What term describes stimuli that strengthen responses that permit the organism to avoid or escape from their presence?

• A. Positive reinforcers
• B. Punishment
• C. Negative reinforcers
• D. Schedules of Reinforcement

Answer: (C)

Negative reinforcement describes stimuli that strengthen a behavior by removing an aversive condition after the behavior occurs. When the organism’s action leads to the removal or avoidance of something unpleasant, that action is more likely to be repeated in the future. For example, pressing a button to stop a loud alarm reduces the aversive sound, reinforcing the button-press. Similarly, taking medicine to relieve pain reinforces taking the medicine. It’s about removing something unpleasant, not about adding a pleasant stimulus. In contrast, adding a pleasant stimulus to increase a behavior is positive reinforcement, and adding something aversive to decrease a behavior is punishment. Schedules of reinforcement deal with when reinforcement happens, not what kind of reinforcement it is.