What is a key difference between positive and negative reinforcement?

The key difference between positive and negative reinforcement is that positive reinforcement adds a stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated, while negative reinforcement involves the removal of an aversive stimulus to increase behavior. In essence, positive reinforcement introduces something desirable following a desired behavior, making it more likely that the behavior will occur again in the future. For example, giving a child praise or a reward for completing their homework encourages them to continue doing their homework in the future.

Negative reinforcement, on the other hand, creates a favorable outcome by taking away an unpleasant condition, thus also increasing the probability of the behavior. For instance, if a student studies hard to avoid the stress of failing a test, the removal of that stress (the aversive condition) reinforces their studying behavior.

This understanding is crucial for anyone working in behavior analysis, as these concepts of reinforcement shape how behaviors are effectively increased in different contexts. The other options do not accurately capture this fundamental distinction, which is specifically about the addition versus removal of stimuli, the timing of the behaviors, and the applicability to different types of behaviors.