Operant Conditioning, discovered by B.F. Skinner, is the usage of consequences to stop, eliminate, or reinforce a certain behavior. This can be done either by punishment or reinforcement, both of which can be divided into two sub-categories. A punishment can be a either positive or negative, and as can a reinforcement. Positive and negative in this context simply means giving or removing.The four categories of Operant Conditioning are therefore as follows:
Positive Reinforcement: Increasing a good behavior by giving something pleasant as a reward [candy, hug, compliment]
Negative Reinforcement: Increasing a good behavior by removing something unpleasant as a reward[chores, early curfew]
Positive Punishment: Decreasing a bad behavior by giving something unpleasant as a penalty [chores, spanking, verbal abuse]
Negative Punishment: Decreasing a bad behavior by removing something pleasant as a penalty [cell phone, candy]
