Which statement defines negative reinforcement?

• A. Something is removed to increase the likelihood of a behavior.
• B. Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior.
• C. Something is added to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.
• D. Something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.

Answer: (A)

Negative reinforcement strengthens a behavior by removing an aversive stimulus after the behavior occurs. The key idea is that the removal of something unpleasant makes the behavior more likely to happen again because it helps escape or avoid the unpleasant condition. For example, turning off a loud alarm when you complete a task reinforces the task because the beeping stops, and finishing chores to avoid extra work reinforces doing chores in the future. This is different from positive reinforcement, which increases a behavior by adding something pleasant; from positive punishment, which increases a behavior by adding an aversive stimulus to decrease a behavior; and from negative punishment, which decreases a behavior by removing something pleasant.