Final answer:
In discrete trial instruction, the consequences of a behavior can be positive, adding something pleasant, or negative, removing something unpleasant, to increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior. The correct answer to the question is C) Positive or negative.
Step-by-step explanation:
In discrete trial instruction, a consequence that follows a response can be either positive or negative. This concept is a key component of operant conditioning, where positive means something is being added and negative means something is being taken away. A positive consequence, often known as positive reinforcement, adds a pleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring again. Conversely, a negative consequence could involve negative reinforcement, where an unpleasant stimulus is removed to increase a behavior, or negative punishment, where a desirable stimulus is removed to decrease a behavior.
In relation to the provided choices, each corresponding to different terms in psychology, the correct option that captures the nature of consequences in discrete trial instruction would be: C) Positive or negative. Therefore, consequences in discrete trial instruction can either increase (through positive or negative reinforcement) or decrease (through positive or negative punishment) the likelihood of a behavioral response.