The application or removal of a stimulus to increase the strength of a specific behavior is called?

• A. Punishment
• B. Operant conditioning
• C. Reinforcement
• D. Aversive conditioning

Answer: (C)

Reinforcement is the idea that a behavior can be strengthened by its consequences. When a behavior is followed by something desirable (a reward) or the removal of something unpleasant, the person or animal is more likely to repeat that behavior. That’s why reinforcing consequences increase the strength or frequency of a response.

Punishment, in contrast, aims to reduce a behavior by presenting an adverse outcome or removing a pleasant one, so it doesn’t fit the description of increasing the behavior. Aversive conditioning involves pairing a stimulus with an unpleasant outcome to discourage responses, which also isn’t about increasing the behavior. Operant conditioning is the broader framework that includes reinforcement and punishment as ways consequences shape behavior, but the specific process described—strengthening a behavior through applying or removing a stimulus—is reinforcement.