Final answer:
Positive and negative reinforcement are strategies used in operant conditioning to strengthen or increase wanted behaviors. Positive reinforcement adds something desirable, while negative reinforcement removes something undesirable. Both aim to make a behavior more likely to occur in the future.
Step-by-step explanation:
Positive and negative reinforcement can be used to strengthen or increase wanted behavior. This is a principle found in operant conditioning, a theory of learning that describes how behaviors are acquired and maintained. In the context of behavior modification, reinforcements are used to enhance the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.
Positive reinforcement involves adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior. For instance, giving a dog a treat for sitting on command is a form of positive reinforcement that increases the likelihood that the dog will sit on command in the future. Conversely, negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive stimulus to increase a behavior. For example, the relief from headache pain after taking medication is negative reinforcement because it increases the likelihood of taking medication when a headache occurs again.
It's important to understand that positive and negative refer to the addition or removal of stimuli, not to their value judgements such as 'good' or 'bad.' Both types of reinforcements are aimed at increasing desired behaviors, whereas punishments are designed to decrease unwanted behaviors.