MCAT Social and Behavioral Sciences › Factors Affecting Behavior Change and Learning
Which of the following seemingly decreases the strength of a behavior (i.e. suppresses responding)?
Punishment
Negative reinforcement
Positive reinforcement
Both negative reinforcement and punishment
Resistance to extinction
Punishers seem to decrease the strength of a behavior.
On the other hand, "positive reinforcement" uses a reward to encourage some behavior. "Negative reinforcement" involves the removal of some sort of (usually aversive) stimuli after a behavior has been displayed, which increases the strength of the behavior. Last, "resistance to extinction" is not a form of behavior modification.