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A child disobeys his parent, and the child gets punished by losing access to electronics. The desired effect of the punishment is that the child will not disobey again. Reinforcement, on the other hand, is a reward or a prize for doing something right.

They argue that production of a stimulus (positive reinforcement) always involves escape from a situation (negative reinforcement) in which the stimulus was absent; removal of a stimulus (negative reinforcement) always involves production of a situation (positive reinforcement) in which the stimulus is absent.

Reinforcement means you are increasing a behavior, and punishment means you are decreasing a behavior. Reinforcement can be positive or negative, and punishment can also be positive or negative. All reinforcers (positive or negative) increase the likelihood of a behavioral response.

Examples of Negative Reinforcement Giving a pass to the car behind to avoid its honking. Getting up from bed to avoid the noisy alarm. Taking an antacid before having a spicy meal. Applying sunscreen before heading to the beach to avoid getting sunburned.

Imagine that you are training a pigeon to peck at a key to receive a food pellet. You put the bird on a variable-interval 30 (VI-30) schedule. This means that the pigeon will receive reinforcement an average of every 30 seconds.

Negative reinforcement encourages a behavior by removing an unwanted or unpleasant stimulus. Positive punishment discourages a behavior by introducing an unwanted or unpleasant stimulus.

One mistake that people often make is confusing negative reinforcement with punishment. Remember, however, that negative reinforcement involves the removal of a negative condition to strengthen a behavior. Punishment involves either presenting or taking away a stimulus to weaken a behavior.