negative. Each square above defines one possibility: for example, if a subject's rate of responding increases after an event is presented, we say that positive reinforcement has occurred. |