Which concept describes removing a desirable stimulus to decrease a behavior?

• A. Negative Punishment
• B. Positive Punishment
• C. Negative Reinforcement
• D. Positive Reinforcement

Answer: (A)

Removing a desirable stimulus to decrease a behavior is negative punishment. The idea is to weaken the behavior by taking away something the person values. For example, taking away a privilege or access to a favorite activity after misbehavior reduces the likelihood of that behavior happening again because the consequence involves losing something pleasant. This differs from positive punishment, which adds something unpleasant to discourage the behavior. It also differs from negative reinforcement, which removes an aversive condition to encourage a behavior, and from positive reinforcement, which adds a reward to increase a behavior. So, the removal of a desired stimulus directly fits negative punishment and explains why it lowers the behavior.