Which term describes presenting something pleasant to increase the frequency of a desired behavior?

Which term describes presenting something pleasant to increase the frequency of a desired behavior?

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

Answer: (C)

Positive reinforcement is adding a pleasant stimulus after a behavior to increase the likelihood that the behavior will occur again. In practice, you reward the animal with something desirable—like a treat, praise, or a toy—when it performs the target behavior, which makes that behavior more likely to be repeated. In Fear Free training, this approach is preferred because it strengthens desired actions without introducing fear or stress. The other terms describe different processes: negative reinforcement removes something aversive to increase a behavior, extinction means stopping the reinforcement that maintains a behavior so its frequency drops, and positive punishment adds something aversive to decrease a behavior.

Positive reinforcement is adding a pleasant stimulus after a behavior to increase the likelihood that the behavior will occur again. In practice, you reward the animal with something desirable—like a treat, praise, or a toy—when it performs the target behavior, which makes that behavior more likely to be repeated. In Fear Free training, this approach is preferred because it strengthens desired actions without introducing fear or stress.

The other terms describe different processes: negative reinforcement removes something aversive to increase a behavior, extinction means stopping the reinforcement that maintains a behavior so its frequency drops, and positive punishment adds something aversive to decrease a behavior.