Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 examโขWritten by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Definition
Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable outcome or consequence after a behavior has occurred to reduce the likelihood of that behavior happening again.
This occurs when a favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs. For example, taking away your teen's cell phone for missing curfew.
Discriminative Stimulus: A discriminative stimulus is a type of stimulus that is used consistently to gain a specific response and that increases the possibility that the desired response will occur.
A conditioned response is an automatic response established by training to an ordinarily neutral stimulus. Like salivating at the sound of bell because it was previously associated with food.