Question

Taking away something bad to increase a behavior is known as ______

Answer 1

Negative reinforcement involves removing an undesirable stimulus following a behavior to increase the likelihood of that behavior being repeated in the future.

Step-by-step explanation:

Taking away something bad to increase a behavior is known as negative reinforcement. In this process, an undesirable stimulus is removed after a desired behavior is exhibited, which in turn increases the likelihood of that behavior being repeated.

A common example of negative reinforcement is a car's seatbelt reminder system, which emits an annoying beep until the seatbelt is fastened, thus increasing the likelihood that you will buckle up in the future.

It's important not to confuse negative reinforcement with punishment; while negative reinforcement is about removing an unpleasant stimulus to encourage a behavior, punishment is about reducing a behavior, either by introducing a negative stimulus (positive punishment) or removing a pleasant stimulus (negative punishment).

Answer 2

Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an undesirable stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior's recurrence. It's a core aspect of operant conditioning and serves to increase behavior, as opposed to punishment, which aims to decrease it.

Step-by-step explanation:

Taking away something bad to increase a behavior is known as negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is an important concept in operant conditioning, a form of learning where the consequence of a behavior affects the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future. To clarify, in operant conditioning, positive and negative don't mean 'good' and 'bad'; instead, negative here means that something (usually unpleasant) is being removed or taken away to increase the likelihood of a behavior.

For instance, in negative reinforcement scenarios, an undesirable stimulus is removed after the desired behavior is exhibited. A classic example of negative reinforcement is the seatbelt alarm in vehicles. This annoying sound (the negative stimulus) continues until you buckle your seatbelt (the desired behavior), at which point the sound ceases, thus reinforcing the buckling behavior. The goal here is to increase the likelihood of the behavior (fastening the seatbelt) occurring again.

It is important to differentiate negative reinforcement from punishment. While punishment, which can also be positive or negative, aims to decrease behavior, reinforcement always seeks to increase behavior. Negative reinforcement increases behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus, whereas negative punishment involves removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior. In the context of behavior modification, especially among children, positive reinforcement—adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior—is often more effective and preferred. Both these techniques are essential in shaping behaviors in both humans and animals.