In operant conditioning, giving a dog a treat for sitting is an example of what?

In operant conditioning, giving a dog a treat for sitting is an example of what?

• A. Positive reinforcement
• B. Negative reinforcement
• C. Punishment
• D. Extinction

Answer: (A)

In operant conditioning, reinforcement strengthens a behavior by following it with a consequence the animal finds desirable. Giving a dog a treat after it sits adds a pleasant outcome, so the sit behavior is more likely to happen again. That makes this positive reinforcement—the addition of a rewarding stimulus to increase a behavior. This isn’t negative reinforcement, which would involve removing something aversive after the behavior to increase it. It isn’t punishment, which would aim to decrease the behavior by presenting something undesirable or removing something desirable. It isn’t extinction, which would occur if you stopped giving the treat and the sitting behavior faded over time.

In operant conditioning, reinforcement strengthens a behavior by following it with a consequence the animal finds desirable. Giving a dog a treat after it sits adds a pleasant outcome, so the sit behavior is more likely to happen again. That makes this positive reinforcement—the addition of a rewarding stimulus to increase a behavior.

This isn’t negative reinforcement, which would involve removing something aversive after the behavior to increase it. It isn’t punishment, which would aim to decrease the behavior by presenting something undesirable or removing something desirable. It isn’t extinction, which would occur if you stopped giving the treat and the sitting behavior faded over time.