Positive reinforcement is

Positive reinforcement is

• A. A stimulus removed to decrease a behavior
• B. Reward added for a form of behavior causing that behavior to happen more often
• C. Adding an unpleasant stimulus to teach a lesson
• D. Withholding reinforcement to decrease behavior

Answer: (B)

Positive reinforcement means you add something the dog values after the desired behavior to make that behavior more likely to happen again. In service dog training, you might give a treat, praise, or a favorite toy right after the dog performs a command like sit or heel. Because the dog associates the reward with the behavior, it repeats it more readily. The other ideas involve removing or adding something to influence behavior in a different way: removing a stimulus to decrease a behavior (negative punishment), adding an unpleasant stimulus to deter a behavior (positive punishment), or withholding reinforcement to reduce a behavior (extinction/negative punishment). These are not reinforcement, which is why the reward-after-behavior approach is the correct concept.

Positive reinforcement means you add something the dog values after the desired behavior to make that behavior more likely to happen again. In service dog training, you might give a treat, praise, or a favorite toy right after the dog performs a command like sit or heel. Because the dog associates the reward with the behavior, it repeats it more readily.

The other ideas involve removing or adding something to influence behavior in a different way: removing a stimulus to decrease a behavior (negative punishment), adding an unpleasant stimulus to deter a behavior (positive punishment), or withholding reinforcement to reduce a behavior (extinction/negative punishment). These are not reinforcement, which is why the reward-after-behavior approach is the correct concept.